Friendship between animals

Have you ever wondered how it is possible for humans to make friends with other species? Well thought, friendship between animals is a phenomenon that seems to go against naturebecause in wildlife it is easy for two species to be prey and hunter or simply competitors.

However, humans are not the only animal capable of establishing an interspecies bond. It is easy to observe it in a home, where a dog and a cat can live together and feel affection for each other. The Internet is full of videos of this nature.

You may have wondered what behavioral and brain bases underlie these situations. In this article you can find out, because you are not the only one who has had this question. Do not miss it.

Studies on friendship between species

Animals do not always prefer the company of their conspecifics. This is much easier to find among domesticated species, such as dogs and cats, than in wild animals, which does not mean that friendship has not been found between animals in nature.

Below we present some scientific studies that have delved into this issue. Thanks to them, it has been possible to isolate some variables that push members of one species to establish an emotional relationship with those of a different species.

Factors that determine friendship between non-human animals

In a 2017 study carried out in Uppsala, they tried to isolate the conditions that foster friendship between animals of different species. Through the ethological analysis of 100 videos on animal behavior in Youtube, Four common stressful events that promote interspecific treatment were isolated:

Orphanhood.Separation from mother.Unfavorable environment.Encounter with a predator.

When an animal finds itself in one of these situations, it is more likely to turn to members of other species in search of socialization and protection, especially in the case of offspring. On the other hand, The study also found four common behaviors in species that make friends:

Physical proximity. Social play. Neutral behaviors. Social bonding.

These friendships were more frequent between offspring than between adults. In nature, there is a danger that interspecific friendship may turn into competition for resources or a predator-prey relationship as the two individuals reach adulthood.

Friendship between domesticated animals

Studies on animal behavior in animal rescue sanctuaries are very useful for the topic at hand. Very varied species with a traumatic past coexist in these places. When new refugees arrive, it is common that they do not trust humans, so they usually seek to socialize with other species with which they live.

In this 2015 study, Sue Donaldson and Will Kymlicka delve into the interspecific relationships of animals rescued from various sanctuaries. In it they affirm that the domestication process of animals considered “farm” has made it easier for them to be able to communicate with humans and, therefore, have a more neutral behavior that allows them to approach other species.

Conditions for determining friendship

When it comes to species whose language we do not master, determining what a friendship is is important. Cutting it according to a human pattern can lead to misleading conclusions, so it is important to previously study the behavior of the species to be treated.

In this sense, Anthropologist Barbara J. King suggested some universal criteria for determining what a friendship is. They are the following:

The relationship must be sustained over time.It must be mutualwith both species interacting with each other. It has to occur some type of adaptation for the benefit of the relationshipwhether it is a modification in behavior or in communication between both specimens.

Some documented cases of friendship between animals

Friendship between animals of different species is not something that has been documented recently. Below, you have some curious cases:

Primatologist Barbara Smuts documented a case of friendship between her dog, Safi, and a donkey named Wister. At first, the donkey rejected Safi, but as time went by they came to understand each other and waited for each other every morning to walk and play together. Baloo, Leo and Shere Khan are a bear, a lion and a tiger who were found in a basement in a house when they were still puppies. They were taken to Noah’s Ark, a shelter for rescued animals, and since then they have been inseparable. A German family found a dying wild boar in the forest that, recovering under their care, stayed to live with them. There she struck up a friendship with her dog, finding both a perfect playmate.

As you can see, almost all of the documented cases are between animals that live together in captivity. Although cases of interspecific friendships have also been recorded in nature, experts say in this sense we still have many discoveries to make.

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