Animals Being Human

Time to learn something from the animals!

How callous and heartless can a society be? A helpless man cries for help with his wife and a baby lying unconscious in a pool of blood, with all his moans and wails falling on deaf ears as the passersby move on apathetically; this heart wrenching scene is from a Jaipur highway underscoring a  lack of compassion, concern and empathy in humans for members of their own species.

Humans are superior species as they cogitate, build, innovate and thereby rule this world with pomp. But if humans continue to besmirch their image by displaying such heinous and deplorable acts of gross apathy, then it would be prudent to place the animals higher up on the ladder of “moral progress”. We can thereby safely state that animals are not only anthropomorphic but even better than most humans in terms of mutual understanding, relationships and virtues like compassion, kindness and sympathy. A recent survey undertook by several wildlife experts has vindicated the anthropomorphic nature of animals.

Once, a mother bonobo lost her baby. After a few days, when she reunited with him, he was emaciated and frail and died eventually. She was not ready to part with him and carried him along with her wherever she went for 68 long days until his body started to decompose. Finally, she had to leave him. She led a reclusive and solitary life for several days after that incident-a strange behaviour for someone who loves to live in groups and colonies, touching and grooming each other for hours. She must have felt bereft and shattered from within- a plausible justification for her aberrant demeanour.

A dog named Hachiko used to accompany his owner to the railway station and back home from there. One day, his master died but the faithful friend kept on visiting the station relentlessly and waiting for him till the fall of night each day, for 10 long years until his death. This is a remarkable story of an incredible animal which possessed unimaginable endurance and perseverance besides holding on to an undeterred and strong belief that things would become normal and he would someday reunite with his companion- which was unfortunately not to be.

Just after giving birth, a pachyderm fell sick and finally succumbed to the illness. All the members of the herd came forward one after the other as if giving their last and final tributes to the deceased in a well organised funeral. The bleary eyes of the milk deprived calf seemed to be damp with tears. He kept coming back to his deceased mother day after day even after what remained of her was a carcass with rotting bones. With no nursing mother in the herd, he too closed his teary eyes forever.

On similar lines, findings have been recorded on birds like pigeons and crows and other animals including rabbits, cats and cows. All these animals do care for one another and a sense of bereavement is palpable among them when a close friend or a group member leaves them forever.

Humans are very good in imitating like monkeys and emulating like no one can; why don’t we take a leaf out of book of these beautiful creatures and make this world a better place to live for one and all?