Wednesday, February 6, 2013
Compassion or Survival?
Dolphins. Mammals of the sea with a high level of intelligence to boot. I have read some articles about them, specifically because an article on dolphins making a living raft for another caught my interest. It was not the dolphins that made me want to write about them but the concept of feelings versus instinct/survival of the fittest. The life raft the dolphins made for the other dying dolphin in the pod was deemed to be an act of caring and compassion. Labeling it as such it just didn’t sound right, it had to be something instinctual.
Could it be that the dolphins are caring for each other or is it just a survival tactic that benefits the whole pod? Dolphins exist in pods that are used for social interactions, feeding and protection. If a member of the pod ceases to exist then that makes the pod more venerable to attacks and less members to hunt for prey. The pod that was recorded creating a living raft for the injured member could instinctively know the consequences of losing a member. By aiding in the survival that means they would be stronger as a whole and able to defend themselves from predators such as sharks and other dolphin pods. What I am trying to point out, is people tend to enforce a label on what it is that someone or something does instead of looking at the bigger picture of why. It could be feelings of compassion but it could also just be instinct and survival methods.
What are your opinions? Could it be that the dolphins are showing their compassion for a pod member or are they just trying to survive or both?
http://news.discovery.com/animals/whales-dolphins/dolphins-create-raft-for-one-of-their-own-230130.htm
Posted by Sunni-Lynn Farias
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I feel that the dolphins are worried about their survival. Animals tend to fend for their young and in this case dolphins may fend for their pods. They may instinctually know that greater numbers means a higher chance for survival. The dolphins may have built the living raft because they knew it would help them to survive.
ReplyDeleteKimberly Ty (3)
When you say "worried about their survival" do you mean it as a conscious thought they may have about themselves and other pod members well-being or more based on a intelligence factor of their instinct?
DeleteSunni-Lynn Farias
I think this is an act of survival because that's what drives most animal behaviors. I took an Evolution class last semester that talked about different reasons that may explain cooperation. One was kin selection which hypothesizes that some species try to maximize the reproductive success of not only themselves, but also other family members so maybe the injured dolphin was being helped by its relatives. Also, because dolphins are an intelligent species with good memories, maybe the helper dolphins were acting out of direct reciprocity and were hoping that if the injured dolphin recovered, then it could remember who helped it and benefit the helpers somehow.
ReplyDeletePosted by Poya Jafari
That is a very interesting theory that could be the leading factor as to why, dolphins in this case, lookout for one another and try to save the wounded. If they were all kin though, I also feel there could be a deeper bond between them which could increase their survival as a whole when they work together.
DeleteSunni-Lynn Farias
I'd like to think this behavior can be explained on an evolutionary level. Dolphins that behave to preserve the pod ensure their own safety ("safety in numbers") and therefore will have greater reproductive success. Offspring of these "pod-cooperators" would learn the behavior from their parents. Or possibly the altruistic tendency could be hereditary and instinctual and the dolphins, being extremely intelligent animals, simply act upon this instinct in very complex ways (like the raft you mentioned).
ReplyDeleteWhat I find really hard to understand are the numerous occasions when dolphins have gone out of their way to help other species survive. For example, I once witnessed a dolphin "launching" into the air next to a group of manatees after one was struck by a boat. Maybe I gave the dolphin too much credit but I assumed it was trying to prevent the same thing from happening to the remaining manatees by warning boaters that there were more of them in that area.
I can see your point on the evolutionary aspect of their behaviors. At one point in time a pod of dolphins must of first made a "living-raft" for a wounded member and it survived. It could of been on pure luck or that the dolphin was not mortally wounded but it was enough for the technique to spread by others watching or the offspring.
DeleteI have heard stories pertaining to the same thing and to think a dolphin launched itself out of the water to protect the manatees... a thought that comes to mind is the dolphin knowing the blood could perhaps bring predators into the area that would endanger itself, especially if it was alone. I feel it is also hard to explain because with human nature, in most cases, "If I help you, what will you do for me?" there is always some payment needed and in the case of the dolphins, what do they get out of helping other species?
Sunni-Lynn Farias