CAN ANIMALS REASON?

Gisborne Times, Volume LXXIII, Issue 11539, 16 January 1932, Page 9

CAN ANIMALS REASON?

GREAT HUNTER SAYS THEY DO

ELEPHANT’S USE OF MAX

Can. animals reason ? There is no doubt in tho mind of Mr. J. Morewood Dowsedt, the author, hunter, and naturalist. In Ids latest book, Air. Don sett tells many stories which give an insight, so far as man is able to obtain it, into tho minds of animals. Intelligence, be contends, begins at tlio very base of the- zoological scale. Perhaps the earliest indication of .mind 'in animals is the use of intelligence to obtain food. A number of beetles, for instance, was observed deliberately to combine to undermine a stick at the pointed apex of which was tlio carcase of a toad .they desired for food. Animals band together for defence, and employ reasoned -tactics to combat the dangers that threaten them. They are ready to recognise mistakes and to rectify them. This necessitates a, language and a sense of discipline which render them obedient to the orders, received from Hie chosen leader. Whenever animals associate in large herds or in small companies, there are found domestic harmony and a.will to eo-ojicratt* for. the common good. They take careful note of the movement of prey or enemies, and they are particularly observant of the ..changes bf weather. They exhibit coolness and self-control in emergencies ami judgment in the right mode of escape from danger when a choice of methods presents itself. The frontier of reason and instinct is shadowy, and Air. Dowsett claims that the most that may he said at this stage of psycho-ana-lysis js that in the lower races and in the least cultivated of the higher races instinct prevails over reason and impulse over delitorate. action, while in "ninny of the animals, especially in the well-bred. , well-trained dog. reason predominates over instinct and reflection over impulse. T he Indian elephant may be trained lo use its intelligence as well ns its ■strength in the service of man, but if one of these (leasts, travelling with a mahout on its back, becomes stuck in a bog or in a quicksand, it.plucks Hie unfortunate man froih ids seat, with its trunk and hurls him down to serve as a foothold. All that ii has been taught vanishes at the critical moment, when the instinct ot self-preservation makes its supreme appeal. Happily the habit is wellknown, and mahouts arc not tardy in removing themselves from danger.

A CUNNING DOG. An example of reason overcoming instinct is provided by tile behaviour of Eskimo dogs, which have- been known to keep watch beside a dead reindeer for hours until their hniwi masters might take possession of the carcase. As these dogs, intelligent transport workers who always appoint, their own canine leader, have a hard- life and often go short of food, their natural instinct would lie to gorge themselves. Thy reasoning faculty coming uppermost makes them perceive tlio expediency of restraining themselves.

These dogs sometimes employ their intelligence to shirk their work. During Stelansson’s most ‘recent, expedition to the Arctic, a dog mimed Hans adopted a cunning device to spare himself from exertion when the sledge to which he was attached had to be dragged ■ over difficult ground. If it became wedged so that tlio driver had to call on the dog team for an additional effort, Hails would place his feet firmly in the snow and would move as if he was tugging hard, whereas in reality lie rested while his team mates did the work. This inveterate shirker remained fat and sleek at the end of a journey when his mates luid become lean from their labors. But so friendly was his disposition, and so ingratiating was his manner, that tile humans bore him no ms'entment. Ho was a favorite, thanks to a pleasing personality which he well knew how to exploit to his advantage.

The emotions of animals can conquer their reason temporarily. Darwin speaks of the “agony of passion” of birds, and the dog is warmhearted in his affections to a degree that would be called effusive in man. ' Eskimo dogs understand their .tasks, and generally they are willing workers, but if one picks a quarrel , with another, the lust of buttle overcomes the' whole team; and the sledge must be stopped '. while the human in charge' stops the free light that ensues. The dogs .are possessed of . a frenzy as soon as. they, scent the trail of a polar bear. But, Mr, Dow sett points out,',shell outbursts arc nob a peculiarity of animals. In the early stages‘of civilisation. ‘ runphig amok was not infrequent, often for little or no apparent' reason. * Children, idiots, aiid epileptics are subject to such seizures. Indeed, animals have often been described as.'children who lfavo. never * grown up. The habit of linger frequently passes into mania! A'nimals have been known to attack: red hot bars'ih their 'rages, clitigih'g 1 tenaciously to the 'searing metal until they ’were burnt to death. “How senseless !” ! is the involuntary comment. Yet Mr. s Ddwsott emphasises that such lack' of sense, and control ivas common among, our Viking ancestors, whoso mod deeds are chronicled in their sagas. And many more centuries must pass before man

will have wun freedom from the sway of passion—if he ever wins it. INSTINCT AND REASON. ' Compared with popular conceptions A instinct, reason in animals is fall ible, progressive, and slow. Yet, far from being simple and rudimentary, it frequently guides highly complex operations. Animals make deliberate investigations to acquire knowledge and to extend that already possessed. Anyone who has witnessed their researches cannot be but interested in the examples of their mental ability and powers of adaptation. W. iJL. Hudson has written much of the South American rodent, the vizcaclm. In its social life and building ability this interesting animal rivals the beaver; its burrows are masterpieces of ingenuity, and its home, like an Englishman's, is his castle, which none hut he may enter. Several vizcachas may inhabit compartments of the same burrow aiid spend much time chatting with one another like human neighbours on their doorsteps. But they never enter one another’s homes,- and although they visit friends in other colonies the guest is never invited to cross tlie host’s threshold. A vizcacha will ever hesitate to enter another home when pursued by‘a dog and cut off from its own dwelling. Hudson declares that vizcaclias from other colonies come and dig out unhappy kinsmen that have been buried iilivo in their homes by farmers. "When tlie burrows have been blocked up watch lias to be kept at night to prevent other vizcaclias coming to the rescue. Is that instinct or reason ? ’ '

Animals have the power' of' recognising' friends, as aiiy owner of ‘ a' pet knows. A cow often declines to give in ilk to a stranger; a liorse knows its rider. Tlie stories of the intelligence of’dogs'are:'endless', but even insects < possess ' ‘this faculty Ants salute members 'of: the same hive when they meet; bees recognise follow' citizens of the hive after a prolonged absence;' aiid know and reverence the person of their - queeni Dr. Wolfgang Ivolder! in' “The Mentality’of Apes.” describes. ‘ now lie-gave bis apes 'intelligence- tests which proved beyond doubt that they exercised powers of'reasoning; • Be even demonstrated that Sultan, Grande, -add 'China, 'tlireo of Ids chimpanzees, were' capable of recognising objects- in photographs, thus disposing of the 'belief that one i of the differences between'human: beings' and’animals is that! animals"caniiot read tlie 1 messages conveyed'by photographs ’ and pictures.' Our forefathers denied' animals even the least vestige of 'mind. But science is gradually drawing aside the' veil of their ‘ hidden; kingdom and :is showing that they'enjoy a share of reason. ' ■