Cat and Crow are "friends."
Is this an example of animal intelligence or animal instinct?
How does this relate to comparative psychology?
(thanks to my sister Laura for sending)
Animal Intelligence or Instinct?
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I think this is an example of animal intelligence. If it were an example of animal instinct, I think the cat would've eaten the bird when it was hungry instead of accepting the bugs and worms. Some of their interactions could be due to instinct, like the fact that the young kitten needed something to take care of it so it accepted the bird into its life, but I feel the majority of their relationship was an intelligent one.
Comparative psychology studies the behavior and mental life of animals other than humans. This video demonstrates that animals don't act purely out of instinct and that maybe something else is going on in their heads.
I think it is kind of both instinct and intelligence. The crow had instinct that the kitten needed someone to take care of it. She cared for the kitten like she would have her own baby bird. She knew she needed to feed it so she did it the only way she knew how. In return the baby kitten never tried to eat her.
On the other hand it could be partly intelligence. My mom has 2 dogs. They like dogs do, will chase cats like its their job. One morning we found a kitten in the evergreen tree and couldn't find a mother anywhere. it was really really little and couldn't have been very old. We fed it and took it inside. Once she wasn't so stressed out anymore we put her down and let her walk around. Neither of the dogs tried to get her or anything. My dad said... well its because they know she is just a baby. They can tell, they won't bother her.
Our girl dog even would mother her a little bit, which I think is instinct?? I am not really sure. But it is interesting to observe.
I'm inclined to agree with Kacey on this. It seems instinctive in the sense that there was a need for the cat to be nurtured, but at the same time instinct would have given the bird the impression that being near the cat would not be safe. On the other hand, intellect would account for the recklessness on the bird's behalf to take care of the cat regardless of the danger involved. This is a good example of comparative psychology because comparative psychology, by definition, is the study of behavior and mental processes of animals that are not human beings.
After watching this video, I think this is an example of instinct. Although the kitten and the crow were friends, I think things will change when the kitten grows up. Maybe not, considering it doesn't know what a cat should do, being it grew up around only people and the crow, thinking it could be a crow itself, but a cats instinct (like lions or tigers) is to attack. Not saying the cat is that dangerous but as it gets older I think the cats attitude will change. The crows behavior was clearly instinct, feeding the kitten and taking care of it, even though it wasn't its own. Learning about species behavior is hard for psychologists to pinpoint because our big 5 is not like any other species defined besides chimpanzees. This is comparative psychology because 2 different species are being studied and maybe this video is arising questions to psychologists right now on animal behavior.
I think this mostly shows instinct. The kitten needed a way to meet its needs of food and water and the crow sensed that there was a need. If the kitten never knew anything about cats and birds not being friends I don't think this would happen. I'm sure there is an intellegence working somewhere in this, but I also thinks it's mostly on a survival basis. This is in relation to comparative psychology because humans and animals are different. Animals have more basic and 'animalistic' drives and instincts. I know that when I approach a stray cat I am cautious because I do not know where the cat has been or if it is carrying diseases or what, but in this case both animals sense the need for survival and that is the instict that takes over.
I feel that this shows instinct of an animal. Most animals have that mothering instinct. There are many cases like this were different species of animals have either raised or mothered other species, due to possibly there mothering instincts. I also feel that intelligence is somewhat involved in this but to me it just seems that instinct is more at had in this incident. The crow is just exhibiting and instinct that it has built in within itself to take care of a child or young one.
I agree with the above statements saying that this is a combination of instinct and intelligence. Intellectually both the crow and the kitten knew that the other wouldn't harm them, even though instinct should have said that the cat would try to eat the bird, or that the bird should antagonize the cat. Also, instinct helped the crow to get things for the kitten to eat, and for the kitten to know to accept the food. This is a great example of comparative psychology because is the study of the behavior and mental life of animals other than human beings. And, this is all about the actions and behaviors of the crow and the kitten.
I think it is an example of instinct, because of the example that they gave in the clip-- the two were both young and didn't know any better so the species that was more apt to be independent from a young age (the crow) took care of the more helpless animal, the kitten. They probably hadn't been exposed to a number of other animals so it wasn't as bizarre to them.
I also found this interesting because when my mother was you she had a very similar story. Her family had a number of dogs, cats, and chickens, and when the had their first cat and their first chickens a common bond formed between one of the chickens and my mother's kitten which was almost exactly like the relationship in the clip, so I'm sure it's possible and does happen elsewhere if all the right situations line up.
I believe that this is a combination of instinct and intellect but it it hard to be certain without knowing how this relationship began. A crow or other birds natural instinct when it comes to cats or other predators would be to fly away or escape. The fact that the crow was willing to take care of the kitten seems to be intelligent to me because it overpowering what they would normally do. The cat having been abandoned at a young age may not have been exposed to how cats normally behave or shown how to hunt and play like other cats so therefore did not see the crow as prey but as a mother and a way for survival. This video is a good example for comparative psychology. Which looks into the study of animal behavior. This perhaps could provide some evidence for either argument and better allow us to understand more about what is around us.
I believe that it could be representing both animal intelligence as well as animal instinct. It shows animal intelligence because the cat and the crow are getting along and are basically "friends" as the man in the video said. Normally, cats and crows do not get along in a way like this. It also could be representing animal instinct because the cat doesn't know any better because it was raised in this environment with the crow around. The cat may not have been exposed to other cats and doesn't know what exactly it should act like. The cat may being going with its "instinct" on this by being with whatever creature will in a sense protect him/her. This is related to comparative psychology because it is showing how animals other than humans act and behave. It helps us to understand how animals may be related to humans in different ways.
I believe that this video displays more animal intelligence than animal instinct. I believe that it causes us to question what we believe is the difference between instinct and intellect by being out of the norm. It makes us wonder why the bird doesn't fly away, why the cat doesn't chase the bird, why the bird feeds the cat. All of these things are not what we consider normal or forms of instinct. I believe the answer to the story is that the cat is indeed a kitten. It is a stray and may have come across the bird when the bird was younger as well. I believe that it is intelligence because each of the animals have obvious differences but each understands that the other is different and accepts the way that they are. It truly is an amazing thing and makes me really question what goes through animals thoughts and what makes them do what they do. This relates to comparative psychology because we can study the animals. Comparative psychology is the study of animals rather than humans and this fits right into a case where we can question what is the psychological part of these animals and try to find an answer to their actions and thoughts.
I am inclined to think that this is an excellent example of a combination of instinct and intelligence. Just as there is no clear line separating nature and nurture there are no clear cut distinguished lines here. On the part of the crow an incredible amount of instinct was shown. The parental, nurturing instinct in the crow overruled the innate fear of cats. One could also argue that the crow had an instinct to know the difference between cats, which would eat them, and kittens, which pose no threat. I would argue that the crow's intelligence is what took over when it decided to investigate the helpless kitten and decided to take care of it, but the nurturing aspect was solely instinct. The kitten's contributions in this relationship I believe were solely instinct. I believe that the kitten was too young to have known that he was supposed to eat the crow, he was never fed bird so I don't think he had learned this. The kitten just knew that he needed to be fed and cared for, it didn't really matter to him where this care came from. As their relationship developed I believe that the two animals developed a relationship developing a friendship. Pretty cool to see.
To me, this is a perfect example of animal instinct. The crow realized that the kitten could not take care of itself and would die if it was left alone. So the crow did what any mother would do and fed the kitten and took care of it. The kitten also had a great level of instinct and trusted this foreign bird because it knew it needed to stay alive. This to me, is a classic case of nature versus nurture because society believes that cats and birds should be enemies but the nurturing instinct of the bird kicked in and took care of the kitten.
It's hard to say-- like most people I believe this is a combination of both instinct and intelligence. It's intelligence because normally the kitten would probably try to eat or attack thr crow but it recognized that the crow was taking care of it. It is also instinct because it was almost natural for the crow to take over and take care of the kitten.It might be hard to say if we do not know how the relationship began though.
I loved this video, it was awesome. As far as comparative psychology goes, I could think of a few ways to attribute it to humans. For example, the classic story of Romeo and Juliet, although fiction, tells of how 2 adolescents who were raised to be hateful of the other group, ended up as tragic lovers.
Another way I can think of this is race. Back before the civil rights movement, racism was rampant, however I am sure there were still interracial relationships and friendships. Two groups that opposed each other still had outliers that proved that 2 apparent enemies can still be friends.
Plus it fits in with an idea of survival. Pretend there was some dire situation that left you with someone you hate and the only way to escape said situation is to work together. Instinct says that we would ally ourselves with the enemy, at least until we are safe, at which point we may revert back to enemies or remain allies.
For the most part I think this is instinct but it is also a little intelligence. It is intelligence because the cat didn't eat the bird. Although I don't agree with it, it proves George Romanes theory of anthropomorphism.
The reason I think it is instinct is because someone how the bird knew that the baby kitten needed help. It needed to be fed and so the bird tried it's best tot feed it the only way it knew how. The bird mothered the kitten and played with it and helped the cat survive as if it were one of its own.
I think it's an example of both instinct AND intelligence. If the kitten was a stray kitten then it may have encountered a crow before and had a reason to not fear it. Because we all know that cats are some of the most intimidated, scary animals ever. So it's intelligence based off of experience could have lead it's instincts to not allow it to be afraid of the crow. As for the crow… Crows typically eat dead creatures, so if the cat doesn't enforce an attack on it then it shouldn't have a reason to avoid it. So it's intelligence based off of it's food chain could lead to it's instincts to not avoid the cat.
A lot could come into play when discussing this, but personally I think BOTH come in to play in this particular situation.