There are certain ideas that take root in society. No matter how many times science refutes them, they continue to work for decades. I remember when I went to school and the teacher explained to us that humans are rational and animals act on instinct. Twenty years ago and since then, a lot of evidence has been provided that animals learn from their environment and act flexibly.
But even today, there are dualistic discourses based on this simplistic idea, even in academia. They reduce animals to mere biological machines whose behavior is determined solely by genes. According to this vision, cooperation only occurs between related animals and if one individual becomes ill, it is abandoned by the rest of the group, because that’s how natural selection works. In contrast, humans are rational beings who are aware of their actions. We share values that drive us to care for hurt people even when we have no relationship with them.
Such easy-to-understand messages make us feel special and spread like a virus. Complex answers are less popular, but are often more accurate. When we use the term “animal” we refer to more than a million different species. Many of them, like sea sponges or clams, are probably just biological machines. And it’s true that many species lack the cognitive complexity and empathy to engage in certain altruistic actions. But it has been shown that humans are not the only ones on the planet helping and caring for those most in need. Chimpanzees, elephants and whales in particular are characterized by this behavior.
chimpanzees
In Gabon, chimpanzees use insects to treat other individuals’ open wounds and in Gombe have been observed using leaves to clean them. The chimpanzees living in the Taï forest adapt their behavior to the specific needs of those affected. For example, the dominant males avoid being disturbed by other members of the group and all wait for the injured to go before continuing the march. This caring is usually between relatives, but not always.
In 2011, one of the studies was published that reported in more detail on a case of helping chimpanzees in the wild. For two days, a teenager was seen helping an injured woman carry her baby. The mother could not keep up with the rest of the group and frequently stopped, leaving the child on the floor each time. The young man then picked up the baby and carried it for most of the trip. In this chimpanzee community, other males have been observed to carry cubs, but never for as long. The youth was not related to the mother.
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Finally, there are numerous reports of the adoption of orphaned infants by chimpanzees. As in humans, chimpanzee adoption involves the regular provision of maternal care, such as transportation, food delivery, defense, and grooming. Adoption by unrelated members of the group, such as young friends of the deceased mother, is common in the Taï forest.
In all of these cases, prosocial behavior improved the situation of those in need, accelerated their healing, and enabled them to keep up with the group or survive without the care of a mother. This enables chimpanzees to understand the situation of other people in need and to flexibly provide appropriate help.
elephants
A remarkable number of stories are known about elephants helping those around them in need. In most cases, these are mothers and nurses trying to lift a sick calf, help it cross a river, or rescue it from the mud. However, there are also cases when help takes place between unrelated people and even strangers.
An article published in 2006 details the events surrounding the collapse and subsequent death of a matriarch named Eleonor. Two minutes after hitting the ground, another matriarch rushed in from outside the family with some excitement. First he sniffed and touched the body with his trunk and foot, then used his fangs to lift Eleanor back to her feet. The matriarch died the next day and her body was visited by several different groups of elephants.
Veterinarians who stun wild animals know very well what happens when they throw a dart at an elephant. As Harthoorn described in 1970: “Suddenly there was an indescribable tumult of screeching and trumpeting animals. The immobilized young animal was repeatedly lifted by the tusks of the big old cows until after two hours it began to get up again and was finally herded into the forest.
A recent study suggests that elephants, like humans, have domesticated themselves. For this reason, despite the fact that our evolutionary lineages diverged when the first placental mammals appeared, we share many common traits: pronounced prosocial behavior, reduced aggressiveness, long youth, or a complex communication system.
whales
Whales are characterized by high cognitive and communication skills that enable them to form and maintain close social relationships. In particular, dolphins are known for their propensity to help others in different ways, being flexible in adapting their help to the situation at hand:
They free individuals caught in fishing nets, keep sick ones properly close to the surface to prevent them from drowning, stay close to a calving female, stand between a boat and an injured conspecific to prevent them collide, and they even work together to form a raft to transport a paralyzed person.
There are also anecdotes about whales helping other species. On one occasion, two dolphins were observed taking turns holding a newborn porpoise at the surface. Humpback whales harass killer whales that hunt other species, putting their own health at risk as killer whales often attack them if they try to disrupt their hunt.
It is likely that as we continue to observe wild animals, we will discover more altruistic behaviors in more species. However, it is not right to fall for the cliché that animals are better than humans. Again, this is a simplistic idea that does not do justice to reality and separates us from nature. Chimpanzees also kill other individuals and there is a known case of a bottlenose dolphin that, instead of helping a female who was sending out distress signals, decided to abandon her.
Man is another animal in the natural diversity. We are not better, worse or more special. Like every human being, we have unique idiosyncrasies, but reason, empathy, and altruism are not unique to us.
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