Surely everyone who shares a home with an animal can recall a situation where the animal makes it easier for us to do what we want to do. For example, when it’s time to feed my dogs, they stay out of the way because they know I’ll get the food in the bowls and the bowls down on the floor faster if they do. I haven’t taught them to do that any more than I taught the cat to wait patiently for me to fill his bowl, either. They somehow figured out on their own that cooperation pays.
Those who share their homes with more than one animal no doubt can come up with examples of how those animals cooperate with each other, too. My dogs will circle in opposite directions so they can tackle the cat from either side when they play one of their many hunt-and-chase games. When the cat wants to come in, he softly meows outside the front door. I can’t hear him, but Ollie and Frica can and they alert me by silently going to the door and wagging their tails.
Outside, numerous male and female wild birds cooperate to ensure their chicks have a reliable food supply. In some avian species, other adult birds join in the process.
Because of this, when I hear about studies in animal cognition that involve elaborate experiments to “prove” animals cooperate, my feelings are mixed…
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