#rescuebehavior

#rescuebehavior

Wild Boar Rescued Two Trapped Young Boars by Unlatching a CageMichaela Masilkova and other researchers from the Czech University of Life Sciences in Prague have observed a rescue attempt by a wild boar of two young boars from a cage. Masilkova et.al. aimed to observe rescue behavior in animals. This type of action is when one individual frees another that finds itself in a distressing or dangerous situation. According to the researchers, “rescue behaviour represents an extreme form of prosocial behaviour that has so far only been demonstrated in a few species.” In addition, rescue behavior is also considered as a form of targeted helping, which can represent the most complex form of empathy. To provide context and backing to their theories, the researchers have documented a case where an adult female wild boar manipulated wooden logs securing the door mechanism of a cage trap and released two entrapped young wild boars. The adult boar expressed a sign of distress in freeing the victims, showing the animal’s sympathy and understanding towards the anguish and stress the entrapped boars were feeling. The whole rescue event lasted 29 minutes. The female rescuer immediately attempted to remove the logs that blocked the doors of the box trap. It involved several attempts, but the logs were eventually removed. The researchers concluded that the adult boar matches the requirements of previously established conditions for rescue behavior. These conditions were the following: (a) the victims being distressed and endangered by physical injury or death, (b) the rescuer puts itself at risk by its rescue actions, wherein the female may or may be at risk of being entrapped with the victims, (c) the behavior of the rescuer is adequate to the victim’s circumstances, as she immediately attempted to remove the logs, and (d) rescue behavior does not bring any direct benefit to the rescuer-- the researchers conclude that the rescue was not motivated by food. Image credit: Michaela Masilkova, et.al #RescueBehavior #AnimalBehavior #WildBoars #Science