Eureka! The Lion Will Lie Down With the Lamb

Researchers spend hours observing animal behaviour, as many of these lessons have applications for humankind to learn from. Lessons from nature are all around us. Even much of creativity is sparked by an idea from creation. Think of a lightbulb, which is akin to fireflies lighting up, a sparkling glow in the dark. Isaac Newton's theory of gravity was sparked by an apple falling on his head, leading to a fundamental change in science from that point forward. Archimedes made one of his discoveries when he stepped into the bath, seeing how his weight displaced water, and conjectured that he became lighter by the weight of water he displaced (or something to that effect). Archimedes ran down the streets shouting, Eureka! (meaning I've got it) This morning I had my Eureka moment, and it is quite a simple observation, and you will probably say, but we all know that! But, do we use the knowledge! I have laid out the concept below, and please keep reading until the conclusion to see whether or not you agree.

We have a female rabbit, Maxine (Max for short), who is lonely, as her companion died. Then we decided to buy a couple of female guinea pigs, and I thought, why not house them together, as I know guinea pigs and rabbits can live peacefully together. I've seen this phenomenon at many places that house small animals in the farmyard section of zoos or parks. Rabbits hop about happily, ignoring guinea pigs, and guinea pigs snuffle along searching for food, paying rabbits no mind. So I put the two new guinea pigs, Firedust and Rosebud, into the large cage with Max, and sat back, expecting immediate friendship. Max nuzzled Rosebud tentatively, eying Firedust with caution, and then she lunged in attack, and I was nipped when I put my hands between them. I hastily removed Max from her enclosure.

So then I had two new guinea pigs in a large cage, and my sole rabbit was now housed alone in an old, smaller cage I happened to have, which of course was quite unfair to Max. That was the case for a while, as I thought perhaps the mistake I made was putting two guinea pigs into the territory of the rabbit, as the rabbit saw this as an intrusion into her space. I thought that if I left the guinea pigs in Max's enclosure, and let them see this as their space, with their scent, perhaps Max would accept them when I placed her back into what was now foreign territory.

After some time I did this, and placed Max together with the guinea pigs again. This time, Max explored the cage a bit, and at the same time began rubbing the scent glands in her face on all protruding surfaces, like the chewing sticks--none of the pets munch on the sticks, preferring the wood of the cage instead! The guinea pigs seemed to be trying to ignore Max in favour of the carrots, though they were watchful, and Max seemed conscious of them, though it went much better than the first time, as Max mostly explored, skirting Firedust and Rosebud. When Rosebud and Max were both in the upstairs compartment, I got the sense that it might be best to remove Max again, and I thought perhaps I should introduce them slowly in days to come, to habituate them to each other. So I reached in and grabbed Max, with Rosebud giving a small aggressive lunge towards Max as she left the cage. Max resisted leaving! She liked this cage, and grumbled a bit in my hands. But I was also not sure if she was grumbling because she was wired up, on guard, not because she was reluctant to leave, as I could see Rosebud peering at us somewhat aggressively, with her shoulders puffed up, which was a surprise as I thought guinea pigs were always placid. I suspect if I had left them a bit longer, there would have been a fight, and I am not sure who would win. Max may be bigger than a guinea pig, but there were two guinea pigs who could work together to oust her, so it depends on the size and numbers of animals involved on each side as to who will win the territory. In days to come, I put Max back into the enclosure again so they could slowly get acquainted, and I thought the two species were living peacefully together, with minor rumbles, but a few days later I removed Max again, as she had commandeered the lower floor as her own and was chasing the guinea pigs from her new territory and the food I left there.

Placing adult animals together has its challenges, yet if I had placed these animals together as babies, they would have grown up together and been friends, perhaps inseparable. I could even place a baby lamb together with a baby lion, and the two might snuggle together for warmth and companionship. Later when fully grown, the fierce lion may still be followed by a faithful sheep, and may still not attack the sheep. Of course I have not done experiments on this behaviour, but this is what I surmise from what I have read before. Though in saying this, I would be hesitant to leave a lion and a sheep alone together with no supervision, even if they had spent a lifetime together!

Think of cats and dogs too. I have a dog who lives quite happily together with our cat, though she playfully chases our cat on many occasions and that is her nature. If a neighbour's cat wanders through our property, then our dog will chase it in earnest, so she still sees other cats as foreign. Yet, if I obtain another cat, especially a kitten, it will not take much time for me to introduce the kitten to my dog, as our dog is used to living with cats. Likewise, if I get an adult cat who is used to living with dogs, the introduction of the new cat to live together with my dog will be much easier for both pets concerned.

Now, take the example of people. I see the same principles at play. A group of people may band together and guard their territory against outsiders, as Max did in the first instance with her cage. If these same people were to move to a new territory, as people do when migrating, for example, they would need to adapt to the new rules and situation, and would ensure that they behaved and hopefully integrated into the new culture, for if they did not they might be ousted, unless they had the numbers on their side. Yet, take the children of these same people. Children will grow up quite happily together, and will make friends with people of all nationalities and cultures, especially at school. It is only in later years, once children are almost adults, that trouble may sometimes begin between ethnic groups, and often I suspect this is because children are taught about generational fear from their parents (related blog article: Learning From the Fear That's Motivation For Discrimination). 

To take this concept a bit further, arguments between different types of people who live together will always happen, but one should not assume this is because of discrimination, and even if it is, the matter should be resolved peacefully. A damaging tactic in any relationship is to tell someone they are no longer welcome, for example, telling a spouse a divorce is needed when there is a slight disagreement, or telling someone to leave a country because of a difference of opinion. Best is to try and work things out by talking and negotiation and collaboration, though this may take a long time to do, but it is worth it in the end, so we may learn to live together peacefully alongside each other. Allow the person who has trouble fitting in to decide to leave of his or her own accord, if that is the person's decision, and maybe the person will realise instead that he or she should drop confronting behaviour. Do not force people to leave places where they have made their homes as this does not solve the problem for future generations to come.

I am sure there is a solution for humankind to all live together peacefully, if we make a conscious effort to educate each other about how to do this. Do you agree, or not?

"The wolf will live with the lamb, and the leopard will lie down with the young goat; The calf, the young lion, and the fattened calf together; and a little child will lead them." Isaiah 11:6 WEB