WHAT MAKES HUMANS DISTINCT FROM OTHER ANIMALS?

On the first day of class students in Animals and Society in spring 2018 brainstormed a list of things that people might think make humans distinct from nonhuman animals, then we went about researching them. It turns out some species of other animals can do all these things. Check out what we learned!

Use of language
While it is known that all species of animals have their own way of communicating, whether it’s through verbal cues or body language, written language is not something we think of non-human animals in the wild using. However, non-human animals in captivity, such as apes, have been taught complex language skills. For example, some apes have been taught to use a keyboard with different symbols on it to communicate. This is evidence that non-human animals are capable of having and using a written language. However, there is less evidence to prove that these animals, or others, use any written language in the wild. Some animals such as bears or wolves use scratch marks as symbols to communicate with other individuals, but it isn’t as complex as a written language like the one humans use.

Video:  Captive bonobo, Kanzi, using language in a research session at Great Ape Trust of Iowa.

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Use of Complex Technology
The use of complex technology is often thought to be something uniquely human, but as it turns out many other animals can use technology as well.  Nonhuman animals, including pigs and apes, are highly intelligent and can interact with computers and computer games to receive a food reward. We know that service dogs can complete a wide range of tasks but some of those include using human tech like refrigerators, elevators, and washing machines. All this technology is created with human users in mind. Human height, hands, etc. are all factors in the designing process of these items. If more technology was created for non-human animals, the possibilities of what they are capable of could be endless. While animals may not be surfing the web quite yet, there is a lot of ways that animals currently use technology and it might not be long before they catch up to us.

Video: Pig playing a video game

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Expressing Preferences
Just like humans, other animals have the ability to express what they like, and choose who they like and don’t. Some species are choosy about who they mate with while others are not, and most are picky about what food they eat. Some studies even find that some animals prefer food while others companionship when given the choice. Even our companion animals can be choosy about who they live with. For example, dogs prefer people with soft voices and calm manners and so when given a choice they will often choose women over men and adults over children.

Video: Dog choose which guardian they love more in an unscientific but very cute experiment

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Self-Awareness
In 1838 Charles Darwin was visiting the London Zoo and noticed an orangutan throwing a tantrum after being teased with an apple. What he was witnessing was self-awareness. He became intrigued and began to noticed that she was also viewing herself in a mirror. What he was witnessing was self-awareness. Self-awareness means there is a conscious knowledge of one's own character, feelings, motives, and desires. Humans and orangutans are not the only species to exhibit these behaviors. One way scientists have used to measure self-awareness is the mirror test, which evaluates if an animal in front of a mirror and can recognize what they see. Ten species have been proven to show self-awareness using the mirror test: humans, orangutans, chimpanzees, gorillas, bottlenose dolphins, elephants, orcas, bonobos, rhesus macaques, European magpies and even insects such as ants.

Video: Orangutans and the mirror test

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Use of Medicine
Humans are living longer lives due to the use of medicine. We even use these medicines to help other animals. It turns our that other animals also use medicines to medicate themselves. Bornean orangutans chew on the leaves of the dracaena plant, macaws eat clay to detoxify their bodies, caterpillars eat poisonous plants to kills parasites in their bodies, and the list goes on. Nonhuman animals have also benefited from human medical interventions, such as antibiotics and prosthetic limbs, just have humans have learned about the medicinal properties of many medicines found in nature by learning from other species. Animals are not only good at self-medicating, but they are also good at recognizing disease; some dogs can even tell when human have disease or illness.

Video: If you have an hour to spare, here is a full length documentary on other animals using medicine from nature.

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Ability to Change Climates
As climate change is changing the environment many species of animals are experiencing extinction. But does that have to be the fate of all species? As humans, we have the ability to move to any environment we please at any time no matter the climate change that is occurring right in front of us; but can that be said for nonhuman animals? The answer is yes for some species.  Through the process of adaptation is a nonhuman animal can adjust to its new environment otherwise it dies out. This could be adapting biologically in size, shape, color, etc. of in behavior such as area of living, food source, etc.

Video: How biological adaptation works for some species

If you found all that interesting and want to read more, check out all the characteristics students researched in Fall 2017 and stay tuned for more great research, articles, and options from the spring 2017 Animals and Society students at MSU Mankato!