Foto af Ginger Me
Forlegenhed er svær at observere. Per definition er det en følelse, man forsøger at skjule. Men den verdensberømte primatolog Jane Goodall mener, at hun har observeret, hvad man kunne kalde forlegenhed hos chimpanser.
Fifi var en kvindelig chimpanse, som Jane kendte i mere end 40 år. Da Fifis ældste barn, Freud, var fem et halvt år gammel, var hans onkel, Fifis bror Figan, alfahanen i deres chimpansesamfund. Freud fulgte altid Figan, som om han tilbad den store mand.
Engang, da Fifi plejede Figan, klatrede Freud op på den tynde stilk af en vild plantain. Da han nåede den løvrige krone, begyndte han at svaje vildt frem og tilbage. Havde han været et menneskebarn, ville vi have sagt, at han viste sig. Pludselig knækkede stilken, og Freud væltede ned i det lange græs. Han kom ikke til skade. Han landede tæt på Jane, og da hans hoved dukkede op af græsset, så hun ham se over på Figan. Havde han bemærket det? Hvis han havde, var han ikke opmærksom, men blev ved med at blive striglet. Freud klatrede meget stille op i et andet træ og begyndte at spise.
Harvard University psykolog Marc Hauser observerede, hvad der kunne kaldes forlegenhed hos en han rhesus abe. Efter at have parret sig med en hun, spankulerede hannen væk og faldt ved et uheld i en grøft. Han rejste sig og så sig hurtigt omkring. Efter at have fornemmet, at ingen andre aber så ham vælte, marcherede han af sted med høj ryg, hoved og hale opad, som om intet var hændt.
Animal Rescues: Føl medfølelse for dem i nød
Der er masser af historier om dyr, der redder medlemmer af deres egen og andre arter, inklusive mennesker. De viser, hvordan individer af forskellige arter viser medfølelse og empati for dem, der har behov.
I Torquay, Australien, efter at en kængurumor blev ramt af en bil, opdagede en hund en baby-joey i sin pung og tog den med til sin ejer, som passede den unge. Den 10-årige hund og 4-måneder gamle joey blev til sidst bedste venner.
Foto af Flickker Photos
På en strand i New Zealand kom en delfin til undsætning af to pygmæ kaskelothvaler strandet bag en sandbanke. Efter at folk forgæves forsøgte at få hvalerne ud på dybere vand, dukkede delfinen op, og de to hvaler fulgte efter den tilbage i havet.
Hunde er også kendt for at hjælpe dem i nød. En tabt pitbull-mutt brød et forsøg på at overfalde en kvinde, der forlod en legeplads med sin søn i Port Charlotte, Florida. En dyrekontrolbetjent sagde, at det var tydeligt, at hunden forsøgte at forsvare kvinden, som han ikke kendte. Og uden for Buenos Aires, Argentina, reddede en hund en forladt baby ved at placere ham sikkert blandt sine egne nyfødte hvalpe. Utroligt nok bar hunden babyen omkring 150 fod til, hvor hendes hvalpe lå efter at have opdaget babyen dækket af en klud på en mark.
Raven Retfærdighed?
I sin bog, Mind of the Raven , observerede biologen og ravneeksperten Bernd Heinrich, at ravne husker et individ, der konsekvent plyndrer deres gemmer, hvis de fanger ham på fersk gerning. Nogle gange vil en ravn deltage i et angreb på en ubuden gæst, selvom han ikke så cachen blive raidet.
Er dette moralsk? Det synes Heinrich, at det er. Han siger om denne adfærd: "Det var en moralsk ravn, der søgte den menneskelige ækvivalent til retfærdighed, fordi den forsvarede gruppens interesser til en potentiel pris for sig selv."
I efterfølgende eksperimenter bekræftede Heinrich, at gruppeinteresser kunne drive det, en individuel ravn beslutter sig for at gøre. Ravne og mange andre dyr lever efter sociale normer, der favoriserer retfærdighed og retfærdighed.
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We who 'know' always knew the animal kindom were far more aware than the controlling factions wanted us to believe....we felt their suffering, we shared their love, we understood their unspoken language. God truly exists in all living things. Very nice article - thanks for sharing!
When I was 12 years old, my horse had a stroke and had to be put down. I looked out the window at his body, lifeless and lying in the corral. I watched as Socks, the matriarch of the barn cats, walked towards the body, followed by a single-file line of the other dozen-or-so kittens and cats. Watching from inside the house I thought, "Oh no, they're going to eat him." But I didn't interrupt. When the slow parade reached the body, the cats sat down about two feet away, in an arc, smelling and looking. After some time Socks stood up, turned around and walked back to the barn, followed in orderly procession by the others.
Even 30 years later I am touched by this memory.
This horse (Bourbon Jim was his name) had been a huge high-strung Thoroughbred, but he was gentle and considerate with the cats. Once when I came home from school I found three kittens on his back. I couldn't figure how they got up there. This kept happening until one day I saw: The little kittens, with their sharp little kitten claws, were climbing up his front legs and up over his sides to sit atop his back. Bourbon didn't even flinch.
[Hide Full Comment]Thank you for dispelling the myth we have all been told. Everything we do influences every living being. It is time we all kept ourselves conscious of this. Thank you so much!
About the same time we adopted the silver-grey kitten, Griffin, we also adopted a white rabbit, Angel. They were kit and kitten together and played all summer in the back yard. Angel was a house-rabbit. In the fall, I bunny-proofed my office for him, and put a baby-gate at the door, so he couldn't get to the rest of the house. Since I don't like the cold, Angel didn't get to go out much, but Griffin continued to play with him inside.
In the early spring, Griffin once showed up at the back door with a huge pile of leaves in his mouth, bigger than his head. He zipped right by me and took off down the hall toward my office. Griffin jumped over the gate and ran to the bunny. I was freaking out, thinking he had a mouse in his mouth along with all those leaves. But no, he just dumped the leaves on the floor in front of Angel. No mouse, thankfully. Then Griffin waited for Angel to react. I think the bunny was as confused as me. So Griffin rolled in the leaves, with his belly in the air. I could almost hear him saying: "Since you couldn’t come outside with me, I brought spring in to you." And Angel jumped in the leaves with him.
[Hide Full Comment]How lovely. Animals are the best of teachers. They live lovingly and ask so little in return. Surely there are animals in heaven. Would it be heaven if there were no animals? Perhaps all beings who are loved, animal and human with join after this life on planet earth is complete for for a magnificent heavenly reunion, and we will continue our work and play in the presence of the great I AM.
Yes Animals are intelligent and have emotional lives but that does not mean I have to love all dogs or all other animals. Some of them are simply unlovable, just like some humans. The pitbulls who killed the six year old boy coming back from school in switzerland were certainly not lovable.
It is only the arrogant among us who claim a special status for our own, based on such superficial considerations as ethnicity, culture, color of skin, gender or having a human body.
The compassionate have always known that we are all children of the same source. We are unique and different in many ways but that does not make us superior than others.
We need no scientific research to tell us this fundamental truth.
AN EXCELLENT AND VERY KNOWLEDGABLE ARTICLE WHICH HAS INDEED CHANGED THE WAY OF THINKING ABOUT ANIMALS
EDWARD
DELHI (INDIA)
I always said animals are way better then humans! Loyality, unconditional love and they never intentionally break our hearts. God sent them here so would we know good.
where are the citations/references for the scientific research?
Yes, I agree with the comment of Womanswork below: as someone who spends the majority of their time with eight companion animals, including a parrot, I can attest to the fact that they exhibit feelings of joy, sadness, insecurity, jealousy and envy, among a range of other emotions. And the best thing is, they don't hide these feelings; they're writ large for all to see, if in fact one is willing to see...it's so much better than the emotional dissembling of humans.
Oh my, if only animals could use "words" and tell us more ......perhaps then we would listen....we dont seem to hear their needs at all by their body language etc....How "dumb" are we humans really, when we dont treat our fellow creatures with more respect , love and appreciation,
I have watched my grandsons dalmation watch my grandsons shadow to see "where" he is going to throw the ball that he is hiding behind his back....I tested him 3 times couldnt believe his intelligence , how pathetic of me!!!!!!
How DO we get people to understand this about animals? I do not know. thank you for sharing all this wonderful information.....
Finally, Science is catching up to what I and many others have known forever! To think animals don't feel or think is the height of elitism
When I take my morning walks and observe nature I often think we are at the bottom of the chain. I am in awe of trees. The are so present they no longer need to move. They feed themselves from above and below and in the fall the leaves they shed create more nutrients for themselves and others.