Animal culture.

         When an individual animal learns to use a tool that's one thing. When that animal's offspring or mates learn to use that tool for a similar purpose, that's culture.  Carl Safina, in his book Becoming Wild, elaborates on three animal species cultures.

        He begins with the culture of sperm whales. Sperm whales live in defined groups, each group, has songs and clicks of communication that are specific to that group. The book is rich with whale lore both historical and contemporary. Riding with whale researchers who are able to identify specific sperm whales by their distinctive flukes, he accompanies them as they visit pods with whom they've become familiar over many years.  Occasionally, during my time at sea while in the Marines, we'd see whales spouting and dolphins playing in the wake of the ship. There's also much about dolphins and other sea life in this section of the book.

      In the Amazon Basin Safina connected with researchers who study scarlet macaws. There are approximately 19 species of  macaws among the 350 parrot species worldwide. Scarlet macaws also have cultures specific to their groups. He quotes Gaby, one of the researchers, talking about babies  when they first leave the nest, "After macaw chicks leave the nest, at about three months of age, they sit around in nearby trees for a week or so. 'The young ones are not strong fliers,' Gaby explains....'they are dumb, they don't understand the world; they don't know what to do.'" P. 147  The parents spend years teaching their chicks what they need for survival.

     Safina describes a dawn visit to a salt like where a river bank has exposed ancient sea bed that's laden with salt. Salt is necessary for the birds diet and difficult to find in the Amazonian jungle. They are rewarded by flocks of parrots, including macaws, coming to the lick. After Lisa and I hiked to Machu Picchu, Peru, we flew to Puerto Maldonado in the Amazon Basin. We stayed in a eco-conservation camp in the jungle. Our trip to a salt lick was not rewarded with flocks visiting the day we were there.

    Not surprisingly the third animal culture he describes are wild chimpanzees in Uganda. Again he spends time with researchers. Their presence has been accepted by the chimps so they can fully observe the culture of these bands. Chimps are organized with an alpha male in dominance. The position of alpha is highly and violently contested and there is significant violence in the bands. This is in contrast to bonobos, the same species as chimps, but geographically separate.  Unlike chimps, bonobos are matriarchal and non-violent. Safina points out that both elephants and sperm whales are also matriarchal and non-violent.   

    It was a fascinating read not least becasue of all the extraneous information about the animal kingdom that's included.

Takk for alt,

Al