I and "the old Utah gang" (brothers and friends) have been having email discussions about various things including about pets, science, religion, and the like. We've atheists, agnostics, and at least one firm theist in the group, but our discussions have sort of revolved around science. In that context, I asked their thoughts about what follows, and I'm curious if some Polyamory.com folks would also like to sound off on the topic.
We know that many animals tend to congregate in groups, and we have some vaguely scientific-sounding explanations for that behavior. Can any of those explanations be tabulated and even assigned spiritual symbols if we so desire?
Some thoughts that first come to my mind:
Even plants "engage" in a type of herding behavior. By growing in close proximity with each other, they seem to have better chances at reproduction. I think it's for similar reasons that a group of same-species spiders will often be found infesting a small area.
Is my list of possible herding advantages incomplete? What about disadvantages? I know the spread of disease is one obvious disadvantage. I know that among humans, a malaise can set in if a human is too individually divergent to fit in comfortably with the rest of the society in which xe finds hirself. And what of herd behavior that could be interpreted as good or bad, advantageous or disadvantageous? What about herd members protecting the weak and sick? What about herd members ganging up on the weak and sick to strengthen the herd overall? I think we are agreed that it is good/advantageous for adults to protect the young offspring.
Anecdotes I have experienced/heard:
Snowbunny knows a thing or three about horses and tells me they often pair up so that one horse can sleep reclining while the other horse stands to keep watch.
This keeping watch behavior seems to happen between Rainee (the cat) and me. She seems to gravitate toward my room and presence, and while not always engaging in snuggling behavior, she does often at least seem to engage in watchful behavior. So while I am engrossed in my PC behavior, Rainee is engaged in looking around and just standing guard if you will. Or heck, or she snoozes on my bed, knowing that I am nearby and awake. So then I am keeping watch over her. At night she often sleeps close to me, as if to suggest she and I might keep watch over each other. And of course Sophie (the dog) obviously sees it as her personal job to be the house alarm system.
Sophie and Rainee both hover around the humans at lunch and dinner but that's obviously in case they'll get little table treats.
When we moved from New Mexico to Washington State, my pdoc had suggested tiny doses of Xanax for Rainee and Sophie, which we tried. It seemed to help them stay mercifully sedated during most of the trip. But at the end of the trip, Rainee came down hard off the Xanax. She paced (wobbled really) to and fro (in the small extended-stay place), crying greatly which was disturbing because she's not generally what you'd call a vocal cat.
I had no idea how to help her and everyone was exhausted after a 15-hour drive that day, but I finally crawled out of bed, and started crawling around with Rainee, wherever she paced. Well amazingly my proximity (and companionship in her scary travels) immediately quieted her down.
Later on she/we discovered other helps. She found her way to a windowsill where she could look outside and that was quite calming for periods of time. She found her way under my bed and that was quite calming for periods of time. When Brother-Husband and Snowbunny went out for supplies and returned with a big litter box for Rainee, I could have sworn the angels sang she was so glad to see it. She must have used it eight times over the course of ninety minutes.
But initially, the first thing that had helped her was just knowing that she wasn't pacing back and forth alone. Herding instinct.
And most of us have seen odd pairings of diverse species. Things like a deer and a large turtle becoming inseparable companions. A household lizard hanging out with, and interacting with, the housecats. A wild deer and a domestic dog, inexplicably deciding to romp and play and chase each other about. A leopard who just killed a mother baboon, proceeding then to adopt the baboon's baby as if it were the leopard's own cub. A dog and an elephant (in a free-range elephant preserve) becoming companions, so inseparable that when the dog was sick and hospitalized, the elephant kept faithful vigil outside the vet hospital, refusing to move until the dog was released, and then the two (dog and elephant alike) showing unmistakeable displays of great joy and affection to see each other.
Often one species will interact symbiotically with another species. Bees spread pollen. Ants milk aphids. And we know that our human bodies are inhabited by quite a range of "foreign-but-beneficial" microbes. Indeed, the human body itself is a large society of diverse kinds of cells that work together to maintain a synergetic whole.
I once saw footage of an elephant herd that had formed some kind of tradition of returning at certain intervals to a spot where some kind of matriarch of that herd had passed away. The elephants seemed to be in some kind of mourning, almost if they wanted to awaken the corpse while sadly knowing they couldn't. So that's a story of group cohesion with an emphasis on affection for an individual member of the herd -- even when the gesture made no evolutionary sense. Their matriarch was dead, and visiting her remains only increased the chance of disease infecting the rest of the herd.
What if any other herding/pairing/socialization stories do you guys know of, or can you think of, that struck you at the time when you heard about them and seemed notable? How do you explain these stories in concert with your theist, agnostic, or athiest beliefs?
As a human, I do a lot of "virtual herding" by emailing the old Utah gang and by frequenting Polyamory.com and such. Does that count as the herding instinct also? Why do I do it? Sometimes I do feel that sense in "safety in numbers," even if the people I converse with are physically far away. I always live for that tasty bite of accolades or validation that people often share with me over the interwebz, and it "feels nice" when I reckon I've said something that has somehow helped someone else along the way. This, too, is herding instinct, is it not? How else do humans (and non-human people) display herding instincts do you think? Family reunions is an obvious example. Surely church attendance is too?
Thus ends my blog-like musing for today.
Regards,
Kevin T.
We know that many animals tend to congregate in groups, and we have some vaguely scientific-sounding explanations for that behavior. Can any of those explanations be tabulated and even assigned spiritual symbols if we so desire?
Some thoughts that first come to my mind:
- In a herd, there's better odds of an individual crying out sooner to alert the rest of the herd of a predator.
- Some members of the herd can keep watch over other members while the other members sleep.
- In humans, bees, and ants, individuals tend to specialize in certain tasks which makes the whole herd synergetic.
- Offspring who get separated from their folks can be adopted by other folks nearby.
- Females can present a united front against violent/murderous males.
- A large intake of food is more efficiently distributed amongst the herd before any of it can spoil.
- A united hunting/fighting force can take down a larger animal (for food or protection).
- It's easier for sex to be distributed away from immediate relatives, reducing chances of inbreeding.
- Group rules and/or leadership can help the herd act more efficiently as a whole.
Even plants "engage" in a type of herding behavior. By growing in close proximity with each other, they seem to have better chances at reproduction. I think it's for similar reasons that a group of same-species spiders will often be found infesting a small area.
Is my list of possible herding advantages incomplete? What about disadvantages? I know the spread of disease is one obvious disadvantage. I know that among humans, a malaise can set in if a human is too individually divergent to fit in comfortably with the rest of the society in which xe finds hirself. And what of herd behavior that could be interpreted as good or bad, advantageous or disadvantageous? What about herd members protecting the weak and sick? What about herd members ganging up on the weak and sick to strengthen the herd overall? I think we are agreed that it is good/advantageous for adults to protect the young offspring.
Anecdotes I have experienced/heard:
Snowbunny knows a thing or three about horses and tells me they often pair up so that one horse can sleep reclining while the other horse stands to keep watch.
This keeping watch behavior seems to happen between Rainee (the cat) and me. She seems to gravitate toward my room and presence, and while not always engaging in snuggling behavior, she does often at least seem to engage in watchful behavior. So while I am engrossed in my PC behavior, Rainee is engaged in looking around and just standing guard if you will. Or heck, or she snoozes on my bed, knowing that I am nearby and awake. So then I am keeping watch over her. At night she often sleeps close to me, as if to suggest she and I might keep watch over each other. And of course Sophie (the dog) obviously sees it as her personal job to be the house alarm system.
Sophie and Rainee both hover around the humans at lunch and dinner but that's obviously in case they'll get little table treats.
When we moved from New Mexico to Washington State, my pdoc had suggested tiny doses of Xanax for Rainee and Sophie, which we tried. It seemed to help them stay mercifully sedated during most of the trip. But at the end of the trip, Rainee came down hard off the Xanax. She paced (wobbled really) to and fro (in the small extended-stay place), crying greatly which was disturbing because she's not generally what you'd call a vocal cat.
I had no idea how to help her and everyone was exhausted after a 15-hour drive that day, but I finally crawled out of bed, and started crawling around with Rainee, wherever she paced. Well amazingly my proximity (and companionship in her scary travels) immediately quieted her down.
Later on she/we discovered other helps. She found her way to a windowsill where she could look outside and that was quite calming for periods of time. She found her way under my bed and that was quite calming for periods of time. When Brother-Husband and Snowbunny went out for supplies and returned with a big litter box for Rainee, I could have sworn the angels sang she was so glad to see it. She must have used it eight times over the course of ninety minutes.
But initially, the first thing that had helped her was just knowing that she wasn't pacing back and forth alone. Herding instinct.
And most of us have seen odd pairings of diverse species. Things like a deer and a large turtle becoming inseparable companions. A household lizard hanging out with, and interacting with, the housecats. A wild deer and a domestic dog, inexplicably deciding to romp and play and chase each other about. A leopard who just killed a mother baboon, proceeding then to adopt the baboon's baby as if it were the leopard's own cub. A dog and an elephant (in a free-range elephant preserve) becoming companions, so inseparable that when the dog was sick and hospitalized, the elephant kept faithful vigil outside the vet hospital, refusing to move until the dog was released, and then the two (dog and elephant alike) showing unmistakeable displays of great joy and affection to see each other.
Often one species will interact symbiotically with another species. Bees spread pollen. Ants milk aphids. And we know that our human bodies are inhabited by quite a range of "foreign-but-beneficial" microbes. Indeed, the human body itself is a large society of diverse kinds of cells that work together to maintain a synergetic whole.
I once saw footage of an elephant herd that had formed some kind of tradition of returning at certain intervals to a spot where some kind of matriarch of that herd had passed away. The elephants seemed to be in some kind of mourning, almost if they wanted to awaken the corpse while sadly knowing they couldn't. So that's a story of group cohesion with an emphasis on affection for an individual member of the herd -- even when the gesture made no evolutionary sense. Their matriarch was dead, and visiting her remains only increased the chance of disease infecting the rest of the herd.
What if any other herding/pairing/socialization stories do you guys know of, or can you think of, that struck you at the time when you heard about them and seemed notable? How do you explain these stories in concert with your theist, agnostic, or athiest beliefs?
As a human, I do a lot of "virtual herding" by emailing the old Utah gang and by frequenting Polyamory.com and such. Does that count as the herding instinct also? Why do I do it? Sometimes I do feel that sense in "safety in numbers," even if the people I converse with are physically far away. I always live for that tasty bite of accolades or validation that people often share with me over the interwebz, and it "feels nice" when I reckon I've said something that has somehow helped someone else along the way. This, too, is herding instinct, is it not? How else do humans (and non-human people) display herding instincts do you think? Family reunions is an obvious example. Surely church attendance is too?
Thus ends my blog-like musing for today.
Regards,
Kevin T.
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