

Or rescuing them from a range of different circumstances. Also increasing are documented cases of animals from a variety of different species showing empathy towards vulnerable others. As a result we are forced to recognise that they too are capable of many behaviours and actions previously thought to be exclusively human. However, our knowledge of the capabilities of other animals is increasing rapidly. This is because the ability of other animals to raise human children calls many long-standing assumptions about human uniqueness and superiority into question. Stories of feral children are widely disputed by academics and are also seen as sensationalist by popular audiences. A malnourished and neglected two-year-old child was found by authorities in Chile being breastfed by a neighbour’s dog. But the fact that she engaged with the baboon as a “baby” as opposed to a potential food source was the result of some form of mutual understanding between them the baby reached out to her, and she responded to its request for comfort.Ī final case which brings us back to human children and canines was documented in 2015. Legadema might just have been responding to an innate maternal instinct. The ability (or even inclination) to (attempt to) raise the young of another species suggests the possibility of inter-species communication and empathy. While most sources state that O'Keefe was directly involved in composing the song, this has been questioned by others. For example, the case of a lioness at the Lewa wildlife reserve in Kenya who has repeatedly “adopted” Oryx calves over a period of several years.Ĭapuchins have been known to adopt. ' Wild One ' or ' Real Wild Child ' is an Australian rock and roll song written by Johnny Greenan, Johnny O'Keefe, and Dave Owens. While such a trio might seem unlikely friends, again there are examples of similar cross-species friendships.
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In The Jungle Book stories, Mowgli is taught about how to survive in the wild by Baloo, the bear, and Bagheera, the leopard. According to some of the people involved in rescuing the pair from their incarceration, the wolf was terrified and the donkey had taken on the role of protector. An example dating back to 2007 but which did the rounds on social media recently told the story of an unlikely friendship which developed between a captive wolf and the decrepit donkey who was introduced into the enclosure as live prey. Wolves can also enter into friendships with animals who would, in other contexts, represent appropriate prey.

Like primates, wolves and dogs are highly social and all members of the pack will participate in the care of puppies or cubs. What makes his story different from many of the other accounts is the fact that he had some human socialisation prior to his incorporation into a non-human social group, and was able to communicate his experiences on his reincorporation into “humanity”. Ssebunya was “adopted” by a troop of vervet monkeys and taught by them how to forage. Take John Ssebunya who, as a three-year-old child in Uganda in 1988, ran away from home after witnessing his father murder his mother.
