It’s widely recognised that elephants mourn their dead, but what about other animals? It’s rather easy to fall into the trap of anthropomorphising, attributing our feelings and behaviours to them. Yet there are examples of what appear to be very human-like emotions, and we were once privileged to witness one.
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Giraffes’ eyes are beautiful but they can look rather mournful. Maybe that’s a touch of anthropomorphism, attributing human emotions to an animal? And yet …
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Turn your back on a hungry giraffe who knows you have a pocketful of her favourite treats and you can expect to be ‘nudged’ into handing over the goodies. Stacey was quick to remind me, with a gentle head butt, that she expected my full attention, but it was more playful than painful. And as she was happy to pose for photos in return for the pellets I dropped on to her thick purplish-grey tongue, we were each rewarded by our encounter.
