A huge variety of living creatures live on our planet, a total of about 2 million species. They can be found everywhere: in the soil or on its surface, in the air or in the water, and each of them has its own unique properties.
The concept of "social animals"
The highest species in the animal world are mammals and birds. By the way they interact with each other within the population of their species, they can be classified as solitary animals or those that are able to organize themselves into permanent groups.
Those who have a fairly high level of organization are called "social animals".
Ethologists study the group and territorial behavior of mammals and birds in their habitat. Natural observation of them is the main method of the science of ethology, which arose at the intersection of zoology, biology and comparative psychology.
Important to know: you should not confuse the accumulations of animals thatare formed under the influence of external factors, for example, a fire in the forest or migration due to lack of food, with a social group.
Loners in the animal kingdom
Representatives of the animal world, who only during the mating season contact with individuals of the opposite sex for procreation, are living alone animals. Some of them continue to maintain contact with each other also while caring for the growing offspring.
Despite this, they cannot be classified as animals from social groups. Representatives of the cat family are the most famous example of animals that spend most of their lives alone. The only exception in this case are the families of lions - the so-called prides.
All members of the family tend to live in relatively well-defined areas large enough to serve as year-round hunting grounds.
Social relations among animals
Under the social interaction of animals within a population of the same species, we mean such behavior of individuals that provides each of them individually with a chance for survival. With a single existence, there is no such possibility.
Although there are no strict limits in nature that would keep certain types of social animals in a group on a permanent basis. Groups can both unite and break up. It is customary to divide such communities depending on the relationship of their representatives to each other within the structure into:
- Customized.
- Aggressive.
- Ritual.
- Structured.
Let's take a closer look at each of these social animal societies.
Individual distancing
In these social groups of animals, each individual has a personal space that is not recommended to be violated even by relatives from the same litter. The struggle, albeit for a small, but personal territory, is carried out very aggressively, but as soon as an external danger appears, a flock either unites to fight back together, or all in a crowd takes to their heels.
A typical example of social animals in an individual community is artiodactyls in Africa. Antelopes and other species of this class of mammals form herds to make it easier to survive. Within the community, they create cells, for example, females with cubs, single males, etc., but at the same time they keep a distance from each other, not knowing all the representatives of the herd, which is called "by sight".
If we consider the social needs of animals in these herds, they remain at the level of survival instinct. For example, if a nervous zebra senses danger and takes flight, not only the individuals of its herd, but also the antelopes and other animals grazing nearby rush after it. The herd instinct works, for a while everyone forgets about individual space, since the law of survival is in priority. But it is worth the danger, imaginary or obvious, to pass, as everyone becomes for himself.
Aggression
The social behavior of animals ina community based on the aggressive leadership of one individual and the subordination of the rest, is distinguished not only by cohesion, but also by the knowledge of its members of each other. As a rule, in such groups of two or more animals, more often it is a male and several females. The most striking example of an aggressive type of community are lion prides, in which young males are expelled by their father in order for the latter to retain leadership.
Such groups have their own territory, which the male zealously defends from rivals, and if the female can cling to such a group and become part of the pride, then the males will have to fight for the right to hunt or mate with her representatives.
Ritual aggression
Not every animal community based on aggression has a "attack and hit" rule. There are species of social animals that, instead of a tough rebuff to rivals, demonstrate frightening behavior, as if showing what awaits the latter if they decide to violate other people's borders.
Everyone knows that dogs bare their mouths as a deterrent, showing their fangs. Moreover, such a demonstration is understandable not only to a representative of their species, but also to other animals. A person will try to bypass a dog that has bared its mouth, and dogs that are not part of the pack will do the same. Such a threat does not apply to females, although an overly aggressive male can show them who is the boss in this territory.
Similar ritual intimidation is characteristic of many mammals (primates grin, people stand in a fighting pose),birds and snakes (for example, a cobra puffs up its hood, and a symbol of peace, a dove “inflates” its chest).
Structured Communities
Social animals united in such a group are forced from childhood to demonstrate their superiority over their peers. According to the basic rule of survival in a hierarchical society, the strongest wins. That is why in such communities fights are “encouraged” among the young, finding out who has bigger horns, sharper teeth, stronger muscles, longer beaks, etc.
Weak individuals will be forced to obey stronger relatives, even if they are "brothers and sisters" from the same litter. In a hierarchical society, everyone knows their place, and natural selection is most noticeable in it. On the one hand, the death of the representatives of the pack from fellow tribesmen is obvious, on the other hand, strong and he althy individuals predominate in the population, which has a positive effect on the spread of the species and an increase in its population.
Let's take a closer look at some of the most famous social animal species.
Canine communities
Although dogs and wolves belong to the same family, their behavior differs significantly. Social groups (packs) of both are more or less close-knit families that secure a certain territory and know “their” members very well. However, recently scientists from Austria, having conducted an experiment with packs of dogs and wolves, determined what this difference is:
- Relationships in the dog community are always authoritarian, based on the principle"the leader (alpha male) ordered, everyone obeyed." This is most noticeable when feeding animals. While the leader of the dog pack is eating, none of its members dare even come close to the food. In the wolf community, everything is different. If the pack drove the animal, then the alpha male will allow all its members to eat at the same time, or determine the priority of feeding, for example, pregnant she-wolves or puppies can start the meal first.
- When looking for food, dogs always rely on their leader, preferring to obey whichever way he runs, even if the direction is wrong. In the wolf community, there is the concept of an "advisory committee" in which each member of the pack can "speak out". The final decision is made by the leader, while he is guided by the opinion of the majority.
Such seemingly minor differences allow us to determine the type of community inherent in each of the species, and to conclude that wolves are more social individuals. Although they unite in packs, all members are equal.
Elephants
These animals are characterized by association in structured communities. They are dominated by older and more experienced female elephants, who are literally a link between males, young animals, babies and representatives of other clans and families.
These social animals, like humans, primates, and dolphins consciously identify their reflection with themselves, which indicates their high level of development and ability to experience emotions.
In nature, elephant communities of more than 15 individuals are rare. As soon as the group grows too large, fromgrown females separate from it to organize their own family unit.
The life of these animals is devoted to simple "joys": females want to give birth and raise offspring, males want to be leaders and have the right to mate. Unfortunately, even in the 21st century, these giants are threatened with extinction due to human greed and cruelty. In many countries, social projects have been created and are successfully working to protect these animals, for example, World Elephant Day, which is usually celebrated on September 22.
Dolphins
These animals have been loved at all times, they were worshiped, attributed a divine origin and considered as smart as people. Probably, the last statement is due to the fact that dolphins are not just social animals that unite in flock communities, but also know how to communicate through sounds and signals, which, you see, is a rarity in the animal world.
The language of dolphins is rich and varied. More than one generation of scientists devoted their lives to its study. Until now, research is underway on exactly how these sea animals communicate and at what distances, because they have words, phrases, whistles, syllables in their arsenal, from which they create whole sentences and even paragraphs.
Scientists have found that dolphin communities are very similar to human settlements, limited by territory. For example, if a flock occupies a small area, then its members know each other "by sight", as is the case among people living in villages and small towns.
Dolphins are trainable (not to be confused withtraining), which indicates the high organization of their brain. With the help of computers, people today are trying to translate the sounds they make into waves and words in order to learn how to understand and talk to them.
Higher primates
The social life of primates is based on hierarchical relationships, in which the alpha male is both a protector, an organizer, and a “father”. The leader decides where to eat, where to sleep, where to go.
The hierarchy in monkey communities is built vertically and those at the very bottom of it are the disenfranchised and the most deprived of its members. Most often, these are old individuals or weak young.
To a large extent, the relationship in the pack depends on the attachment of its members to each other. They can be accepted into the pack, but also expelled for serious misconduct. Such decisions are made, as a rule, by leaders, but females close to him are able to force a monkey they don’t like to leave.
Perhaps primate relationships within a social group are as complex as humans. Perhaps this is due to the fact that they have the rudiments of the mind, which is inherent in humanoid species. They are trained and able to apply the acquired knowledge in practice. In addition to sounds, they are able to communicate with facial expressions and gestures, expressing their devotion and affection to the leader or disdain for individuals lower in the hierarchical ladder.
Man
If you define the most social animal in the world, then this, of course, is a man, as a representative of the mammalian species. An experiment was even conducted by the king, forgotten todayFrederick II (XIII century). Babies were fed, washed, swaddled, but they were not spoken to. They all died because the lack of affection or even negative, but attention, caused them apathy, and they stopped eating.
A person is not able to be isolated from his own kind for a long time and remain mentally he althy at the same time. Numerous examples from history confirm this.
