One of my goals at More Than Money is to incorporate content from my many defunct blogs, including my favorite, which was about animal intelligence. I haven’t been doing this and it’s a shame. There’s some great stuff out there that deserves a wider audience.
For instance, I just found this video of animals feeding other animals.
I have a friend who insists all animal behavior is based on pure instinct. He can argue that if he wants, but I see no instinctual reason for a crow to feed a cat and a dog, or for the cat and the dog to let the crow feed them. To me, there’s something more going on. What? I’m not sure. But I like it.
Awesome! Thanks for sharing! I remember when you talked about that blog; I was excited about it. I’d love to know if all the animals doing the feeding were female or not. (Note; one of the cats “feeding” the dogs looked more like accidentally getting beaten to the punch – but the other one, the big fluffy cat, looked pretty deliberate.) The crow was awesome.
Just a sudden thought – maybe animals feed others (including other species) to set up a certain kind of relationship. After all, we feed animals in order to develop their dependence on us/ foster interaction and positive associations, etc.
J.D., have you ever heard of Dana Reiss? You might enjoy her research on dolphins. (Here’s a tease: http://www.ideacityonline.com/talks/diana-reiss-on-the-capabilities-of-dolphins/) I love the dolphin in the mirror :)
I do think animals are intelligent in ways we humans can’t understand.
Yes, animals are not instinct-driven robots. They have motivations far beyond basic drives.
I’ve been vegan for almost 2 decades because I realized that I don’t have to eat animals, so why should I? Better for them. Better for me.
I was once at a retreat where we took turns feeding each other pieces of fruit. Incredibly intimate and bonding- I still feel close with the people I got to know there!