Do Animals Have Self-Awareness?

I'm almost embarrassed to write a post on this subject. I mean, it seems ridiculous to me to even ask the question, "are animals self-aware?" But the question does not go away. Some people cling desperately to the notion that animals blunder through life with no real consciousness.

Some will go so far as to question whether humans have consciousness. Not current humans of course, but Julian Jaynes made a big splash with his book, "The Origin of Consciousness in the Breakdown of the Bicameral Mind". Basically, he says that ancient people (up to only about 3000 years ago) could not think as we do today and were therefore not conscious. Some sort of catastrophe is supposed to have forced mankind to learn consciousness, so therefore consciousness itself is a product of human history and culture, and only originates from the human brain's left side. He says that prior to this breakthrough, humans lived in a hallucinatory state.

And this book is taken seriously. Is it any wonder that the question of animal consciousness persists?

I ask one simple question: If animals are not self-aware, why does a predator hide from, and stalk, his prey?

And the scientific community is not ruled by Jaynesian thought. In the March 2008 issue of National Geographic Magazine, Virginia Morell wrote this on the subject of animals imitating others:

Although imitation was once regarded as a simple-minded skill, in recent years cognitive scientists have revealed that it's extremely difficult, requiring the imitator to form a mental image of the other person's body and pose, then adjust his own body parts into the same position -- actions that imply an awareness of one's self.

Good point.

Parlez-Vous Bunny?

Consequences of people not recognizing animals' intelligence are often seen in domestic animals. Because animals are not merely instinct-driven, but have to learn just like humans do, problems in socialization can occur if their needs aren't respected, both in terms of socialization to humans and socialization to others of their own kind.

Here's an article from The Friends of Rabbits that describes the socialization process between two rabbits when they are introduced to each other.

The article says,

Because we humans isolate rabbits to make them our companions, many have a limited vocabulary for social interaction. They simply do not know what to do when they meet another rabbit, having been removed from all members of their own species at infancy. They have had no one with whom to converse in their native language. I often wonder what an adult rabbit is feeling as he re-encounters another of his kind after such separation and loss. Were a human to experience this, his story would be a most poignant tale. Rabbits who have had, and then lost, a partner -- our widows and widowers -- have a much greater social repertoire at the outset of a new relationship.

Rabbits whose initial instincts drive them to chase and mount eventually learn to interact face to face. Their partner teaches them, using the materials at hand and her own ingenuity.

The article goes on to describe the initial interactions of a male and female rabbit. The male had been confined alone in an outdoor hutch for six years. I don't know what his previous owners could possibly have been thinking... but fortunately there are people like The Friends of Rabbits who pay attention.

The Lion Whisperer

Kevin Richardson is an animal expert who has such an intimate bond with lions that he can spend the night curled up with them without the slightest fear of attack. Cheetahs, leopards, and even unpredictable hyenas also hold no threats for him.

He lavishes them with unconditional love, he says, treating each individual differently, speaking to them, caressing them and above all, treating them with respect.

In other words, he's paying attention to each and every animal as an individual. And they do the same to him.

Here's a short and touching video. Also check out the pictures of him with lions on this page: http://www.dailymail.co.uk.

now... wee paws for a commercial

Back in stock at our Kimba Shop is the Kimba Mini Set: 5 DVDs with the first 26 episodes from the Kimba series, with the original soundtracks, all beautifully restored from the original films. We also have the Kimba Ultra Edition DVD set, 11 DVDs with all 52 episodes, all original and restored, with great extras like deleted scenes and the first episode in Japanese with English subtitles.

And don't forget the Lost Kimba Episode: the first version of the first Kimba episode, with the original soundtrack that was later pulled from TV and replaced with a different performance by the same actors.

Myths

In his book, The Emperor's Embrace, Jeffrey Moussaieff Masson paints a beautiful picture of family life among wolves. He tells how a male wolf, returning from the hunt, brings food for his mate and cubs. The male wolf licks the young, cleaning them thoroughly, guards the den and protects the cubs, and when the cubs are old enough, he teaches them what they need to know in life. Wolves have to be taught how to hunt; it is not "instinctive". They need to learn rules, they need to be socialized, and both parents take part in this.

Masson says that if he had to characterize the essence of a wolf pack in just one phrase, it would be "the joy of being together".

Masson arrived at his conclusions through first-hand observation. Because of his reputation in regard to animals, he was offered the opportunity to meet a tame, socialized wolf face-to-face. But when the time actually came to go into the enclosure, he was filled with fear. He knew that there has never been a wolf attack on a human, he knew this wolf was used to people. But he says that the myths about wolves that are ingrained into us by our society took control of him. The subtle, ever-present conditioning of our society still had him in its grip.

That's why I emphasize how important it is to actually pay attention to animals. The myths concerning them are strong; they underlie every aspect of our society.

Descartes created one of the most damaging myths of all time with his concept of "biological machines". Simple observation proves the lie of that myth, but it persists, especially in the sciences, and it provides the basic principles of behaviorism.

Some religions indoctrinate people with the idea that animals are soulless things, provided for whatever use humans want to make of them.

And there are animal-specific myths; some of the worst involve wolves. A lot of truth has been written about wolves, even in popular literature (Farley Mowat comes to mind) and yet those myths persist, and continue to do damage.

That's why it is so important for animals that all people should be able to have contact with animals. First-hand observation is necessary to dispel the lies that we all have heard from the time we were born. The truth is not only out there, it is right in front of our eyes, if we have the opportunity to see it, and the sense to pay attention.

A cat's practical joke, and the dog that laughed.

Where I used to live, we had rowhouses: Small houses, 15 feet wide, connected side by side. The back yards were the same and the fences were all made of wire, so you could stand in your back yard and see everyone else's back yards on that block.

To the right of us, the people had a Doberman Pinscher, Duke, who they kept in the back yard all the time. Fortunately for us, he was very friendly. In fact, he and our cat, Houdini, were best friends. Duke would whine at our back door for Houdini to come outside. Duke gave Houdini big wet kisses and Houdini loved it.

Houdini was a big gray and white tuxedo cat, who loved everybody. All the world was full of friends, from Houdini's point of view.

Two houses to the left, they had a cluster of Chihuahuas. It was hard to tell how many they had, because they were always jumping up and down, yapping and yipping. You could say they hadn't been very well socialized -- and the owner's behavior supported that notion. Any time you were outside, if the Chihuahuas were too, you couldn't hear yourself think for all the noise they made.

One day, when all the animals were outside, Houdini gave Duke a "watch this" kind of look, then Houdini went to the side of the yard closest to the Chihuahuas. He put on quite a show for them, rolling and twisting on his back. The Chihuahuas went wild, creating a yipping yapping ruckus that even outdid their usual standards. In a minute, their owner appeared at the back door, and threw a bucket of water on the Chihuahuas. Immediately, Houdini's head whipped around to look at Duke.

And I will always swear that Duke laughed, just as plain as anyone.

Lighten Up

Time for some fun with some smart animals.

Grief

I just heard from a friend that her big 14-year-old dog died this past weekend. I know he meant a lot to her and she is very distraught over his death. I know what that's like; I lost my big 14-year-old cat, Spike, this past December.

Spike was my buddy. He was always there, close at hand. He was not cuddly; he did not like to be held and did not like to lay on anyone's lap. But for the longest time he had what we called "the 10 o'clock purries": he came downstairs every night purring loudly and wanted lots of petting. And he would lay next to me when I worked on the computer so that I could reach out and touch him. He went to bed with me every night and came in to greet me every morning. He was a friend. I could talk to him. He was mouthy and opinionated. At the same time he respected us and we respected him, and we had a give and take that was a real friendship. I almost never had to yell at him; he knew the rules and when he decided to push the envelope a simple word would be enough to let him know if I disapproved.

Spike wanted to possess everything new that came into the house. It was just a reflection of how connected he was, how interested he was in everything.

I could call out to him whenever he was near, "Right, Spike?" And he would answer "eOW!" It was silly, but we liked it.

Spike was larger than life. I miss him so much.

When one of our animals dies, we hold a viewing for the benefit of the others. They do understand death, they do grieve, and it's important for them to have this last look at their companion. I think it would be cruel if the last thing they saw of Spike were to be him being put into a carrier for a trip to the vet.

And animals have a good outlook on life, too: Do what you can to be happy now. You can miss your old friend and still have fun with your friends that are still with you. For a month after Spike's death, all I wanted to do was hide from life. I'm so grateful to our kittens for prodding me to be happy again.

Kinship With ALL Life

If anyone out there is reading this blog, he or she may have noticed that I have not posted any stories involving monkeys or apes. That's because I want to convey the idea that ALL life is intelligent. The way I see it, the stumbling block is that the expression of that intelligence is not always recognized. It's easy to see human-like actions in monkeys; even the most die-hard of those who say animals have no ability to think can see human-like responses in monkeys. The more an animal resembles us, the easier it is to think of it as being like us. And even that principle applies across species lines, as this video will show (sorry I can't embed it on this page): http://abc.go.com/primetime/afv/index?pn=player&itemId=363758

Among the people I've heard of, the one who went the farthest in establishing a rapport with dissimilar species is J. Allen Boone, author of "Kinship with All Life".

Surprisingly (well, I was surprised to learn this) Mr. Boone was a movie producer and at one time head of RKO Pictures, not a naturalist or other professional studier of animals. His journey into his kinship with all life began when he found himself caretaker of Strongheart, the first major canine star and for a while the biggest-grossing star in Hollywood. Boone started out with the basic assumption that Strongheart was just a well-trained dog. But Boone was a great observer, and realized that Strongheart was not merely the product of training. He came to the conclusion that Strongheart was more than a dog with a quick mind, more than a dog with a human mind--he was not a dog expressing great qualities, but rather great qualities expressing a dog. Now there's a deep thought.

As a result of really paying attention to Strongheart, Boone claimed to have discovered true communication with animals. When he went to Africa for location shooting for a movie, he refused to carry a gun because he believed that all the animals would be friendly because his approach to them was friendly. Boone said, "For those who know it and practice it, there is an inter-relating oneness between man and animal. I have to be right myself, mentally, to experience it."

His book, "Kinship with All Life", ends with his description of his lasting, mutually responsive relationship with a housefly. That is pretty amazing.

That sort of communication is what I hope one day to achieve. It's what I hope one day all humanity will achieve. The process starts with knowing it is possible.

And now...Octopuses!

A couple of days ago I mentioned that if cats are bored, they will withdraw into themselves. Boredom is a sign of intelligence; a mind needs stimulation. Here's a story from the Washington Post that informs us that octupuses --yes, invertebrates-- also get bored in artificial environments.

Experts are willing to allow all sorts of indications of intelligence in octopuses: play, sense of humor, personality. My favorite anecdote in that newspaper story is: "...the octopus who, in a lab in Pennsylvania, was served slightly spoiled shrimp. The octopus refused to finish its dinner, and when the researcher returned to its tank, the octopus made eye contact with her, then meaningfully pushed all the shrimp down the drain." You tell her, octopus!

And it is well known that octopuses can perform tasks even some humans can't: not merely opening bottles, but opening child-proof caps. Here's a video, even though it doesn't involve a child-proof cap...