Keeping an eye on us

by Louise Hector

Hi, it’s Louise again. I’m enjoying my day of guest posts.

One phrase that really winds me up is “dumb animals” – implying that animals are somehow more stupid than humans, or that they don’t have emotions. If you’ve ever spent time watching animals you see how they have their own complex emotions and attitudes. One of the reasons that I’m not keen on trying a rabbit stew is that I love watching rabbits playing – and how can you eat something that plays.

Elephants are some of the most intelligent and emotional creatures on the planet. They experience a range of emotions from joy to anger to grief. Researchers have reported that elephants have been seen stroking the bones of dead elephants and pausing for a few moments at the spot where a family member has died. I also read recently about an elephant who tried to help a baby rhino trapped in mud, despite coming under attack from the rhino mum – yet her compassion for the stuck baby was more important than her own safety. There’s also reports of elephants suffering from a form of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, screaming in the night after witnessing murders of their family. It’s always dangerous to assign human emotions to animals, however we have to recognise that animals have their own range of emotions, feelings and experiences.

Thankfully this lovely lady wasn’t angry – just keeping an eye on us. We were in a safari vehicle and an elephant family including a number of calves and juveniles was crossing the road. This female – probably an aunt rather than the matriarch – just stood and watched us. No aggression but we knew who was in charge.

Elephant numbers are declining – there are between 470,000 – 690,000 African elephants and only 25,600 – 32,750 Asian elephants left in the wild. And as long as humans talk about dumb animals that’s a trend that will only continue.