THE SOCIAL LIFE OF ANIMALS
Chapter 1
By: Galgo, Mary Jane C.
THE PROBLEM AND ITS BACKGROUND
The social animals are animals that are highly interactive with other members
of their own species. They have a recognizable and distinct society.Interaction defines social
behavior, not how organisms are placed in space. Individual clumping is not required for
social behavior, although it does improve opportunities for interaction. A lone female moth
engages in social behavior as she produces a bouquet of pheromones to attract male potential
mates. When a male red deer (Cervus elaphus) roars to assert authority and keep other males
at bay, he is also engaging in social behavior.
Animal social behavior has captivated the interest of animal behaviorists and
evolutionary biologists, as well as the general public, thanks to documentarians and other
media programs that caught the drama and astounding diversity of animal social
relationships.
Animals that live in groups with other members of their species are called
social animals. Social animals include many species of insects, birds, and mammals. In
particular, ants, bees, crows, wolves, lions, and humans are examples of social animals.
Animal social behavior is the collection of interactions between two or more
individual animals, typically from the same species that take place when they form simple
aggregations, cooperate in sexual or parental behavior, engage in conflicts over territory and
mate access, or simply communicate across space.
Unlike familial units, sociability in animals must be permanent or semi-
permanent. Individuals within the species must also share social obligations. For example,
one group of people must consistently perform a specific function, regardless of age, gender,
or body shape. This criterion excludes animals that are just non-aggressive with one another
but do not participate in the formality of social structure.
Social behavior can be examined in both natural settings, such as the field,
and in the lab, where researchers can control for environmental factors. Scientists studying
behavior have created observational techniques that can be utilized in both the field and the
laboratory.
There are many equivalents to the human capacity for communication among
other highly social species. While we are aware that animals we admire as intelligent such as
whales, dolphins and elephants have languages that we are only beginning to understand
The world of animals is really fascinating. Unlike the human race, animals
come in myriads of shapes, colours and show an astounding range of behaviour. They don't
speak like humans, but they can communicate among themselves quite effectively, using
chemicals, postures, and different kinds of vocalization. But till only a few decades ago, little
was known about the social life of animals, except that of a few domesticated species.
Developments in technology, both in cinematography and electronics, have since enabled
scientists to study animals right in their own environs and record intimate details of their
social life. Using electronic image intensifiers, super-sensitive films and special cameras and
lenses, scientists can now study any animals – from tiny insects, birds and reptiles to the
most elusive mammals and fish residing in any terrains, ranging from waterless deserts to
tropical rain-forests and oceans. At the same time there has also been a sizeable increase in
the number of scientists actively involved in observing and studying animals in the wild. All
these developments have led to a new under standing of animal behaviour and their social
lives.
STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM
This study aims to provide proper understanding on what animals do for their living.
Specifically, it sought to answer the following problems:
1. Why is it important to know about the social life of animals?
2. How do animals communicate with each other?
3. Why is animal social behaviour important?
THESIS STATEMENT
Animal social life is essential because interaction improves an animal's fitness and
very limited reproductive success. The social life of animals is important so that we know
what they do in life.
IMPORTANCE OF THE STUDY
For Community
The basic knowledge about the social life of animals is taught to us by our family, friends,
and ancestors, but the knowledge we have is insufficient. Through this study, I hope to help
the community by sharing what's more about the social life of animals, and how important
this is also part of our daily lives. I'd also like to help them understand what's lie and truth
behind the topic.
For School
This study will help them to share what social behavior, learning and communication in
animals
For Students
This study will help students to know about the life of animals
For Researcher
This study will help them create a direct sensory connection between learners
SCOPE AND LIMITATION
The research will focus on assessing the social life of animals in terms of their behavior.
On this study the subject are the Animals and Animal welfare employee.
DEFINITION OF TERMS
Social animals. Social animals are those animals that interact highly with other animals,
usually of their own species (conspecifics), to the point of having a recognizable and distinct
society. They associate in social groups and form cooperative societies
Aggregation. a group of organisms of the same or different species living closely together
but less integrated than a society
Pheromones . A chemical substance produced and released into the environment by an
animal, especially a mammal or an insect, affecting the behavior or physiology of others of
its species.
Organisms. In biology, an organism is any living system that functions as an individual
entity.
Vocalization. any sound produced through the action of an animal's respiratory system and
used in communication.
Chapter 2
REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE
This chapter presents the related literature after the thorough and in-depth search done
by the researcher. This will also present the synthesis for better comprehension of the study.
FOREIGN LITERATURE
According to Rebecca Coffey (2022), Ward is the director of the Animal Behavior
Lab at the University of Sydney; he teaches and performs fieldwork in exotic locations.
Perhaps this accounts for his ability to give what he write about his research and that of
generations of others with panoramic sweep. We learn from him surprising and occasionally
hilarious news about bees, locust swarms, termites and ants, about guppies, humbugs, and
piranhas, about starlings, pigeons, crows, ravens, and tits, and on and on through species of
rodents, herd animals, large carnivores including dogs and lions, aquatic mammals, and
primates. Ward sketches each scene intriguingly, giving a sense of landscape and the
characters involved, and then lets each scene teem with social learning and communication
among and across animal species. His storytelling style has made me a fan of rats (evidently,
they‘re kind—as long as you‘ve already been kind to them) and hyenas (they can be
affectionate). After reading Ward‘s book, I now suspect I know why I yawn in certain
situations. (Among baboons, anyway, it may be a way to signal that you‘re not dangerous.) I
no longer feel as ashamed when I try to shirk responsibility for occasional impatience. (Koko,
a gorilla who was raised at the San Francisco Zoo and taught sign language, once ripped a
sink from a wall and tried to blame the cat.) Chimps kiss to make up.
According to Katie O'Reilly (2022), Bonobos prioritize friends over food. Poison-
wary rats warn their pals about too-good-to-be-true treats. African buffalo choose where to
roam next via voting. Dolphins address one another by name. If you've ever been curious
about animals' humanlike behaviors, or how exactly ant masses navigate straight to the ice
cream cone you've just dropped, British biologist Ashley Ward breaks them down in The
Social Lives of Animals (Basic Books, 2022) and shows how we share social impulses with
other animal cultures around the world. Ward's case studies are eye-opening. African vervet
monkeys, for example, work together to pilfer booze from bars and sleeping tourists. And
elephants develop infrasonic sounds for a private communication channel that helps them
stay in touch across vast landscapes.Ward doesn't shy away from less attractive aspects of our
shared nature—showing how insects use slaves and chimps exhibit an enigmatic blend of
"brutality and compassion, altruism, and selfishness"—or the fact that we've exploited
animals' sociable natures. Nineteenth- and early-20th-century whalers, for instance, were well
aware that sperm whales rush to peers in distress.A dazzling compendium of animal
intelligence and sociality, this read proves that the latter is a fundamental aspect of existence
and that the company we keep has fundamentally shaped us, beasts all.
According to Philippa Brakes (2019), Mendel's pea breeding experiments and
the discovery of DNA were huge steps in the revelation that there are physical "packets of
information", in the form of genes, passing between generations. This has been instrumental
in our understanding of the evolution of biodiversity, and how organisms are shaped by their
environment.However, in addition to this physical transmission through DNA, there are other
sources of information available in the natural world. Social information can operate both
within and between different generations, and is vital in shaping how animals response to
their ever changing world.I have previously argued that social knowledge is important for
whales and dolphins. Research also shows that social learning is widespread across a wide
variety of wildlife, from birds to elephants, from fish to meerkats.Birds can learn foraging
techniques from each other (such as opening the foil caps of milk bottles to extract the
cream). Bottlenose dolphins have been observed learning from their mothers how to use
sponges to help protect their jaws while foraging on the sea bed for fish.Southern right
whales share migration routes between critical feeding and breeding habitats. African
elephants learn from older matriarchs the location of watering holes, and how safe it is to
interact with different social groups.
According to Renuka Kulkarni (2020), Sperm whale social units are generally made
up of females and juvenile males, while adult males tend to live solitary lives. These units
comprise both related and unrelated individuals, which mean any collective behavior that the
group demonstrates is not necessarily rooted in their genes. Chimps aren‘t the only ones
hammering it away. Bearded capuchin monkeys in northeastern Brazil do it too, to crack
open seven different varieties of nuts by tap-testing the strength of rocks for hammering, and
setting up ‗workshops‘ where younger monkeys watch older ones at work. Nut-cracking was
believed to be typical for all the populations of Western chimpanzees in Africa. Using
differently sized rocks, chimps use them as a hammer and an anvil to carefully pound nuts of
the oil palm tree, breaking the shell but not the kernel within, demonstrating the use of
judgment in selecting the perfect tools and learning, through experience, how much force to
use. The behavior – considered ground-breaking in itself – was observed in only a small
subset of the total Western chimpanzee population, occurring in Guinea, Sierra Leone,
Liberia and Côte d‘Ivoire, but not in other populations across Africa, even when the same
nuts were present as foods. Chimps aren‘t the only ones hammering it away. Bearded
capuchin monkeys in northeastern Brazil do it too, to crack open seven different varieties of
nuts by tap-testing the strength of rocks for hammering, and setting up ‗workshops‘ where
younger monkeys watch older ones at work.
According to Katy Guest (2022), Vampire bats ―have each other‘s backs‖, according
to one of the extraordinary stories in this fascinating book. Should one bat be hungry, a roost
mate will regurgitate a nutritious meal of semi-digested blood to help it live to bite another
day. In a similar display of apparent altruism, a bee with a parasite will isolate itself rather
than infect the rest of the colony – a Captain Oates-like sacrifice on the bee‘s part. And, say
what you like about rats; in experiments they will open a door to let a cold, wet stranger into
their cosy nests. Some thought-provoking chapters about baboons, bonobos and chimpanzees
show how humans could learn from our closest relatives, too. At their best, complex societies
are often founded on networking rather than domination by strength, Ward suggests. The
alpha male ―must be a relationship-builder, rather than a despot‖; those who cheat are often
punished; and ―the perception of fairness may be an essential part of the glue that binds
them‖. Ward also explains how bonobos greet foreign troupes with a feast in a fruit tree and
an afternoon of promiscuous and pansexual genital rubbing, so it is important not to
extrapolate too directly from animals to ourselves, after all. Perhaps humans could start by
just trying to be a bit more bat.
SYNTHESIS
Animals play a significant role in the stability of the environment, ecosystem, and our lives.
Animals are our companions, our workers, our eyes and ears, and our food. Animals are like our
friends they can be good to us as long as we treat them right.
LOCAL LITERATURE
According to Joseph Ching Velasco (2020), A number of attempts have been made to
include animals in explorations in the humanities and social sciences. This is a response to
the gap where animals are much-neglected entities in the said disciplines. There have been
debates pertaining to the inclusion of animals in scholarly discourses in the field of sociology.
Notably, human exceptionalism has been one of the key ideological drivers which prevent a
more inclusive consideration of animals in the study of our social world. The anthropocentric
view of the world and society has put the needs and status of humans above all other animals.
This line of thinking has implications on how humanity relates and interacts with animals in a
broader context. In times of crisis, humans relegate animals as conveniently expendable or an
inconvenient afterthought, which easily leads to instances of animal abandonment and even
abuse. However, there has been a collective shift in the way acts of animal abandonment are
perceived on social media. This article examined the responses on social media pertaining to
animal abandonment during the onslaught of typhoon Vamco in the Philippines in 2020.
More specifically, two themes were analyzed: outrage against negligence and compassionate
treatment of animals. While this article looks specifically at the abandonment of animals, the
project invites further reflection on the notions of environmental ethics and the species
boundary
According to Juju Z. Baluyot (2022), There were more or less 12 million stray cats
and dogs that roamed the streets of the Philippines in 2019, according to the Philippine
Animal Welfare Society (PAWS) in a 2020 article. Further, the People for the Ethical
Treatment of Animals (PETA) recently said that the state of animal homelessness has already
reached ―a crisis point.‖ It is pretty apparent, especially for those living in urban areas; stray
cats and dogs are, literally, everywhere. Michaela Mae Ampuan, a volunteer from
the Compassion and Responsibility for Animals (CARA) Welfare Philippines, said that the
common factors that contribute to animal homelessness are irresponsible pet ownership (such
as not spaying or neutering their pets) and pet abandonment, people's preference to buy or
breed pets instead of adopting or fostering shelter or rescue animals, and the mindset that the
best way to help stray animals is to surrender them to animal shelters
According to Fran (2022), The Philippines is home to many endemic species –
and many endangered ones. Learn more about endangered animals in the Philippines.
The Philippines is home to 5% of the world‘s flora and ranks fifth worldwide in terms of
number of plant species. The country ranks fourth worldwide in bird endemism. The
Philippines is home to over 700 threatened species, making it one of the world‘s most
important conservation sites. The national list of threatened animals was created in 2004 and
comprises 42 land mammal species, 127 bird species, 24 reptile species, and 14 amphibian
species. The Philippines has at least 3,214 fish species, with roughly 121 being indigenous
and 76 being threatened. The Department of Environment and Natural Resources issued an
administrative order in 2007 that produced a nationwide list of threatened plant species,
showing that 99 species are critically endangered, 187 endangered, 176 vulnerable, and 64
threatened.
According to Chaudhari, Kartal, Brill, Amano, Lagayan, Jorca (2022), Dog
population estimates are necessary to design effective rabies and dog population control
programs. Dog population sizes vary drastically from country to country and vary within a
country based on human tolerance, pet ownership practices, culture, religion, and several
other factors. Human density, level of urbanisation and human settlement types (urban, semi-
urban and rural) also play a role in the size of the dog population. Humane dog management
programs have shown that dog density per km street length is one measure to monitor the
program‘s impact. However, we argue here that efficient sterilisation and vaccination
program planning also requires an estimate of the total dog population. In the Philippines, we
have conducted owned dog population surveys (household surveys and dog demographic
surveys), which have proven to be very effective in planning high-volume vaccination
programs. Following the implementation of the dog surveys and the subsequent
understanding by local officials that actual dog populations were far higher than originally
assumed, a higher rabies vaccination coverage was achieved in two target cities due to a
correction in the number of vaccines doses needed.
According to Agostino Petroni (2023), On a sunny winter morning, the dog trainer
Mario Fortebraccio slowly bends toward a line of potted olive trees and indicates it with his
hand. Waiting for that signal, Paco, a three-year-old white Labrador, rushes through the row
of plants with his head tilted, sniffing each pot at the root, the rhythm of his inhaling echoing
through the greenhouse. The dog is carefully scouting for something humans can't sense. A
dog's nose has a few different features that make the animal a super-smeller. Its front part of
the nose serves to humidify the incoming air which aids olfaction, and the air is then pumped
to the lungs, and in part, into an olfactory chamber packed with receptors to catch odorants.
And that's where dogs outclass the human nose: dogs have 20 times more olfactory receptors
than humans that send signals to their brains. When the dog exhales, the air goes out through
the two side slits of the nose, not through the nostrils as we do: this is why dogs can sniff in a
continuous cycle, catching large volumes of air and odorants. Most dogs can navigate the
scent world in ways we cannot fathom, but it takes special individuals and a lot of training to
become detection dogs. Schoon used to work with detection dogs in forensics, in particular
rape cases for the Dutch police, to identify rapists by their semen. She says to think of
detection dogs as highly trained specialists who recognised scents in the way humans
recognise people's faces.
SYNTHESIS
Animals can be sometimes agressive towards us. Animals can walk, run like us
people except talk and think. So as we live in a country that has so many stray animals, who
have never been owned, we should treat them like humans, because we humans needs help so
as animals.
Chapter 5
SUMMARY, CONCLUSION, AND RECOMMENDATIONS
Summary
Using the problem statement from Chapter 1 as a guide, the study's results were summarized.
The first question was why is it important to know about the social life of animals. Animals
are our companions, our workers, our eyes and ears, and our food. They can be good to us as
long as we treat them right. The second question is how do animals communicate with each
other. Animal can communicate in variety ways. Like they use many kinds of cues to
communicate, including visual, auditory, chemical, pheromone-based, tactile, and touch-
based cues. And the last question is, why is animal social behaviour important. Animals
developed a variety of behaviors as a means of preserving or increasing their genetic
diversity. In many species, the animals coexist in close-knit communities with other species
members.
Conclusion
By studying this research, It gave me different perspectives and different knowledge. I
learned how animals live and how they socialize with each other. Here I also learned about
different animal behaviors.
Recommendations
1. If you have a pet, be mindful of what they should eat and not.
2. As long as animals behave and you don't trigger them, they can attack you whenever
they want.
3. Make a program that promotes humane treatment of all animals.
4. A community can build an organization that promotes awareness and interest in
animal welfare.
5. Government can encourage radio and television talk shows to discuss animals issue
for awareness.
