The wisest king Solomon was intrigued when he found out that even the ants display from wisdom we can also learn from. That is to say that humans can learn certain things from the lower animals even the other primates slightly lower than us.
Two male Agama lizards were involved in a fierce fight over reasons no one could find out. These were once friendly fellows who would never be involved in such a rival because of the bond they shared.
It will not be alarming to find out that they could share the same day of birth, as they ruptured from their white leathery egg that drips out colourless viscous fluid that bathes them inside the egg.
So many questions about their identity remain uninformative but the most important question is ‘why are they fighting?’.
In this post, I seek to talk about some things displayed by some lower animals that can be important to humans in society.
But first, let’s know why animals fight?
Why Animals Engage in Fights?
The reasons why animals engage in fights may not be different from those seen in humans and they include the following:
- Territorial dominance
- Competition for a mate
- Struggle for possessions
- Perceived or real threat and danger
- To establish hierarchy
I will not go on to explain the reasons above but I’m sure you noticed that some, if not all of those are seen in humans too.
It was not as if a female Agama was watching so we can conclude that another reason other than securing a mate or just establishing dominance is the precipitant. It was a sight to behold as they skillfully exhibit brilliant Kung-fu moves, only that their tails did all the combos. The first lashed at the other and the response was just timely.
We can rightly assume that the one with slightly brighter colours was the elder of the two lizards but this time it was being defeated. The few minutes apart at the time when they emerged from the eggs didn’t guarantee the older one some extra strength obviously.
In their fury, they both rushed towards where I stood still unaware I was watching. And just the next second, they both noticed that I was watching. I tried to remain motionless and show that I was not an intruder. However, they both gazed at me as one mighty creature that has come to destroy them and then, the fight was over and they were united again.
10 Things We Can Learn From Lower Animals
1. Respect Those Around Us
I draw this point from the story I just told. Many times we often forget the part of respect that matters most. We think respect only has to do with those big things of obeisance and submission. Yes, that’s true but the reflection of these two big things are seen in unexpectedly smaller things.
Humans fight for many reasons and in the course of those fights, third parties often come in to try to quell the fight. However, we have seen world wars and civil wars that went unchecked because one or all of the parties involved in the fight have refused to withdraw at the voice of the third party they claim to respect on a normal day.
One of the signs that you respect someone is being able to compromise your ego especially at times of anger and discomfort to listen to the person you claim to respect.
The lizard may have merely feared me enough to stop the fight, hopefully, to continue it later but at least there is something good we can draw from that. Peace can only be known when the influence of anger and hate are removed and people willingly come together to settle their differences.
2. Quickly Identify Warning Signals
One of the first things that make you refer to someone as foolish is their inability to recognize warning signs. It’s even more aggravating if they ignorantly behave disobediently. That is to say that, they cannot understand your signals of direction, or warning or caution.
You may want to guess what the lizards were thinking when they saw me watching. Could they have asked in their own gibberish language why I kept staring in amusement? They may have muttered why I wasn’t scared like some of you probably reading this may be at the sight of the gecko.
It’s funny that our beautiful and handsome intellectuals like you would be so scared of some harmless little animals. Read my post on developing your confidence’ here
They were not the only ones wondering and questioning. I did too. Why did they stop fighting?
A wise person easily picks up signals around him/her and promptly acts on them. This may save them from an impending danger or make them avoid something that would otherwise cost their resources or integrity. Even in the absence of any such signals, these little lizards translated my presence and gaze to a warning signal to stop the fight. How much more in the presence of a glaring signal to us at varying conditions?
3. Sow at The Sowing Season
4. They Look after Each Other
I have been opportune to hear of the story of how monkeys mourned the death of one of them to a vehicular collision. Just like humans do, the children and other members of the extended monkey family wept for the dead monkey.
At other times, you may have heard of animals defending members of their flock sometimes even against humans.
In both scenarios above, there is one thing they have in common. They were concerned because the incident involved a member of their own family. Whether or not it was a member of their immediate family we cannot ascertain but the best we know is that scientifically they belong to the same families depending on their species.
If humans can recognize that we all belong to the same family and species – Homo sapiens so that we can treat each other as our own, everything will be ideal and everyone will be happy.
That of animals may not be perfect either, but we can willfully work things out to make our love perfect especially now that we are more rational and intelligent. Check out my post on making the world a better place.
5. They Make each Moment Worthwhile
If we all learn to take each step at a time we will achieve our most desired dreams with lesser stress. It is good to think and project into the future. But come to think of it, the future does not come by itself. It still needs today to set the path right. Whatever path you create today leads you to the future corresponding to it.
Even lower animals take life easy. By easy, I do not mean that they sit back and do nothing but that they work out every step, do the best they can, enjoy the moments and leave the future to show up.
Whatever actions we carry out in the present goes the long way to birth the future that is right for it and we all must understand it that way. We do not have to worry about the future but we must do what is necessary for that desired future to come just the way we expected it or even better. Read this post on how to achieve your dreams.
6. Learning From Others That Have What You Admire
I am cooking up this point and I admit it. However, can we stop for a moment and ask ourselves one question.
Don’t you think these lower animals revere us as much as they consider us a threat? As we go through different phases of life and at different points in time, we often encounter special qualities in other people that we may covet. But as humans we many times resort to plot mischief instead of recognising that we can be the bests of ourselves too.
The qualities you admire can either be acquired or not. If they can be acquired, then you can work your way through to obtain them. One of the easiest ways to do that is to learn from those who already possess such attributes or qualities.
On the other hand, if the quality in question is not acquirable, then you have to take your eyes off it and look to how you can better yourself without necessarily ‘hating’ the other person with such quality.
And I think the smaller animals could be watching and learning from us, at least the ones that will not hate.
7. We Can Also Avoid Their Flaws
When we raised the standard of intelligence to exclude the lower animals from our distinguished class of being the highest living creatures created, we should also accept to drop some acts that represent these lower animals unless we still long to be identified with them. I don’t think you really want to rank equally with them. Do you?
I am really sorry to say that the behaviours on the list below may be characteristic of the lower animals. Here it goes:
- They exhibit promiscuous sexuality.
- They fight without considering the outcome.
- They are selfish, caring only for the closest members of their family.
- They are easily triggered by fierce anger.
Not as if I am free from these behaviours myself but with our abilities, we can advance beyond that level and begin to value the people we share the same genes, morphology, and earthly habitation with.
