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https://english.elpais.com/science-tech/2024-02-24/the-taboo-of-animal-friendship-an-evolutionary-advantage-not-exclusive-to-humans.html>
"Hare and Ellington were two old males living in Kibale National Park in
Uganda. They were not related, but they made a good team. After a hunt,
Ellington would extend an arm, a common gesture for chimpanzees to ask for
food, and Hare would give him a piece of his meat. They spent days moving
through the forest together and, when separated, maintained contact through
loud vocalizations. When Ellington died, Hare changed suddenly and isolated
himself away from the group for weeks, as if he needed to mourn.
A few years later, on the other side of the world in Sarasota Bay, Florida,
dolphins also showed their affinity for each other. A 58-year-old female named
Nicklo used to hunt near the shore, in a shallow area where schools of fish
abound. One day, she was accompanied by another old female to whom she was not
related. Between the two of them, they grouped the fish and stunned them with
their tails to eat them. This caught the researchers’ attention, as they rarely
saw female dolphins hunting together. However, for Nicklo and her partner this
became routine. They might simply have a working relationship, but they were
often seen swimming together in other areas, as if they were simply out for a
stroll.
Charismatic animals like dolphins and chimpanzees offer anecdotes about
friendship that move us and become popular. However, these species were not the
ones that made the scientific community decide to use the label “friendship” in
studies on animal social relationships."
Via Bonobo and Muse.
Share and enjoy,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
