Can Animals Have Friendships With Humans? | Animal Adventures

you know they live in very strict linear hierarchies, does that mean he eventually saw you as the dominant man and that's why he gave in? Oh, I'm the dominant man, yes. How is dominance over the buffalo established and how is that maintained? By not being afraid, you cannot

have

any fear in you. You know, I don't

have

a choice to be the dominant one if I'm not the dominant one. I'm in trouble, so you've established dominance, so we know that in the herds, the linear heart for our keys, don't do that, you understand me, go ahead, it scared the hell out of me a moment ago, maintaining dominance over a calf was already quite difficult, but now.

That wild thing weighs more than a ton. rc wouldn't survive a beating, so he had to find new ways to remind him who's boss. The wild thing is here smashing a door or something and trying to get through it, he can't get out. most of the time I can go there and open it with one hand because I unlock it and I open it and he thinks I'm very strong because I could have been there for an hour or two trying to get through that door, but I go there. and I do it like it's nothing and he really thinks he's going to look at me and say wow! he can grab it by the horns and he thinks I've got it, you know, I don't, but he thinks I do, oh my gosh, this is where I'm dominant here, they don't like having their horns tangled, it's incredible.

Can you know how to accomplish that and even touch him like you just did without him retaliating? I can't help but think that every time he charges through the door it's like you're taking up too much of my time with the remote off, he has too much. of love I would never have thought that this type of

animal

could feel love but he feels love, he is a spectacular

animal

there is no doubt and if he is in the house and needs to go to the bathroom he will go to the door if he is in the wash if he is in the house , come into your house, yes, and if he is in the house and needs to go to the bathroom, then he will not use the bathroom in the house, I need to see this, go for it, open the door if you have to. close the door, you know, this is definitely the stupidest thing I've ever done in my life, this is crazy, he'll definitely come into the house, oh my god, oh my god, remember it's so funny, he might still come closer to me and smell me, you know?

I'm a little scared. He has really beautiful eyes. I can't get over how kind he is to everything. Well, that's what surprises me about him because I didn't teach him to be nice. He just happens to be very kind. in the house and very aggressive and very bad outside the house, this all comes down to a kind of territory, the meadow is his territory and he knows that you, this is your territory and you are the dominant male, so he needs to be. respectful of that he does that job I think that's what he is I think when he's in the house he knows this is my area and he needs to respect my area I heard something was knocked down you see how the man came outside again he was destroying the place .

Can I follow you or is he too dangerous? You can follow me as long as he can be among you. Are you sure you never told him to be trained for lack of better experience? I never had any idea how. You would potty train the buffalo, but you have to realize that he knows that everything I do is for him. I never do anything that is against him. It is always for his protection or his happiness. It is an exceptional buffalo. Then you will come here and eat with him. Yo, come on, okay, he's following him with the food.

Oh, you have to take a look at this. I would never have thought that he would see such a huge, powerful and unpredictable animal that he behaves so cautiously in a house. He smells all the decorations around him gently. He literally walks on tiptoe. in rc's house, it's completely surreal to see how rc manages to maintain a strange semblance of domestic bliss with wildthing spending time watching tv mowing the grass and even swimming with him and how wildthing thinks rc is the dominant male in his small pack, certainly It seems like he will always act carefully around you.

Strong leadership may allow you to maintain a close bond with some unpredictable

animals

, but I have come to South Africa to meet a man who has worked his way up an incredibly sophisticated animal hierarchy by doing it the same way. the animal way I want to know what he has learned about animal behavior from his close interactions with some of the most intimidating

animals

, including hyenas, famous for their brutal scavenging ways. Hyenas can weigh twice as much as an adult wolf, so I'm pretty relieved to have him. a cage between this clan of spotted hyenas and me hello, oh you know what it's easy to see how hyenas can be a bit unnerving, I mean they are built for power with their strange heavy postures and when you think about their high - screeching and laughter and the way they scavenge aggressively may seem quite cunning and cunning, but in reality all of these traits point to a very intelligent animal hi and that's why what kevin richardson does is even more surprising kevin has worked with large predators for most of his adult life, but a few years ago he created his own private reserve so he could fully integrate into this hyena clan.

He did it to study its behavior and change people's perceptions about what a very feared animal hyenas live on. In a large enclosure, but they are far from tame, these animals have a very complex and fluid social structure, all governed by dominance and how each finds their place in the pecking order. Kevin doesn't care, there's always that one guy who will try and hook him, how the hell did this come about? This relationship you clearly have with these hyenas. My career actually started with hyenas quite a while ago. You know, they became my passion and, more or less, yes, I wanted to know everything about them.

Let them finish their whole business. It's that important that you keep an eye on them. Yes, very important because they are dominating this individual. Okay, they're trying to push him away and his posture is submissive. Yeah, you're submissive, yeah, which is good, so he's fine. I didn't notice anything different. Immediately you are chatting and you stop and say: "he's okay, something has changed", did you learn from your mistakes? Did you understand it? I have learned the hard way. How did you do it? Yes, I have learned from the hyenas. They always react the hardest way, they bite you and then ask questions.

Let's put it in perspective. I have been working with large carnivores for 15 years. I have been hospitalized five times. times by hyena and nan balan I was bitten very badly about six weeks ago, the waianae thought it was a good opportunity to try to fight for status in this clan, so he went towards me in a very aggressive way, he put me on my arm and on my leg and that made the rest of the clan want to get involved in the whole thing. There's probably a reason why a lot of people around the world don't work with these guys.

I wanted to ask you about where they see you. In their clan, are you a hyena in their eyes? His behavior towards me is to treat me as an individual. In their clan that's exactly how they treat each other and that's why I get a fair amount of bites because they don't hold back. Why on earth would you want to do this when you are aware that it can be dangerous? What I feel is that the risk is actually being mitigated over the years by getting to know people and by no means just saying "hey, I'm the hyena." Whisperer, I can walk in with any group of hyenas and do what I do with these guys.

This is a relationship that has been developing with some individuals for over 14 years. Aha, where are you going, no, you won't go, don't leave them, yes, yes. stay for the cameras look at this tub that's just ridiculous look at that teddy bear yeah, I mean come on, it's like you're behaving with him like he's a dog, you know that well, once all the energy dissipates and once they're okay with you guys now you've smelled them and see that they're not a threat yeah and you calm these animals down it's amazing what you can do with them I mean this guy who desperately wants his scratch on chin I can see that Kevin has worked very hard to earn the trust of the hyenas and that allows him to play with them in a way that I never thought was possible, but even this time they spend playing together gives him the opportunity to learn about their social structure and how you can maintain your position within this, okay, I mean, all this kind of thing I'm doing here is asserting my dominance, so it feels like a game, but it also feels like I'm not submitting to something that he does and that I'm actually playing with him in a dominant way, so I'm doing things to him that I wouldn't normally allow other individuals to do to him, that he was more dominant, whose he was more dominant, so it's interesting.

I'm using affection because he comes to me for love, tickles, chin scratches and all the above, but I'm dominating him and I'm not hitting him, you know, I don't have to, it's a bit of a psychological game what do you get? of this then you think why they made you do this with these hyenas I'll tell you what I mean this is enriching for me as it is for them I mean the fact that I'm tickling this hyena and his chin and he's using it I'm using as stamina kevin yeah, it's amazing, I mean, don't get me wrong, I still have fun seeing my friends, um, however, the other thing that I really hope it does is that it shows people a different side of them and, Hopefully people who watch a show like this will walk away and say: you know what I never knew hyenas were, I actually like them, they're actually very similar to my dog ​​in a way.

It's fascinating to watch you interact with these types of animals. , like you said, that they have a creepy reputation, a fearsome reputation, and they are absolutely docile to you and very affectionate, and they don't seem to care at all, it's quite surreal. to watch to watch that guy so he's okay just let me know when ever something like this is just a little bit I can't believe it he's okay he's completely fine I know you're a captive hyena but this is ridiculous that's completely okay exciting for me I can't believe I'm so close to one and they're so gentle.

Can I touch your nose? hello oh let's look at the bright side oh I really am yeah I won't let you take me to a full sense of security but you're just adorable right now Kevin has an extraordinary relationship with these hyenas by combining his knowledge of each individual and his position in the hierarchy and with his ability to assert his dominance when necessary, it seems that Kevin has truly become one of the gang and in doing so he is proving that hyenas are definitely not as intimidating as many people would have you believe. There is another side to these animals, they are incredibly gentle, I feel a real feeling of affection from this particular one who likes scratch ear's good butt at the moment, but they are also quite shy, they are quite shy, some Of them when they approach the cage, you know, their eyes are wide open and they approach very cautiously, but from time to time they will show their canines again.

I guess it's another instinctive behavior to remind myself Hey, I'm pretty scary too. You know I'm pretty harsh, but they are fantastic animals and you really get a sense of their individual personalities. This is just exciting, it really is the nature of the human animal. The couples I have met so far is complex, but the people involved are trying to fulfill a very human instinct to care for others, find companions and better understand the world around us, but discover what we can learn from observing all these strange couples . I'm talking to Professor Hal Herzog, who has studied human-animal relationships for more than two decades.

What do you think we can learn about relationships between species in all their shapes and sizes? I think what they tell us is the commonalities we have with other species. that on a deep level animals have the same kind of abilities to form relationships, form attachments and play and they have the same abilities that we have the bottom line for me is this, I think in our relationships with other species what we see is a The reflection of human nature in some way, its purest form and the best of human nature and the worst of human nature, not to me, is what is really fascinating about this whole area of ​​study.

There is one last association that I want to investigate because for me. It truly reflects the best the human-animal bond can be, not only do both parties benefit, but here the wild animals have chosen to instigate a relationship with us. I have traveled to southern Brazil and the coastal town of Laguna to see it for myself here in this cove on the Atlantic coast. The locals have formed a relationship over many generations with a specific group of wild dolphins. Dolphins help fishermen catch fish. In fact, the fishermen in this bay don't even cast their nets. Unless dolphins are present, it seems so strange that a bunch of men are standing around in their waders doing absolutely nothing, just standing there, there's a dolphin, oh, so there's two dolphins there, definitely breaking the surface, but They are just standing there, doing nothing, yet, this is extremely peculiar. what is happening makes me think that something is going to happen hereoh, that's amazing, okay, you're starting to understand what's going on for one month of the year, the schools of mullet migrate towards the coast, the dolphins heard the schools towards the coast exactly where the fishermen are then at the right time the dolphins usually make a distinctive diving signal and the fishermen cast their nets to catch the fish below it is absolutely clear that the dolphins are the ones making the decisions here these guys do absolutely nothing they just stand there with their nets and it's Only when the dolphin makes a very clear signal are they displayed so that the dolphins can tell the fishermen how to fish.

That's novel and completely crazy. I've never seen anything like this. This is the most intricate type of interaction between two. I have seen completely different species and it is just wonderful to see because the fishermen are absolutely focused on receiving the signal from a dolphin and they have fun while doing it, don't they? There is a fabulous energy on this beach. He really enjoys working with the dolphins with the help of the dolphins these fishermen are very successful just a few miles from the coast the same schools of mullet migrate but since no dolphins help the fishermen there they hardly catch any fish here the dolphins have developed a relationship across generations That resulted in a thriving local industry.

I met up with local scientist Fabio Dara Jorge from the University of Santa Catarina to find out exactly what is going on. This is such a surreal scene, yes, there is a real energy to this, isn't there? There is a dolphin that is a carob tree, a very well-known individual, yes, yes, they are the most famous dolphins. We don't think we have Fabio here watching this from the shore. absolutely mind blowing yes it is fascinating what exactly is going on here yes in fact the dolphins are bringing the mullet closer to the fishermen so what he is doing right now exactly is he is in the middle of the channel and probably the mullet is here, so when the dolphin gives a specific signal the fishermen know that it is the right time to throw the nets the fishermen are benefiting where the hell are the dolphins doing this we hope that when the fishermen threw the nets into the water they also pushed a lot the mullets to the dolphins It's easier for the dolphins to get their mullets when the nets send some monitoring if you're going to escape because the reward that the dolphin can enjoy exactly is a mutual symbiotic relationship dictated by the dolphin, right, yeah, I mean , they call the shots exactly exactly yes, come on, I want to go, I mean, how hard could it really be a little slippery put your teeth in my mouth exactly dolphin oh, I'm afraid, thank you, thank you, oh, the grass after, no I can believe it, surely he did it?

That was real nonsense. Brilliant. Did I catch a mullet? Good job. There is something incredibly special happening here. I mean, we have known for a long time that dolphins are intelligent and we have many accounts of interactions of all kinds between dolphins and

humans

. but this interaction between dolphins and

humans

is very real and it is very genuine and it is incredibly complex on both sides there are a whole series of intricate behavioral signals and these are wild dolphins that have chosen to come here and form a relationship with these fishermen which is amazing. I have been on an extraordinary journey in these two programs and I have found relationships between different species that have truly amazed me, many of them have been formed as a result of powerful natural instincts that seem to endure regardless of the circumstances. or have arisen through a growing understanding that some people have of the animal kingdom and what is clear is that animals relate to each other and to us in a much more complex way than previously thought possible, but also It has been an extraordinary reminder of how humans are obligated to have animals in our lives.

I think the reason we are so fascinated by other animals could be due to the fact that in all these unknown shapes and sizes and in all these different species we recognize familiar traits and behaviors and I think that is what fuels our fascination and compels us. to want to know more, if we are lucky enough to share a mutualistic bond with another species, so two animals that took billions of years to evolve found common ground that was respectful of each other and even communicated with each other. Well, that's quite remarkable, don't you think?