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What would you prefer to be — a lion or an elephant? Ethologists sometimes make discoveries that call our habits and convictions into question.
There are leaders in all groups of anthropoid apes, just as there are among humans. But do you know how to recognize a gorilla leader?
A – It’s the only gorilla in the group that has silver fur on its back.
B – It’s the gentlest, most generous male in the group.
C – It’s the gorilla that makes the deepest sounds when thumping its chest.
Right !
Answer: B and C. In a clan of gorillas, the leader is chosen first and foremost for his physical power. It is often the male with the strongest chest (which he regularly beats to impress the opposing clans from a distance, with the range giving a precise idea of his size). But he is an elected leader who may be deposed if he does not behave well towards the other members of the group. Once the elected males accede to authority, they systematically adopt a gentle and benevolent attitude towards their own, including with the youngest babies.
#Take care of others
#Take care of others
Wrong !
Answer: B and C. In a clan of gorillas, the leader is chosen first and foremost for his physical power. It is often the male with the strongest chest (which he regularly beats to impress the opposing clans from a distance, with the range giving a precise idea of his size). But he is an elected leader who may be deposed if he does not behave well towards the other members of the group. Once the elected males accede to authority, they systematically adopt a gentle and benevolent attitude towards their own, including with the youngest babies.
#Take care of others
#Take care of others
Do you know why dolphins like it when Cape gannets are close by?
A – Because these seabirds are tasty and easy to catch when they’re resting on the water.
B – Because if the gannets weren’t there, the dolphins wouldn’t be able to treat themselves to the kilos of sardines they’re so partial to.
C – Because the arrival of large numbers of gannets signals the presence of schools of fish.
Right !
Answer: B. Dolphins know how to organize themselves to snare huge schools of sardines. The problem is that the fish have developed a very effective defense strategy: Instead of scattering in all directions, they squeeze up tight, forming a compact ball that is impenetrable (only killer whales can break it up, with great blows of their tails). And it’s here that the gannets come into play. They’re attracted by the swirling eddies created by the dolphins, and they dive down with their beaks to the fore, opening breaches in the ball of fish that the marine mammals immediately take advantage of. It’s a perfect example of coopetition, the cooperation between two species coveting the same resource.
#Coopete
#Coopete
Wrong !
Answer: B. Dolphins know how to organize themselves to snare huge schools of sardines. The problem is that the fish have developed a very effective defense strategy: Instead of scattering in all directions, they squeeze up tight, forming a compact ball that is impenetrable (only killer whales can break it up, with great blows of their tails). And it’s here that the gannets come into play. They’re attracted by the swirling eddies created by the dolphins, and they dive down with their beaks to the fore, opening breaches in the ball of fish that the marine mammals immediately take advantage of. It’s a perfect example of coopetition, the cooperation between two species coveting the same resource.
#Coopete
#Coopete
Termites are champions of …
A – Social organization.
B – Voracious eating.
C – Wood carving.
Right !
Answer: A. Termites, like ants, are eusocial insects, which is the highest level of social organization in the animal kingdom. Ethologists have in fact identified four stages of collaborative behavior in social animals: gregariousness (individuals live in groups by synchronizing their activities); colonialism (some areas of cooperation on specific activities); subsociality (animals coopete frequently but without specializing in a particular task); and eusociality, which implies overlapping generations in one colony, cooperation in brood care and stigmergy practices (indirect coordination).
#Contribute
#Contribute
Wrong !
Answer: A. Termites, like ants, are eusocial insects, which is the highest level of social organization in the animal kingdom. Ethologists have in fact identified four stages of collaborative behavior in social animals: gregariousness (individuals live in groups by synchronizing their activities); colonialism (some areas of cooperation on specific activities); subsociality (animals coopete frequently but without specializing in a particular task); and eusociality, which implies overlapping generations in one colony, cooperation in brood care and stigmergy practices (indirect coordination).
#Contribute
#Contribute
Which is more important for the future of the planet: the wolf or the acorn?
A – The wolf because it helps control the deer populations that harm forests when they proliferate unchecked.
B – The acorn because oak trees provide shelter and cover for a vast array of animal and plant species.
C – Acorns and wolfs are of equal importance.
Right !
Answer: C (but A and B are also true). Despite its size, its sophisticated brain and the complex nature of its social relationships, the wolf is no more important than the humble acorn in the living world. The two key species are vital for the trophic networks that underpin the functioning of our environment. By feeding the snail that feeds the hedgehog that feeds the weasel that feeds the wolf, acorns are essential for wolves and vice-versa.
In an ecosystem, as in a company, it is the relationships that different agents form with one another that are more important than the nature of the agents themselves.
#Cultivate diversity
In an ecosystem, as in a company, it is the relationships that different agents form with one another that are more important than the nature of the agents themselves.
#Cultivate diversity
Wrong !
Answer: C (but A and B are also true). Despite its size, its sophisticated brain and the complex nature of its social relationships, the wolf is no more important than the humble acorn in the living world. The two key species are vital for the trophic networks that underpin the functioning of our environment. By feeding the snail that feeds the hedgehog that feeds the weasel that feeds the wolf, acorns are essential for wolves and vice-versa.
In an ecosystem, as in a company, it is the relationships that different agents form with one another that are more important than the nature of the agents themselves.
#Cultivate diversity
In an ecosystem, as in a company, it is the relationships that different agents form with one another that are more important than the nature of the agents themselves.
#Cultivate diversity
If I say the word “badger,” what do you think of?
A selfless engineer who invests body and soul so that his fellow creatures can live together.
B – Your neighbor, who expresses his passion for mowing the lawn every weekend, preferably on a Sunday before 9 a.m.
C – A large brush that is handy to use just before shaving.
Right !
Answer: A. The badger devotes its entire existence to building and maintaining huge underground burrows that it shares with its extended family and a multitude of other animals of all stripes. The latter offer the badger nothing in exchange, except perhaps for a few little ones who might have strayed far from the nest and who have the misfortune to cross its path when food is scarce. Badgers have little in common with the cliché of a solitary, unappealing creature. They are, in fact, a champion of indirect reciprocity and of the common good.
#Prioritize living together
#Prioritize living together
Wrong !
Answer: A. The badger devotes its entire existence to building and maintaining huge underground burrows that it shares with its extended family and a multitude of other animals of all stripes. The latter offer the badger nothing in exchange, except perhaps for a few little ones who might have strayed far from the nest and who have the misfortune to cross its path when food is scarce. Badgers have little in common with the cliché of a solitary, unappealing creature. They are, in fact, a champion of indirect reciprocity and of the common good.
#Prioritize living together
#Prioritize living together
Every year, Switzerland sees its wild boar population increase sharply around June 1. Why?
A – Because Swiss gardens are neater and more fun to ravage than their French or German counterparts.
B – Because boars know it’s the opening of the season for hunting wild boar in France.
C – Because with global warming, they prefer to summer at high altitudes.
Right !
Answer: B. Swiss researchers have identified influxes of wild boar from France that coincide with the start of the French hunting season (recreational hunting is prohibited throughout the Swiss Confederation). The first echoing gunshots warn the animals of the danger, even though almost none of the boars has ever come face-to-face with a hunter. This effect is known as the intergenerational and “cultural” transmission of fear that is observed in most social animals.
In modern-day men, this protective legacy is often prevented by a certain reluctance to integrate fear and other negative emotions.
#Embrace your negative emotions
In modern-day men, this protective legacy is often prevented by a certain reluctance to integrate fear and other negative emotions.
#Embrace your negative emotions
Wrong !
Answer: B. Swiss researchers have identified influxes of wild boar from France that coincide with the start of the French hunting season (recreational hunting is prohibited throughout the Swiss Confederation). The first echoing gunshots warn the animals of the danger, even though almost none of the boars has ever come face-to-face with a hunter. This effect is known as the intergenerational and “cultural” transmission of fear that is observed in most social animals.
In modern-day men, this protective legacy is often prevented by a certain reluctance to integrate fear and other negative emotions.
#Embrace your negative emotions
In modern-day men, this protective legacy is often prevented by a certain reluctance to integrate fear and other negative emotions.
#Embrace your negative emotions
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