Behavior genes can be shared even beyond the species boundary. When I was a graduate student, and sociobiology was all the rage, I conceived of a new field: sociotaxonomy. The goal of this discipline was to understand evolutionary relationships through behavior, by having the animals themselves reveal their relatedness.
For example, at that time it wasn’t clear whether we were more closely related to chimps or gorillas. My solution: put a man, a gorilla, and a chimp in a small boat with a hole in it, and set it afloat. Whomever the human saved as the boat sank would be H. sapiens‘ closest relative, since they’d clearly share more genes.
For some reason this field never got off the ground, but examples of interspecific altruism still abound:
Cat gets baff from deer:
Cat adopts baby squirrels. The fun stops when the teeth erupt.
Finally, human gives tonsorial aid to hairless cat:
[vodpod id=ExternalVideo.963252&w=425&h=350&fv=]
News: Maru’s on Twitter.
That last one reminds me of my cat Bryxie who used to groom me when I got out of the shower. Poor Bryxie died in January.
The Grrrls also regularly chase squirrels around in the back yard. But it’s just a game; when the squirrels slow down, the cats slow down. The pursuit is the fun part.
I love these kinds of clips. I probably look like the woman in the video of the third clip when I watch them. I also enjoy the human reaction to animals being “cute”.
Here’s a clip of a cat and a crow who are best buddies- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1JiJzqXxgxo
I’m sure if I rubbed catnip in my hair I could elicit a response similar to video #3.
That’s a funny-looking deer. Or is it just that I’ve lived too long in the West?
Isn’t it a female white-tailed deer, Odocoilus virginianus? Never seen one here in London
Should I upload the pictures of my sisters cat with ducklings? Or the ones of her wee calf cuddling with cats?
I don’t think one can post pictures here, but links would be great!
Knock yourself out:
http://s66.photobucket.com/albums/h256/nedunque/Junk/Calf%20and%20kittens/?start=all
I took a few, myself, last Christmas, but these are older. I think she was a premie. I think they call her circle.
I’ll try to get some more come Crimbo this year.
Great pix! It’s weird to see a cow on carpet.
Just goes to show that you don’t know my sister …
Regarding the cats and the squirrels: did anyone consider whether or not “Kit-Kat” is merely fattening the little squirrels. It’s an unusual form of feeding livestock, I know.
Gives a new meaning to “barn cat”…