Social Behavior in the Animal Kingdom
A
very common and adorable saying is 'Monkey see, monkey do.' After watching BBC’s
'The Life of Mammals' hosted by David Attenborough, I came to realize that
there were a lot of truths to it. The survival of several species have relied
on the knowledge that has been passed down from generation to generations, the
example in the documentary (that was focused on different species of monkeys) is
the acquired clam-cracking technique and the application to their bodies of a
certain plant that acts a mosquito repellent. This can also be seen in animals
such as meerkats and bees which exercise a hierarchical relationship and
definite roles in their community (Andersen). Even we human beings have reached
enormous feats by learning from our predecessors. From taming beasts to
altering our environment and manipulating genes, we cannot deny the fact how
man has drastically progressed over time. However, one of the basic
prerequisites for such means of survival to arise is socialization. In such a
case wherein animals were to live individually instead of groups, they would
not be able to observe nor acquire the knowledge to survive from others. A more
specific vital trait from which socialization may arise is cooperation.
Social
behavior, more specifically cooperation with the same species is a common characteristic
with other known life forms here on earth. One such example is an experiment involving
two captive capuchins that exhausted the available materials to get food and
then shared the bounty with each other (Moreno). In the animal kingdom, the
chances of survival in this mutual relationship is more likely to increase
rather than approaching survival individually.
There
is strength in numbers if you think about it, one may perhaps observe that the
raw physiological characteristics of the human is no match for other species
such as lions and bears. What may have been one among our early advantages as
human beings to other species, is our concept of socialization with other
humans. Accompanied with our creativity and ingenuity in manipulating our
environment, today we are among the most successful species in the Animal Kingdom.
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Submitted By: Jamaica L. Zoleta
Submitted To: Prof. Juned Sonido
Subject: STS X2
Group 11
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