Be like the birds or in this case the bear... Inter-species cooperation is part of animal life and something that the various ethnicities of our own species can not or will not do when left to themselves (mans long history of war on one another). But yet everyday in the wild their are strange relationships unfolding and it is not due to symbiosis or vital pragmatism but seems to be for none other than comradery and friendship resulting in what appears to be altruism, a cognition thought only humans possessed. Animals in the wild must coexist with numerous species. In so doing this requires specific skill sets in order to succeed. Chiefly, an animal must be able to read the countenances and dispositions of other creatures in order to determine; mood, health, hunger, exhaustion, etc. In conjunction they must also possess enough introspection to determine that they are different from the other species around them. These are high cogntions that when left to our own ethnocentricism, determine that they can only result from the large brains of primates. Yet tool use thought only to belong to those animals with enough brain mass (ccs) or opposable digits (thumbs,) is found in other species with much smaller brains and no opposable digits such as crows. Just pause for thought... To reiterate, in order for such facets of intelligence to be applied, one must loosen such ethnocentricism and begin to behold the world in front of them as this zoo bear in Hungary just demonstrated. The bear knows this is not another bear. The bear calmly acknowledges that the crow is drowning and then methodically attempts to aid the dying creature thus extending empathy for not only a species outside of its own, but perhaps in relationship to a prior experience where the bear himself may have drowned. Bears are very smart and adaptive creatures. We love Yogi Bear for this depiction based on bears real life ingenuity in and around Yellowstone National Park. No they do not walk on hind legs and talk nor wear clothes but have demonstrated such cleverness and determination with foraging from visitors such as; opening car doors, climbing zip lines to food stashed in trees, prying open food lockers, etc. we have commemorate such bad behaviour in a beloved American classic produced by Hanabarbara. m.youtube/watch?v=IJAwXVBuxyM
Posted on: Mon, 04 Aug 2014 15:28:40 +0000
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