Photo de Ginger Me
La gêne est difficile à observer. Par définition, c'est un sentiment que l'on cherche à dissimuler. Mais la primatologue de renommée mondiale Jane Goodall pense avoir observé ce que l'on pourrait appeler de la gêne chez les chimpanzés.
Fifi était une femelle chimpanzé que Jane connaissait depuis plus de 40 ans. Lorsque Freud, l'aîné de ses enfants, avait cinq ans et demi, son oncle, Figan, le frère de Fifi, était le mâle alpha de leur communauté de chimpanzés. Freud suivait toujours Figan comme s'il vénérait le grand mâle.
Un jour, tandis que Fifi pansait Figan, Freud grimpa sur la fine tige d'un plantain sauvage. Arrivé à la cime feuillue, il se mit à se balancer sauvagement. S'il avait été un enfant, on aurait dit qu'il frimait. Soudain, la tige se brisa et Freud s'écroula dans les hautes herbes. Il ne fut pas blessé. Il atterrit près de Jane, et, tandis que sa tête émergeait de l'herbe, elle le vit regarder Figan. L'avait-il remarqué ? Si oui, il n'y prêta pas attention et continua à se faire panser. Freud grimpa discrètement à un autre arbre et commença à se nourrir.
Marc Hauser, psychologue à l'Université Harvard, a observé ce que l'on pourrait appeler la gêne chez un singe rhésus mâle. Après s'être accouplé avec une femelle, le mâle s'est pavané et est tombé accidentellement dans un fossé. Il s'est relevé et a rapidement regardé autour de lui. Voyant qu'aucun autre singe ne l'avait vu tomber, il s'est éloigné, le dos haut, la tête et la queue relevées, comme si de rien n'était.
Sauvetage d'animaux : compassion pour ceux qui en ont besoin
Les histoires d'animaux secourant des membres de leur propre espèce et d'autres espèces, y compris les humains, abondent. Elles montrent comment des individus de différentes espèces font preuve de compassion et d'empathie envers ceux qui en ont besoin.
À Torquay, en Australie, après qu'une mère kangourou a été heurtée par une voiture, un chien a découvert un bébé kangourou dans sa poche et l'a apporté à son maître, qui s'est occupé du petit. La chienne de 10 ans et le petit de 4 mois sont finalement devenus les meilleurs amis du monde.
Photo de Flickker Photos
Sur une plage de Nouvelle-Zélande, un dauphin est venu au secours de deux cachalots pygmées échoués derrière un banc de sable. Après avoir tenté en vain de les ramener en eau plus profonde, le dauphin est apparu et les deux baleines l'ont suivi jusqu'à l'océan.
Les chiens sont également connus pour aider les personnes dans le besoin. Un pitbull égaré a déjoué une tentative d'agression contre une femme quittant une aire de jeux avec son fils à Port Charlotte, en Floride. Un agent de contrôle animalier a déclaré que le chien cherchait manifestement à défendre la femme, qu'il ne connaissait pas. Près de Buenos Aires, en Argentine, une chienne a secouru un bébé abandonné en le plaçant en sécurité parmi ses propres chiots nouveau-nés. Étonnamment, la chienne a porté le bébé sur environ 45 mètres jusqu'à l'endroit où ses chiots gisaient après l'avoir découvert recouvert d'un chiffon dans un champ.
Raven Justice ?
Dans son livre « L'Esprit du Corbeau » , le biologiste et spécialiste des corbeaux Bernd Heinrich a observé que les corbeaux se souviennent d'un individu qui pille régulièrement leurs caches s'ils le prennent en flagrant délit. Il arrive qu'un corbeau se joigne à une attaque contre un intrus, même s'il n'a pas vu la cache pillée.
Est-ce moral ? Heinrich semble le penser. Il dit de ce comportement : « C'était un corbeau moral en quête de justice humaine, car il défendait les intérêts du groupe au prix de ses propres pertes. »
Lors d'expériences ultérieures, Heinrich a confirmé que les intérêts du groupe pouvaient influencer les décisions d'un corbeau. Les corbeaux, comme de nombreux autres animaux, vivent selon des normes sociales qui privilégient l'équité et la justice.
COMMUNITY REFLECTIONS
SHARE YOUR REFLECTION
14 PAST RESPONSES
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.