Understanding Behaviors within the Animal Kingdom Helps Humans Understand Themselves.
Do you know that an octopus turns red when it is angry or an elephant sheds tears when it is sad? In the documentary, Why Dogs Smile and Chimpanzees Cry written by The Discovery Channel, scientists have learned that animals exhibit similar patterns of human behavior like grief, loyalty and disciplining their children. First of all, one of the emotions that animals share with humans is grief. For example, killer whales attack sea lion pups when they are trying to learn how to swim. The mothers sit at the edge of the ocean screaming while watching whales bat their pups across the ocean. They wail painfully because they know that their pups are not coming back. Also, Marulius, a young female monkey, carries her dead baby around with her until a ranger steals the baby and buries it. This does not stop her grief. She continues to search for her baby. Her family can do nothing to comfort her. Next, animals demonstrate loyalty to their families, friends and providers. For instance, a scientist recalls a childhood tragedy about the devotion of the family dog named Brownie. During a severe dust storm, Brownie tries to warn the family that the younger brother and his bicycle are stuck in a rut directly in front of their truck. The dog continually runs while barking beside the truck, but the family does not understand Brownie's actions. The dog finally sacrifices his life by running in front of the truck so that the older brother does not hit his younger sibling. Additionally, a group of meerkats will not leave a badly injured family member. Even though they need to seek food and shelter from enemies, they stay with him until he dies. Afterwards, they all go up to bid him farewell before they depart which is similar to a human funeral. Finally, animals discipline their young like humans do. For example, dolphin mothers will grab a disobedient child, drag it down to the sand, and spank it.
