It was about two o’clock in the afternoon, mid fall, if I remember correctly. What I was attempting would not be easy and the consequences would be big if I failed. Edging around the corner, I just caught a glimpse of them through the bamboo, always a few steps ahead of me. They hadn’t noticed me yet and that’s exactly what I wanted. I was listening intently, trying to pick up the faintest of sounds- nothing. I gathered my courage, or stupidity as some like to call it, and moved a little closer. I had experienced some nasty run-ins with these types before and though I usually came out on top, it was always unpleasant and occasionally painful. Needless to say, I was cautious in my approach. As I shifted my position past the bamboo thicket, I was completely exposed. That was the last cover for ten or fifteen feet in all directions but backwards, and there was no going back now. There they were now right in front of me and I only went unnoticed because they were facing away from me. “They could turn around at any moment, and then it would happen for sure” I thought. Second thoughts were flooding my mind. But convincing myself that I was a naturalist and that continually putting myself into these types of situations is a fundamental part of what naturalists do, I held my ground. One of them turned around. As the other turned around to join her, they both approached, completely undisturbed by my presence. Like an execution by firing squad, I knew what was coming but that only made it worse. As one of them came closer, she boldly exclaimed “It looks sad.” I politely asked her to specify. “The orangutan in the exhibit, it looks sad. Does it want to be free?” Gritting the teeth that now shown through my fake smile, I engaged our zoo guests in conversation. Anthropomorphism strikes again…
One of the more valuable lessons I learned early in my career as an educator is the power of perception. Any lawyer or politician can tell you that it’s not what the facts are that matter most, but rather how people perceive those facts that make a difference. As educators, it’s extremely important to be aware of what the perceptions of those are around us concerning the material we wish to impart. More often than not, people are hesitant to accept information, however factual it may be, unless the educator specifically relates it to their perceptions concerning that particular subject, thoroughly addressing their pre-conceived notions with the information we give. As a zoologist, zoo employee, professional educator, and someone who is simply obsessed with nature as a whole, I have found that in my experience, there is one perception that seems to occur in my line of work more than almost any other: anthropomorphism. “Anthropomorphism” is simply the process of attributing human characteristics to something that isn’t human. That includes animals. Brother, does that include animals…
Having spent close to three years interacting with guests in one of America’s biggest and busiest zoos, I can tell you for a fact that most people cannot resist the urge to attribute their own feelings, desires, mentality, attitudes, and random characteristics to whatever animal happens to be in front of them. It seems to be as firmly ingrained into our culture as the Big Mac marketing slogan (don’t pretend you don’t know it). You have probably seen it yourself, but if you haven’t, here’s a basic example I encountered a few months ago. I was walking between two of our three elephant enclosures, all of which are normally occupied by elephants. As I was about to leave the area, a concerned guest stopped me and inquired why most of the elephants were in one yard while one of them, Tucker, as he is called, was alone in the middle enclosure. She asked if Tucker was in trouble and if being in the smaller enclosure by himself was his punishment. Never wanting to embarrass any guest, as this would forever tarnish her perception of the zoo and our conservation work, I treated her concern seriously and gently explained the reasons behind Tucker’s living arrangements. “Well, elephants live in a matriarchal society. This means that the females are in charge and the adult males live on their own. Since Tucker is eight years old, he is reaching adulthood (elephants reach this point faster in captivity due to higher nutritional value in their food), and it’s normal and healthy for a male elephant of his age to leave the herd. He’s actually much happier by himself, too.” Encouraged by my explanation, she thanked me, expressed she felt much better about our elephants’ living arrangements, and I wished her a good day. What happened in that encounter was simple. She had seen an animal alone and in a smaller space and immediately tried to interpret the elephant’s situation from a human perspective. Most of us need social interaction and associate solitude with being sad and lonely. Similarly, we interpret smaller spaces with negative experiences, usually one associated with being punished; standing in the corner at school, being sent to our room, to our beds, to prison. She had tried to interpret the nature of a wild animal according to human experience and society and this does not work. That’s not even to mention the flawed logic in the idea that animals should be punished for their “mistakes”, which I suppose would mean not doing what a human wanted them to do. Tucker was not lonely and he was not in trouble, he was merely living as elephants do. We are generally not appreciative or understanding of the way nature does things.
Now this is not to suggest that Tucker, and animals in general, can’t feel or exhibit emotions. Animals do show a wide variety of emotions and unique personality traits, many of which bear a great resemblance to our own. However, it is important to understand that these are not simply human emotions, but almost universal, or in the least, widely shared emotions. Man’s best friend is an excellent example. Dogs can appear to show a type of anger or disdain at times, shunning their owners when things don’t go their way. I think most of us are all too familiar with this! In much the same manner, dogs do appear to be genuinely happy to see us after long absences. And all creatures show the most basic and instinctual of emotions, which is fear (if you wish to include fear under the category of emotion). So these traits may be displayed among animals, but these are not necessarily “human emotions”, simply emotions that humans, in our lack of understanding of many species, have claimed as our own. The difference that forms the true basis of anthropomorphism is why those emotions are experienced and how they are interpreted. For example, white tailed deer exhibit fear, as all creatures do. But why do they exhibit fear and to what extent? When fawns go to sleep, are they afraid of a monster under their brush pile? Of course not, the type of fear they exhibit is purely an instinctual drive that protects them from being caught and eaten by predators. Of course, it may be argued that the emotional fears we experience –fear of the dark or of imaginary monsters- is a remnant of when we ourselves once had to avoid predators on a regular basis and this may very well be true. But even this line of logic admits that our emotions have now become distinct from those of the animals around us. As shown in the example I mentioned above, people often attempt to interpret animal behaviors based upon human needs, human desires, and the methods we use to express them, and not the needs, desires, and expressive language of the animal itself. It is important to understand that these are very rarely the same.
Two very important words I mentioned were “needs” and “desires”. One of the fundamental differences between people and animals is the order of importance placed on each of these. Humans are taught to think practically and logically. It’s something that we are reminded of throughout our lives by parents, teachers, employers, and even ourselves. We are told that chores come before playtime. Don’t go out with the gang, stay home and study for the exam. Save that extra cash, you will need it someday! I bet you have heard all of those. The reason for this is simply because human beings prefer to place their desires ahead of their needs, which is nearly always backwards to what is observed in nature. While human beings are instinct driven and will go through great troubles to meet their needs effectively, they will often go through even more trouble to meet their desires, even if that means sacrificing their needs in the process. The concept of freedom is a good example of what I’m talking about here. Can you sit down and give me a written definition of “freedom” and detail why it is important to you? Humans are driven to be free, to have liberty and escape anything we perceive as a restraint on our lives. We want to laugh! We want to get loaded and have a good time! We consider this vital to our existence and, as Mr. Henry so boldly exclaimed, it is worth dying for. But does the absence of our freedom cause physical death? No, because when speaking in the strictest terms of an organism’s survival, freedom isn’t actually something we need. We need food and water. We need oxygen. We need protection from the elements. So in effect, this is the classic example of the desire that we continually place above our survival needs. Our needs and desires are often separate and in some cases, even contradictory. Only a human being would die as a result of starving themselves in an attempt to lose weight and “improve their image”. Human beings are more than willing to ignore their basic survival needs to gain something they merely desire. With animals, this is almost never the case. Now keep in mind as I continue that while I am speaking in broad terms, I am not being all inclusive and understand that there are exceptions to almost every rule. But generally speaking, animals do not normally have separate desires and needs. It would be more accurate to state that most animal species desire that which they need. That’s a significant difference.
I’ve said it before, animals do not want to win the lottery, compete in Olympics, or be on reality TV. They don’t spend time in modern art museums, think about their dream house, or celebrate Christmas. Simply put, animals do not generally want what humans want and for some reason, this tends to bother us. They are designed with a completely different psychology than ours. On the one hand you could say that their psychology is much simpler than our own, but this also translates as being unquestionably superior in terms of survival. One of the things that I believe people have largely forgotten is how different human psychology has become due to our industrialization as a species. By building great and intricate machines that ensure the fulfillment of our physical needs, we altered our psychological needs as well. It is only because we no longer need to search out food, water, and shelter, or constantly monitor our surroundings for predators, that we are allowed to think about other things that we do not need for our survival, like the Word Cup or who the best James Bond is (it’s Daniel Craig). Take away our great supplies and technologies and none of that would matter. Only day to day survival would matter, and minus the anxiety a human would experience in this circumstance, that is exactly how most wild animals think about the world. Now some could argue that domesticated animals do not behave in this manner and that their psychological processes are more similar to ours. This is probably true. After all, the entire point of domestication is training a species for several thousand years towards the specific goal of not acting like a wild animal. That’s hardly an honest look into nature. And while it can be easy to think of nature as being cruel to living things, it isn’t. It’s perfect for their existence. It is balanced. It is brilliant and beautiful. A clarity that man will never achieve. And perhaps there in-lies the problem: we could just be jealous. Or maybe it’s just the opposite. We don’t want that type of life, so how could they? So many wrong ideas to consider…
Ultimately, this answers the types of questions I received from those two young women at the orangutan exhibit and the concerned guest by Tucker the elephant. When you understand that an animal’s needs and wants are nearly always the same, or at least corresponding with one another, then it becomes clear that as long as an animal is well cared for by properly trained staff who understand how to best emulate it’s natural environment and fulfill the animal’s physical and psychological needs (which are different than ours, as mentioned above), you can bet it is a happy and healthy animal.
Now that I’ve explained the basics of what anthropomorphism is and how it generally works, I feel it is important that one next examines exactly where and why anthropomorphism originates to begin with and how it has become such a common part of our culture. That’s what we will look at in the next installment of what I believe will be a four part article. But in the meantime, don’t change that channel, everyone’s favorite talking horse is on next! It’s Mr. Ed…
