Mynd eftir Ginger Me
Það er erfitt að greina vandræði. Samkvæmt skilgreiningu er það tilfinning sem maður reynir að fela. En heimsfræga prímatologinn Jane Goodall telur sig hafa tekið eftir því sem mætti kalla vandræði hjá simpönsum.
Fifi var kvenkyns simpansi sem Jane þekkti í meira en 40 ár. Þegar elsta barn Fifi, Freud, var fimm og hálfs árs gamall, var frændi hans, bróðir Fifi, Figan, alfa-karl simpansasamfélagsins. Freud fylgdi Figan alltaf eins og hann tilbað stóra karldýrið.
Einu sinni, þegar Fifi var að snyrta Figan, klifraði Freud upp mjóan stilk villtrar plantains. Þegar hann náði laufkrúnunni fór hann að vagga sér villt fram og til baka. Hefði hann verið mannsbarn hefðum við sagt að hann væri að stæra sig. Skyndilega brotnaði stilkurinn og Freud steyptist ofan í háa grasið. Hann meiddist ekki. Hann lenti nálægt Jane og þegar höfuð hans kom upp úr grasinu sá hún hann líta á Figan. Hafði hann tekið eftir því? Ef svo var, þá gaf hann engan gaum heldur hélt áfram að snyrta sig. Freud klifraði mjög hljóðlega upp í annað tré og byrjaði að nærast.
Sálfræðingurinn Marc Hauser við Harvard-háskóla tók eftir því sem mætti kalla vandræðaleika hjá karlkyns rhesusapa. Eftir að hafa parast við kvenkyns apa, hljóp karlinn í burtu og féll óvart ofan í skurð. Hann stóð upp og leit fljótt í kringum sig. Eftir að hafa fundið fyrir því að engir aðrir apar sáu hann detta, gekk hann af stað, með bakið hátt uppi, höfuð og hala uppi, eins og ekkert hefði í skorist.
Dýrabjörgun: Samúð með þeim sem þurfa á því að halda
Sögur af dýrum sem bjarga meðlimum eigin tegunda og annarra tegunda, þar á meðal manna, eru ótaldar. Þær sýna hvernig einstaklingar af mismunandi tegundum sýna samúð og samkennd með þeim sem þurfa á því að halda.
Í Torquay í Ástralíu, eftir að kengúrumóðir varð fyrir bíl, fann hundur ungan kengúru í poka sínum og fór með hann til eiganda síns sem annaðist ungan. Tíu ára gamli hundurinn og fjögurra mánaða gamli kengúran urðu að lokum bestu vinir.
Mynd eftir Flickker Photos
Á strönd á Nýja-Sjálandi kom höfrungur tveimur dvergbúrhvölum til bjargar sem höfðu strandað á bak við sandrif. Eftir að fólk reyndi án árangurs að fá hvalina niður á dýpra vatn birtist höfrungurinn og hvalirnir tveir fylgdu honum aftur út í hafið.
Hundar eru einnig þekktir fyrir að hjálpa þeim sem þurfa á því að halda. Týndur pitbull-hundur braut upp tilraun til ráns á konu sem var að fara af leiksvæði með syni sínum í Port Charlotte í Flórída. Dýraverndunarfulltrúi sagði að það væri ljóst að hundurinn væri að reyna að verja konuna, sem hann þekkti ekki. Og fyrir utan Buenos Aires í Argentínu bjargaði hundur yfirgefnu barni með því að koma því fyrir á öruggan stað meðal nýfæddra hvolpa sinna. Ótrúlegt en satt bar hundurinn barnið um 45 metra þangað sem hvolparnir hennar lágu eftir að hafa fundið barnið hulið tusku á túni.
Hrafnsréttlæti?
Í bók sinni, Mind of the Raven , benti líffræðingurinn og hrafnasérfræðingurinn Bernd Heinrich á að hrafnar muni eftir einstaklingi sem ræðst stöðugt á birgðir þeirra ef þeir ná honum að verki. Stundum tekur hrafn þátt í árás á óboðinn gest jafnvel þótt hann hafi ekki séð að birgðir voru ræddar.
Er þetta siðferðilegt? Heinrich virðist halda að svo sé. Hann segir um þessa hegðun: „Þetta var siðferðislegur hrafn sem leitaði mannlegs jafngildis réttlætis, því hún varði hagsmuni hópsins hugsanlega á kostnað sjálfs sín.“
Í síðari tilraunum staðfesti Heinrich að hagsmunir hópa gætu ráðið því hvað einstakir hrafnar ákveða að gera. Hrafnar og mörg önnur dýr lifa eftir félagslegum viðmiðum sem styðja sanngirni og réttlæti.
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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.