The Mind behind the Wild
Behind the scales, fur, and wings, animals have something extraordinary: compassion and intelligence. Believe it or not, the wildlife that surround us have remarkable minds.
Consciously or subconsciously, our bodies work based on two major elements: our cognitive ability and our emotional intelligence. These two factors together influence everything we do; but what exactly are they? Let’s start with our cognitive ability, it refers to the skills related to the mind, which control and help complete necessary daily tasks, like reading, writing, and thinking. Our cognitive ability is naturally present in the brain, in contrast to our emotional intelligence. Our emotional intelligence is our capacity to reflect and manage our own emotions as well as those who surround us. Due to several factors, namely our environment, biological makeup, personal experiences and more, the emotional intelligence of each individual varies.
Animals depend on communication, their own memory and even maths. In the wild, animals like dolphins and bats rely on echolocation (finding their way by producing sound waves which echo when reflected off an object). Research has shown that bats use echolocation with an accuracy of about 95%, making them one of the most proficient navigators in the animal kingdom. This is similar to the human technique of SONAR used for navigation. A study in the early 1900s involved a horse named Hans who could perform basic maths by stomping his hooves the appropriate amount of times. Finding food, and avoiding predators can also be done by communicating with the surrounding animals, for example, the bees’ waggle dance to indicate the location of nectar. Researchers estimate that the waggle dance can communicate distances of up to 13 kilometers to other bees.
Not only this, but animals tend to foster remarkable emotional capacity, both positive and negative. This includes empathy, social connections, joy and grief, as well as stress and coping mechanisms. Several cases have been reported of aquatic wildlife like dolphins and orcas developing depression once held in captivity. Several dolphins have even tried to commit suicide by refusing to eat, and banging their bodies on the glass in zoos and wildlife exhibitions. This is because their amygdala is developed to an extent of humans, allowing them to feel their emotions to the same or even a higher extent than humans.Research suggests that the dolphin brain is 40% larger than the human brain in relation to body size, and they have a complex limbic system similar to that of humans. This makes these creatures brilliantly aware of exactly what they are doing.
However, this is not good. It often creates a hierarchical competition between these animals, and can create a social status too, mimicking that of humans. Violent behaviour is often common in dolphins, contrary to popular belief, where they can kill animals in the wild when bored. For males this can be due to the high amounts of testosterone present in their bodies, especially during mating season, or social stress due to dynamics in their pods. In fact, studies have shown that male dolphins are often involved in violent interactions, with up to 30% of dolphin deaths attributed to inter-species aggression. When competing for food, inter-species violence and aggression is common, making the phrase “survival of the fittest” a bit too literal. Infanticide is a common practice with mothers like spiders, salmon, polar bears, hamsters and more often eating or killing their new born children. This is due to several factors like scarcity of food in their environment, stress or etc. In polar bears, researchers have documented over 30% of newborn cubs being killed by their mothers under extreme environmental stress.
On the other hand, some animals like dogs and horses are overly sensitive, trusting and loyal to their owners. This is due to oxytocin present in their bodies, which is a type of neuropeptide produced in the hypothalamus and secreted into the bloodstream through the pituitary gland. According to a 2015 study, dogs show a 300% increase in oxytocin levels after interacting with their human caregivers. This majorly influences the physiological and behavioural responses of these animals, increasing trust, loyalty and overall positive responses.
This discovery of the emotions, however, evokes a dilemma. Is it right to keep animals in a zoo if they are “self-aware”? Is it just us humans controlling the voiceless? In some cases, zoos often provide a safe space for animals without having to worry about feeding not only their children but themselves too, which is especially necessary if the animals are newly postpartum, pregnant, or injured. Not only that, but it also fosters research taken in a healthy manner by interacting with the animals, rather than killing the animals. It also develops a skill in them for adapting to human interaction.
Sometimes however, human interaction can be harmful, like in the case of Tilikum the captive Orca who killed its trainer. This poses ethical issues as why would a happy orca behave so violently? Along with the millions of cases worldwide where zoos have been accused of mistreatment, forced breeding, malnourishment, and mental torture of the animals. Zoos also completely make the animal inept, by spoon-feeding it (quite literally sometimes) and making it unable to fend for itself if ever released in the wild. In a 2018 study, it was found that over 75% of captive orcas suffer from dorsal fin collapse, a condition that occurs in 0% of orcas in the wild. In my opinion, zoos aren’t a good idea, now or ever, because a chance of mistreatment of animals is worse than letting it live in its natural environment.
With all this being said, how much does the general public know about any of this? I’m sure we all have our “favourite” animals like a furry dog or cuddly koala and the “creepy” ones like an octopus or that spider lurking in your room. Unbeknownst to us however, what we watch and read severely affects this. Documentaries like “My Octopus Teacher” and “Planet Earth” – a show with over 250 million viewers – have shown a deeper perspective to the animals, something we could never imagine. It highlights their intelligence and thinking by showing them in the wild, rather than orchestrated shows put on by trainers. Animal narrators in books like “Charlotte’s Web” and “The Call of the Wild” often do the same, playing with the reader’s heartstrings by portraying the animal as a unique individual rather than just one in the masses.
Animals are like humans while being completely extraordinary in their own way, and if not anything, we should at least respect them and try to co-exist with them in their own way. After all, they have emotions too.
Citations:
https://ca.indeed.com/career-advice/career-development/cognitive-ability
https://www.nature.com/scitable/knowledge/library/animal-cognition-96639212/
https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/echolocation
https://www.ams.usda.gov/sites/default/files/media/Oxytocin%20TR%202005.pdf