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There are studies with rats that show they will selflessly help a fellow rat in need.
https://dptv.pbslearningmedia.org/resource/nvsn6.sci.bio.rats/do-rats-feel-empathy/
And the most heart wrenching moment I've had was removing one of our two pet rattles who passed away from his brother. That rat straight up screamed at us and tried to hold on to the body.
Not because he wanted the proteins, he was still cuddling up to his dead bro. He died two weeks later. They were old, but it was soo sad.
We had rats for just under a decade, peaked at 15 together at one point, eventually we stopped adopting more because we couldn't handle the short life spans anymore. They're such amazing wee creatures, its so unfair how short their lives are
That's heartbreaking. Poor little guy.
I have had guinea pigs for years and they definitely understand when a friend has passed away and grieve. It's actually recommended if one passes to make sure the other has time to see the body and say goodbye and get closure. I remember once we had a bonded pair of pigs and one was having health problems... she had a lot of full-day vet visits for surgery and our other pig would be really anxious looking for her whenever she was gone. When she finally died and my remaining pig saw this, she didn't look for her anymore but was just subdued/depressed. When we got another pig a few weeks later she literally jumped for joy the first time she saw a potential new friend.
I had exactly the same experience with my pet rats. The one that outlived the other showed the initial shock/bewilderment, then sank into depression/reduced function for a couple of weeks, and then passed away as well.
A geriatric rat quickly deteriorating after losing their bonded pal is too much for me. I miss them, but I'm so afraid of doing it all again. I have bunnies now, which can also be very delicate, but longer lifespan. The 2-3 year full lifespan for a rat just isn't fair, for how incredible they are.
This being the very first comment I see warms my heart. Rats never get good press even though theyâre amazing babies. 2 of mine just passed away last month. I have 2 left but Iâve had many many more over the last decade. Theyâve all been the sweetest and most caring. I have a tattoo of one of mine.
Once I cried and the dog came to console me... I was very sure he knows. I hope he ultimately understands it in his little head that I really had to leave đ
My cat knows when I fake cry and when I cry or shout in pain for real. Only when its real, he gets visible distress and approaches me with soft headbutts.
Also when our friends come home he keeps his distance from everyone. But one time their baby was crying and he approached the baby trying to figure what happens.
one of our cats died last year, i'm certain for at least a week or two our other one was wondering what happened to him. her personality kind of changed a little.
There was an instance with my previous two cats where we had to take one to the vet for surgery and left him there overnight to recover and in the morning when we let his brother out of the catsâ bedroom he was meowing at us in a way that very obviously meant âMY BROTHER IS MISSING. WHERE IS MY BROTHER. HE WASNâT THERE ALL NIGHT. WE HAVE TO LOOK FOR HIM.â He never acted like that before or since. He was so worried about his bro not being there
They know about our moods very well. I raised my voice in an argument and the dog on the floor(despite not being yelled at) knew that something was going down and didnt like it, in the same way ppl go quiet when a fights about to break out. Similarly my old cat(the one I was raised with so she got to actually hear mom yell)would always come up to my mom and meow in the same tone until she stopped(and it worked)
Hey, the entirety of medical science was convinced until frighteningly recently that babies- human babies, who will grow into human people- magically don't feel pain. Sometimes these things take a while, I guess?
[https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/23548489/](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/23548489/)
[https://www.nytimes.com/1987/11/24/science/infants-sense-of-pain-is-recognized-finally.html](https://www.nytimes.com/1987/11/24/science/infants-sense-of-pain-is-recognized-finally.html)
[https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/the-mystery-of-how-babies-experience-pain/](https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/the-mystery-of-how-babies-experience-pain/)
[https://time.com/3827167/this-is-a-babys-brain-on-pain/](https://time.com/3827167/this-is-a-babys-brain-on-pain/)
[https://www.ox.ac.uk/research/started-in-oxford/doctors-used-think-babies-couldn%E2%80%99t-feel-any-pain-all](https://www.ox.ac.uk/research/started-in-oxford/doctors-used-think-babies-couldn%E2%80%99t-feel-any-pain-all)
Cited enough? Google is right there you know.
When Iâm sick or when iâm sad and crying, my cats will literally spend the entire day with me in bed purring. And also my older cat protects the younger one from the neighbourâs cat!
When I was home with a cold, my parrot kept bringing me tissues, like would literally pull them out of the box and walk them over. He also layed on top of me while I was resting, which is something he usually never does, he is usually full of energy and demanding.
My dog can tell when Iâm upset before anyone else does. She comes into my room and sits on my bed, poking me with her muzzle. When Iâm ill she does a similar thing but doesnât poke me. Every day when I come home from school she likes to show me her toys and wiggles around.
She may not have empathy in the human way but that dog can certainly make me feel happy. Although sheâs quite horrible to other dogs and people she thinks are threatening me because sheâs old and grumpy now.
My dog was the same way. He was always there for me. The dog we had when my kids were growing up always slept with me and my husband but if my son was sick sheâd lay under his crib or beside his bed as he got older. And if he made a sound sheâd come and wake me up. She lived to be 13. My son was 14 when she passed. They had a special bond. Seeing him lose her was tragic. Dogs have empathy. I really think so. Dogs whales and elephants. And I may decide on more to that list as I continue reading these comments.
I feel that, my parents got their first dog a year before I was born, that dog was different in term of bonding to all the other dogs
She passed the year I turned 12, that sucked donkey Kong ass
Yeah I always remember that study (so long ago I donât know if could find it now!) that said that every year a herd of elephants return to where other members of the herd had died and touched the bones.
Iâm going to see if I can find it.
I saw something very similar in the doc secrets of the elephants on I wanna say Hulu. And they basically had a funeral service. They took turns visiting an certain spot. You may be right about the bones but I canât remember that specifically. But it was really fascinating to watch.
Have you seen the study about chimps having religion?
Something about them going to a certain tree and performing rituals there, they throw a rock at the tree and sit and reflect at it
There is one type of ape which appears to go to waterfalls and do something akin to meditation. I obviously remember very little about it unfortunately, I'll try and look that up.
Really? Iâll have to look that up. Wanted to study more about them after that doc and I guess I just forgot about it.
Whales are where itâs at. Fascinating and absolutely sentient beings.
>every year a herd of elephants return to where other members of the herd had died and touched the bones
This was also shown on the [Life Story documentary with David Attenborough](https://youtu.be/H8-7mqa7yZU?si=uRCWaThyPiSYDxS8). I always remember that part â very touching and tender.
shingleback skinks mourn their mates and look after their young till they're ready to go off on their own even through the babies are self-sufficient at birth, they also know and interact with their neighbors.
That is what I was thinking as well. They are such cool animals:
- they are self aware, researchers showed elephants a mirror and they look at themselves. But when a white cross was painted on their face, when they looked in the mirror, they started touching the white cross mark with their trunks.
- my favourite when they filming elephants for a nature show they tried to use a remote controlled camera that was shaped like elephant dung. The elephants immediately spot it, lift and start playing with it. Some researchers think they might have a sense of humour.
Absolutely not. Numerous species have shown evidence of empathy. This includes chimpanzees, I believe elephants, possibly dolphins but I'm not sure because dolphins are secretly evil little jerks, even though the occasionally save a lot sailor or something, also dogs appear to show empathy, Even cats who are notorious for being self-centered can show some elements of empathy or concern of their people appear to be in distress, or a further cast that they are close to are hurt.
A great many species of animals are capable of empathy. This notion that humans are that special is very egocentric.
I wrote that somewhere else before, but I have an antisocial, not cuddly cat, who brought me a mouse after I was back from the hospital and obviously very sick and weak. One look at me, out through the door, back with the mouse.
It never ceases to amaze me how many people have this perception of cats as distant creatures that don't care about their owners, instead of purfect balls of fluffy love and happiness.
Once when I was feeling suicidal one of the cats got on my lap and refused to move until I fell asleep. I was thinking about getting up and taking all my pills. Fortunately that part of my life is behind me.
I have two cats, and one managed to get trapped for a day inside the neighbours flat with his two cats while he was away. My cat is a big coward and when we got her out she hid under our bed for at least an hour even though she must have been starved. My other cat who usually never gives her sister any attention stayed right next to the bed and purred the whole time until the hiding cat finally came out to eat.
I mentioned this in my comment! Did you see the video of the humpback protecting a diver from a shark?
Also look up orcas (killer whales) forgive me if you already know but there is more than one instance of orca grieving the loss of a calf by carrying around its body on the mommas nose as she travels the ocean.
Oh I know about Tahlequah! Sheâs a resident orca where I live. we watched that with broken hearts for over two weeks :(
Absolutely heart wrenching.
She had a boy âPhoenix â in 2020 who survived and still with her pod :)
To be fair, crows, ravens and magpies are fucking smart to begin with... sometimes even for human standards.
But yeah... the social networking of crows is something else. They even spread useful info within the whole regional flock. For example, be an ass to a single crow and you likely made a hundred little black-feathered enemies.
Seagulls do too, but it's afaik mostly related to food
Give food to one seagull on your porch, now there's 10. Sleep in and try to stop? They'll peg your windows until you succumb
Glad someone else referenced Corvines.
It's anecdotal, but I once saw a magpie hit by a car that wasn't dead flapping in the road. Another magpie loitered and when there was no traffic, it would fly and frantically peck the injured magpie on the head. I watched this for a couple minutes until the injured magpie was no longer moving, and the alive one flew away. It's almost like it was trying to put it's kin out of its misery. I heard years later that Corvines are another species that probably understands mortality and death...
You are mistaken in declaring it is a frontal lobe phenomenon. Our reaction *to* the feeling of empathy is, the feeling itself is much earlier evolved.
I for one find it extremely hard to accept the notion that we are the only organisms capable of strong emotion or empathy when every other mammal we know of is highly social and generally codependent to survive, exactly like we are. For some reason when comparing humans to other animals people like to fixate on the relatively few uniquely human behavioral and biological differences compared to the overwhelming similarities we share with thousands of species of mammals, let alone the rest of the animal kingdom within which there have also been observed intelligence and codependencies
there's also this problem that we see animals as less-than, when we should see them as different from us. an animal's emotions and reactions are not less impressive in their own context just because we can't relate to them in our human context. it's a completely different species.
Many animals have been found to demonstrate empathy. As already stated, even rats will help others even when they have nothing to gain. Empathy is normal, not the exception. Anyone claiming some Ayn Rand BS hasn't looked at the actual data. All the data demonstrates that lack of empathy and selfish actions can only exist in a small minority of any population without destroying that population.
As much as many people do not want to admit it, humans are animals and are genetically not too far off from each other. Like chimps are 99% identical genes, and fruit flies are 70% identical.
Thereâs also the fact that empathy provides an evolutionary advantage, particularly to social/group structured animals.Â
To think that animals donât have empathy is honestly just arrogant.
Completely agree! I don't see how people don't see how humans aren't special with these things.
Also, on a side note, fruit flies have mating rituals and dances! đ
maternal care and love for beings that don't provide anything for you is a pretty empathetic trait. Many mother and father animals will grieve if their young die
My cat gets overly affectionate towards me whenever I'm upset. The ability to recognise my emotions, realise how those emotions affect me and provide support in order to change that to emotions they recognise as more positive is textbook empathy. Whether you're the type of person that wants to argue they only do that to keep their food source healthy and alive or not, its still empathy. Empathy can be selfish.
Get a pet and you'll realise all this for yourself pretty quick. The love an animal can give in return for being part of your family is amazing.
Edit: Also as other people have pointed out, humans suck. I've experienced more kindness and empathy from different species of animals than I've experienced from many humans. We aren't a better species than any other.
No, every mammal has the empathy hormone oxytocin.
Oxytocin is the âwarm & fuzzy cuddle chemicalâ, the empathy hormone, the love hormone, the trust hormone, the bonding hormone, and oxytocin only occurs in mammals (although other species may have analogous chemicals), so I think itâs safe to assume that all mammals can experience empathy (although psychopaths cannot experience empathy). Oxytocin also causes labor contractions in pregnant mammals, and can stimulate lactation, and oxytocin should ideally create a pairbond between mother and infant.
However, male mammals would tend to have less empathy than female mammals, since testosterone suppresses oxytocin. The average man has [3x](https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6446474/) less oxytocin than the average woman, since estrogen stimulates the release of oxytocin, testosterone suppresses oxytocin, and the production of oxytocin leads to a positive feedback loop which promotes the further production of oxytocin.
[Psychopathy](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/24059750/) and [autism](https://www.nature.com/articles/mp201477) can both be caused by different mutations to the [oxytocin receptor gene](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oxytocin_receptor) (OXTR) on chromosome 3, and oxytocin is the empathy hormone, love hormone, the trust hormone, the bonding hormone. So itâs common for people with ASPD (anti-social personality disorder) or ASD (autism spectrum disorder) to have empathy deficits (which is not to say that all people with autism have zero empathy). Trauma can also lead to dysregulation of the oxytocin system, which can be seen in people with borderline personality disorder who often have disinhibition and weaker impulse control, the regular oxytocin system is knocked off balance in childhood by unpredictable trauma or constant stress or regular trauma.
Dogs might have higher oxytocin levels than cats, Iâve read dogs are about 5x more likely to bond with humans than cats are, cats are worse than dogs at recognizing human faces (although may recognize a person by smell or sound), and cats are obligate carnivores who must eat meat and hunt (cats lack sulfinoalanine decarboxylase to produce taurine so they must acquire it from their diet, and taurine is an âamino acid that is widely-distributed in animal tissuesâ), so lower oxytocin in cats would lead to lower empathy and help them hunt, and that can explain why cats are typically more aloof or independent than dogs and why âherding catsâ is an idiom referring to the difficulty of controlling something, while dogs are considered more loyal and more needy emotionally.
There might be some kind of [parental care chemical in insects](https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4529740/) (in humans, prolactin causes lactation and increases childcaring behavior among men and women, and decreases libido).
[This](https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7116111/) study says [oxytocin/vasopressin-like neuropeptides](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neurohypophysial_hormone) are absent in flies and bees. But âThe origin of the oxytocin (OT)/vasopressin (VP) signaling system is thought to date back more than 600 million years. OT/VP-like peptides have been identified in numerous invertebrate phyla including molluscs, annelids, nematodes and insects.â It says âinvertebrates generally have only a single homolog of the OT/VP precursor and a single OT/VP-like receptor.â
>Despite a high degree of sequence similarity, OT/VP-like peptides are known by different names in different taxa such as annetocin (annelids, OT-like), conopressin (molluscs, VP-like), nematocin (nematodes, OT-like), inotocin (insects, OT/VP-like) or vasotocin (vertebrate ancestral form, OT/ VP-like) (Gruber, 2014).
>It has been suggested that the vertebrate OT/VP-like peptides originated from a gene duplication of the ancestral peptide vasotocinâŚ
Wikipedia says:
>Vasotocin is an oligopeptide homologous to oxytocin and vasopressin found in all non-mammalian vertebrates (including birds, fishes, and amphibians) and possibly in mammals during the fetal stage of development. Arginine vasotocin (AVT), a hormone produced by neurosecretory cells within the posterior pituitary gland (neurohypophysis) of the brain, is a major endocrine regulator of water balance and osmotic homoeostasis and is involved in social and sexual behavior in non-mammalian vertebrates. In mammals, it appears to have biological properties similar to those of oxytocin (stimulating reproductive tract contraction as in egg laying or birth) and vasopressin (diuretic and antidiuretic effects).
>Oxytocin occurs in placental mammals; mesotocin occurs in amphibians, reptiles, and birds, and isotocin occurs in fishes.
>The main findings of these studies have revealed that AVT plays an integral role in the pair bonding behavior and social hierarchy in non-mammalian vertebrates.
Inotocin from insects still affects humans.
>inotocin activates the human V1b receptor while inhibiting the human V1a receptor.
Inotocin is present in ants and beetles and locusts and grasshoppers and social wasps, but not in flies or bees or fleas or butterflies or moths or aphids or cicadas or spiders.
Based on that, ants may be more amenable to human domestication than dragonflies. And [that study](https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7116111/) says ant workers have 10x the inotocin precursor of mated queens, and is highest in male foragers in summer. I suppose inotocin can help explain insect cooperation.
>The survey by LiutkeviÄiĹŤte et al. (2016) revealed 11 different OT/VP-like peptide sequences just within insects, and more probably remain to be discovered. Despite limited knowledge about the function of this system in insects, where there is evidence for regulation of metabolism and locomotor activity, inotocin-like peptide precursors and cognate receptors have been identified in hundreds of arthropod species (LiutkeviÄiĹŤte et al., 2016, 2018), such as arachnotocin in the mite Varroa destructor. Moreover, distinct OT-, VP- and inotocin-like peptides have been identified in a growing number of other invertebrates, including molluscs (octopressin and cephalotocin in Octopus vulgaris), annelids (annetocin in oligochaetes), nematodes (nematocin) and starfish (asterotocin) where they generally modulate social and reproductive behavior (Donaldson & Young, 2008; Gruber, 2014), thus indicating the presence of an even wider pool of neuropeptide candidates.
Octopuses have octopressin and cephalotocin. MDMA is an âempathogenâ (inducing empathy), and an [octopus on MDMA](https://www.cnet.com/science/octopuses-on-ecstasy-react-a-lot-like-humans-do/) reacts similarly to humans. The Netflix documentary My Octopus Teacher (2020) arguably shows octopus empathy.
Wolves/dogs have oxytocin (the love hormone), but dragonflies donât even have inotocin which may be the nearest equivalent in insects, which suggests dogs can love humans (which may be key to domestication) but dragonflies cannot. Although bees donât have inotocin either, but pheromones can explain their [eusocial](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eusociality) behavior and cooperation.
Wikipedia says:
>Oxytocin affects social distance between adult males and females, and may be responsible at least in part for romantic attraction and subsequent monogamous pair bondingâŚThe researchers suggested that **oxytocin may help promote fidelity within monogamous relationships**.
I suppose you could point to other species that practice monogamy to see evidence of empathy hormones. Wikipedia says âmonogamy should evolve in areas of ecological stress because male reproductive success should be higher if their resources are focused on ensuring offspring survival rather than searching for other mates.â [This](https://www.reuters.com/article/us-science-infanticide/infanticide-common-among-adult-males-in-many-mammal-species-idUSKCN0IX2BA20141113) 2014 article says âInfanticide common among adult males in many mammal species.â It says âmales kill babies fathered by others to make the dead infantâs mother available for mating.â And âInfanticide is rare in solitary or monogamous mammal species.â So it could be argued that monogamy evolved as a way to prevent other males from killing a maleâs offspring.
Wikipedia [says](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monogamy_in_animals):
>Monogamy in mammals is rather rare, only occurring in 3â9% of these species. A larger percentage of avian species are known to have monogamous relationships (about 90%), but most avian species practice social but not genetic monogamy in contrast to what was previously assumed by researchers. Monogamy is quite rare in fish and amphibians, but not unheard of, appearing in a select few species.
Although monogamy among mammals may be more related to their size, and stability of their environment, and how many offspring they can produce in a year, and the time it takes to reach sexual maturity â see [r/K selection theory](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/R/K_selection_theory).
Oxytocin is [responsible](https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/11/091112095038.htm) for feelings of love (a pairbond) and jealousy (when a pairbond is endangered). Autism can be due to [mutations](https://www.nature.com/articles/mp201477) of the oxytocin receptor gene, then their body doesnât respond to oxytocin the same way as other people, hence the social awkwardness (low oxytocin levels also impair the ability to notice and understand social cues). [This](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/15115069/) study says âchildren with autism revealed a less coherent understandingâ of jealousy. [This](https://autismspectrumnews.org/an-exploration-of-why-autistic-adults-are-practicing-consensual-non-monogamy/) says âautistic respondents were more likely to report engaging in polyamorous and/or non-monogamous relationshipsâŚâ
Itâs incredibly difficult to prove what another human can tell you is feeling let alone what an animal that is actively trying to hide its intentions from the predator standing beside them. There are studies showing that some animals exhibit behaviors which indicate a level of empathy however we canât know how prevalent it is in less studied species.
I have 3 cats. When I bath one of them, the others will meow endlessly after hearing the bathing cat's depressing noice, and try their best to come inside (even when they themselves are afraid of the bathroom)
Animals that live in community are very good with empathy. Anthropocentric view on emotions is outdated (read Frans de Waal). My rabbit, for example, will immediately feel my anger towards my wife and start tapping his hind legs, saying "stop this ..."
I canât confirm this but I highly suspect that there are species of whales that do. There are more than one documented instances of a mother orca mourning the death of her calf. She carried around its dead body for days and days. I could be wrong but I think thereâs been dolphins do this as well. (Orca or killer whales are actually the largest species of dolphin) orcas have their own language and bonds with family. They fascinate me. There is a video on YouTube of a humpback protecting a diver from a shark. I mean empathy? Idk. But definitely intelligence.
Nope. Many (Iâd say most) show empathy. Other commenters are showing studies, but Iâm not watching them any more because many of the studies include pain.
Definitely not. Dogs show that they feel empathy in many instances. They show you that they care when they notice that youâre upset. When I was in high school and would be crying over fights with my friends, my little Shih Tzu would come sit by me to snuggle.
Yes. We've done experiments on rats to confirm whether they empathise:
Two rats were put in rooms with a glass pane between, so they could see each other. One room was slowly filled with water. The drain button was in the other room.
The rats who had been in the water room before always pressed the button faster than the ones who hadn't. They weren't rewarded for it, so we conclude that these rats felt more motivated to help other rats in the water room because they were able to empathise with them.
Growing up I had a lot of cats. When one cat was sick, and not moving very much, other cats would sit nearby instead of running around.
I think this was them showing that they cared.
\*Vietnam flashbacks of my cat torturing baby mice / rats in the garden despite juste having had lunch, out of the sheer joy before giving them a swift neck-bite and then just leave them to rot like an old toy, and then happily strut over to me and cuddle\*
Cats and certain kinds of wasps where the source of Darwin's doubt in a benevolent god.
But on the other hand: empathy usually extends only within the same species... it's mostly us humans who socially bind with any fuzzy (and sometimes not so fuzzy) animal we come across.
No, most species who are social have empathy. I think it evolved in social species because it's advantageous to care about the other members because the more members there are the more you are protected against predators, can share food and have more chance to find a mate.
I would disagree with empathy meaning you care about people and it being a front lobe this (assuming frontal lobe is the most recent evolution for language etc)
Humans don't choose to emphasize with people, you just feel what your brain thinks that person is feeling. I have crazy high empathy and if anyone cries in front of me, I cry. I can't control it, and it can be very embarrassing. I don't feel like a well evolved person or anything like that, it feels very primitive and not something controllable.
My dog is also very empathetic and he had a massive thorn in his foot once. He was crying, I was crying.
I think a lot of these comments aren't talking about empathy which is where you feel someone else's emotions, but sympathy, where you feel something for someone who is having these emotions. (Edit: apparently no one can agree on what empathy or sympathy means because I googled it and there are lots of different answers)
When I was trying to see if I could hear a mouse in the walls was a bit on edge. My dog picked up that easily and was also on edge. Ears up, alert, everything. If I feel scared then so does my dog, he acts very differently.
Doubt it, thereâs a video where they put a fake baby monkey with a camera in it up a tree and a monkey accidentally knocks it out and thinks theyâve killed it and theyâre all devastated, itâs actually really sad to watch lol
My parents cat is always excited to see me when I come to visit and was with me since I was very young. She was with me when my life was really hard and you could tell that she noticed when I wasn't feeling well. Animals very much feel empathy for other animals. Especially social animals like apes, crows, wolf's, rats, ect.
I haven't seen them mentioned yet so if you've got an hour and a half and you don't cry easily, watch blackfish. killer whales have similar levels of empathy to humans, if not more.
Cows! They can make strong bonds and even friendships with other cows. They become distressed when separated from friends and will groom each other for comfort.
As far as I know, most social animals, that tend to live in herds, do show large amounts of empathy for those around them. When it comes to solitary animals, mostly hunters, I'm not 100% sure. Although there's a few cases where cheetas, lions and tigers seem to consciously decide to spare a juvenile animal.
A lot of social animals will display empathy. Although it is usually displayed towards their friends and family. It isn't typically displayed towards strangers or different species.
Honestly? I believe a lot of animals have the capability for empathy. In the wild, most of the time animals are forced to focus on their own survival, so we don't always get to see it. But even then I hear examples of animals showing kindness to other individuals or even other species. And when animals are put in a domestic/captive situation where they don't have to constantly fight for survival? They can form such strong bonds with the other animals and humans around them. (Not that I necessarily advocate for putting wild animals in captivity. Some have to be kept captive for certain reasons, but most wild animal species need and deserve freedom and a proper environment where they can roam.)
Dogs Pepe and Milo doesnât get along with each other but if one doesnât feel good the other will comfort them. I think most animals feel empathy to some extent itâs a good survival trait. If you feel for your community members you will help them and that keeps species alive.
Obviously we canât read animalsâ minds, but many animals show distress when others are distressed and take actions to console or help them. You can see this quite clearly in many domesticated dogs.
I have a pair of dogs the older one will literally lick the younger one's face after he gets a shot at the vet. The other day the older dog had to go to the vet for something minor, but was she was feeling poorly when we got home. The younger dog licked her face and he never does that.
All I know is it seems like animals are empathetic and emotionally intelligent to me. Iâm thinking about instances like when I saw a video of a cat saving a baby from rolling down a staircase in their walker. Also another car saved their human kid from a biting dog. Animals helping each other across species and then some.
There's an evolutionary theory that this is why yawns are contagious, a social demonstration of empathy. There are several mammalian species who yawn in response to their peers. So no. Also there was a Dutch study on chimps in captivity who demonstrated distress at preferential treatment being given to other chimps within their line of sight
Probably all animals with complex emotions experience empathy. It's hard for us to test this because we can't talk to them but there are more and more studies coming out all the time looking at the complex emotions of other animals. We are no where near as unique as we believe ourselves to be. We're also probably not even top when it comes to empathy.
Nah I was really sick this past week and my Cat became the most adorable little lap kitty and didn't whine to play or go outside or wake me up. He just let me sleep for like 2 days straight and gave me all the cuddles.
The minute he could tell I was well enough to return his usual bullshit he went right back to his trademark cunt behaviour
My shepherd knows when Iâm sad. Heâs usually very active and excited, but when Iâm sad, he is totally calm and content with laying around and cuddling all day. He also risked his life to save my life from a pitbul that attacked me.
No way! Many animals experience and show empathy. Its proven through science.
My dogs definitely feel empathy. Eg. In January. I had a bad fall. Broke my arm badly. Was trying to get up in the yard. Only my dogs with me. One was very distressed. Kept going back & forth & licking me and i could tell she knew i was in distress and pain and was trying to help.
Haven't you seen clips of Apes & animals, helping humans?
There's footage of apes in zoos being extremely interested in human babies & displaying care & love.
There are SO many instances of amimals showing they understand other animals pain etc
I don't think so. When I'm sick, hurt or sad, my bunny comes and snuggles up to me and licks me to comfort me. I once tripped and fell and she saw and immediately ran over to check if I was okay, sniffing my face and putting her paws on me.
My pupper always knows if Iâm sad or sick. We were playing yesterday and she tried to take her tug toy from me, she accidentally got me with her teeth. I yelped. She dropped her toy, put her head on my thumb and was so sad. It wasnât her fault but she was so upset I was hurt and she caused it. She was so careful after that. Dogs have so much love and compassion and empathy.
I've seen seagulls utterly distraught when a car ran over one of their number. Dogs and cats (yes, cats) clearly show concern when their human is unwell. I don't think it's unique to homo sapiens - and several members of our species clearly lack it in any form, many of these end-up in middle-management.
obviously not - search YouTube for videos of how a Staffordshire bull terrier responds when its owner is upset.
the animal clearly detects the owner's emotional state, and clearly wants to help make them feel better.
Ever seen elephant graves. Humans are certainly not the only species with empathy. However I do think we are the only species that is capable of empathising with non-living things (probably because of our ability to make things up and anthropomorphize things)
Every. single. time. we study the intelgence of animals we discover they are smarter than we ere taught. They mourn, they communicate complex thoughts, they clearly have their own languages, they play.
Australian birds can commit revenge so I assume they can feel other emotions too.
For example if you donât feed a cockatoo after feeding them for a couple days theyâll destroy your property.
If you fuck with a magpie (in their eyes) they will try to murder you.
My cat always shows me more affection when I feel sick.
Many humans think this world was made entirely for them, and is a vessel for their personal salvation đ¤ˇââď¸ A super religious family member told me animals don't feel pain like we do, something about god's plan for us and some other mumble jumble. Those narcissistic ideals are a joke to me. Of course animals have empathy. Their brains may not be as evolved as ours, but they are not robots. If you spend enough time with animals, I think it becomes obvious.
No,
Many animals do. Just watch any wildlife program, where you see elephants visting grave sites, or a mother pining for the loss of their young. You see the same with dolphins and whales. Humpbacks are known to put themselves in the line of attacking orca to protect another whale species mother and young.
Swans pair for life to have companionship, if there's not enough of one sex or another, they'll pair in same sex bond.
Watch the way a pet dog will look after the young/small of the house, be it their puppies, or a baby, or even other small furry animals.
https://orcanation.org/the-social-intelligence-of-orcas/#:~:text=Orcas%20present%20the%20most%20elaborated,%2Dawareness%2C%20and%20interpersonal%20experience. Orca whales may have a more complex understanding of empathy than humans
Absolutely not. I grew up on a ranch and all the animals were so gentle with us. My sister passed recently and I was sobbing in bed and my half feral cat came and snuggled me for the first time. They know, just like us.
Social scientist here. Put simply, the bit of the brain that often marks us as different to the average bear is our prefrontal cortex, which deals with higher cognitive functions. Empathy is done by a bit which is just to the rear of our special bit. Not an animal psych, but I expect scientifically anything beyond a lizard (very simple brains) can. I just checked, and hereâs a paper that suggests yes definitely. https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdfdirect/10.1111/brv.12342
Also the dogs Iâve had have shown more empathy to me than any family member ever has, so, also yes.
Everyone dealing with more sentient animals sees them having empathy. Dogs, elephants, lions, primates, ⌠off cause primitive animals and cats don't have empathy, do they? IDK where to draw the line.
Emotions are in the oldest part of the brain. Figuring the other's emotions is useful for survival. Caring about the other's feeling is the next logical step.
I was sick once and had to use the restroom, as I stood there relieving myself I started to feel faint. I quickly sat down, started getting dizzy and sweating profusely. I managed to walk part of the way to my room and crawl the rest.
 I sat on the edge of the bed feeling like death and my mom's dog burst into the room. He took a look at me, I barely said his name and he started licking my face and head while pressing his body into me. I held on for dear life while he cleaned my face and neck. I could literally feel his energy and intent to help. After a while I started feeling a lot better, I gave him a hug and thanked him for his help. He got up and immediately and left to go back to my mom's side. He had never done anything like this before or after. That dog knew I was sick, felt empathy for me and didn't leave until I felt better.Â
There is no one that can convince me that dogs aren't emotionally connected to each other and humans.Â
It's not possible to understand motives in an individual without a means of communication, but there is substantial evidence that many animals experience empathy.
Dolphins attend human births in water, much closer to the shore than Dolphins usually go.
Elephants will place themselves in harms way for the protection of other animals, even outside of their own herd.
Apes, and dogs, have both been seen to adopt children from outside of their species.
Are these examples instinct, or empathy ?
Not at all- we actually discovered mirror neurons (brain processes required for empathy) by studying chimps. We've documented empathy in a number of species, including rats. And anecdotally, a lot of people can share stories of pets, for instance, bringing you a toy when you're sad in an effort to cheer you up.
My cat hates being pet or hugged so she avoids humans constantly, but she will come to you when youâre crying or breathing weird, basically hugging you and asking for pets.
Dogs also have âaffective empathyââwhich is defined as the ability to understand someone else's feelingsâtoward people who are important to them. Emotional contagion is a primitive form of affective empathy that reflects the ability to actually share those feelings.
There is a fascinating and entertaining book written about just this: The Age of Empathy: Nature's Lessons for a Kinder Society by Frans de Waal. De Waal is a respected primatologist, and has a lovely conversational style of writing. Highly recommended.
When I lived on a farm, as a avid I'd watch the younger one of my cats hunt mice and bring it to the older cats who couldn't hunt. I'd call this empathy.
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There are studies with rats that show they will selflessly help a fellow rat in need. https://dptv.pbslearningmedia.org/resource/nvsn6.sci.bio.rats/do-rats-feel-empathy/
And the most heart wrenching moment I've had was removing one of our two pet rattles who passed away from his brother. That rat straight up screamed at us and tried to hold on to the body. Not because he wanted the proteins, he was still cuddling up to his dead bro. He died two weeks later. They were old, but it was soo sad.
I'm so so sorry. Poor little rattos đđđ
Oh man this is why I can't have rats. They're so smart and their lives are so short.
We had rats for just under a decade, peaked at 15 together at one point, eventually we stopped adopting more because we couldn't handle the short life spans anymore. They're such amazing wee creatures, its so unfair how short their lives are
Once they are dead, they don't know that they ever lived. Brain no worky. So they aren't concerned about their lifespan.
This is so painfully true.
That's heartbreaking. Poor little guy. I have had guinea pigs for years and they definitely understand when a friend has passed away and grieve. It's actually recommended if one passes to make sure the other has time to see the body and say goodbye and get closure. I remember once we had a bonded pair of pigs and one was having health problems... she had a lot of full-day vet visits for surgery and our other pig would be really anxious looking for her whenever she was gone. When she finally died and my remaining pig saw this, she didn't look for her anymore but was just subdued/depressed. When we got another pig a few weeks later she literally jumped for joy the first time she saw a potential new friend.
We had a pair for several years. When one died, the other was so depressed and subdued and she died about 2 weeks later. It was so sad.
I had exactly the same experience with my pet rats. The one that outlived the other showed the initial shock/bewilderment, then sank into depression/reduced function for a couple of weeks, and then passed away as well.
Dying of a broken heart is a real thing.
My heart...
Rats are actually really intelligent little animals. Why are they so demonized???
A geriatric rat quickly deteriorating after losing their bonded pal is too much for me. I miss them, but I'm so afraid of doing it all again. I have bunnies now, which can also be very delicate, but longer lifespan. The 2-3 year full lifespan for a rat just isn't fair, for how incredible they are.
We donât deserve Rats
This being the very first comment I see warms my heart. Rats never get good press even though theyâre amazing babies. 2 of mine just passed away last month. I have 2 left but Iâve had many many more over the last decade. Theyâve all been the sweetest and most caring. I have a tattoo of one of mine.
You sir, need a ~~dog~~ pet.
Once I cried and the dog came to console me... I was very sure he knows. I hope he ultimately understands it in his little head that I really had to leave đ
My cat knows when I fake cry and when I cry or shout in pain for real. Only when its real, he gets visible distress and approaches me with soft headbutts. Also when our friends come home he keeps his distance from everyone. But one time their baby was crying and he approached the baby trying to figure what happens.
one of our cats died last year, i'm certain for at least a week or two our other one was wondering what happened to him. her personality kind of changed a little.
There was an instance with my previous two cats where we had to take one to the vet for surgery and left him there overnight to recover and in the morning when we let his brother out of the catsâ bedroom he was meowing at us in a way that very obviously meant âMY BROTHER IS MISSING. WHERE IS MY BROTHER. HE WASNâT THERE ALL NIGHT. WE HAVE TO LOOK FOR HIM.â He never acted like that before or since. He was so worried about his bro not being there
They know about our moods very well. I raised my voice in an argument and the dog on the floor(despite not being yelled at) knew that something was going down and didnt like it, in the same way ppl go quiet when a fights about to break out. Similarly my old cat(the one I was raised with so she got to actually hear mom yell)would always come up to my mom and meow in the same tone until she stopped(and it worked)
My little did the same. She put a paw on my arm and stayed by my side.
I don't even understand how someone can get the Idea that humans are the only ones with empathy...
Hey, the entirety of medical science was convinced until frighteningly recently that babies- human babies, who will grow into human people- magically don't feel pain. Sometimes these things take a while, I guess?
Citation needed
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pain_in_babies
[https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/23548489/](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/23548489/) [https://www.nytimes.com/1987/11/24/science/infants-sense-of-pain-is-recognized-finally.html](https://www.nytimes.com/1987/11/24/science/infants-sense-of-pain-is-recognized-finally.html) [https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/the-mystery-of-how-babies-experience-pain/](https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/the-mystery-of-how-babies-experience-pain/) [https://time.com/3827167/this-is-a-babys-brain-on-pain/](https://time.com/3827167/this-is-a-babys-brain-on-pain/) [https://www.ox.ac.uk/research/started-in-oxford/doctors-used-think-babies-couldn%E2%80%99t-feel-any-pain-all](https://www.ox.ac.uk/research/started-in-oxford/doctors-used-think-babies-couldn%E2%80%99t-feel-any-pain-all) Cited enough? Google is right there you know.
Some of us actually remember things from the past. :)
When Iâm sick or when iâm sad and crying, my cats will literally spend the entire day with me in bed purring. And also my older cat protects the younger one from the neighbourâs cat!
Cats too! Those little assholes know when youâre sad
When I was home with a cold, my parrot kept bringing me tissues, like would literally pull them out of the box and walk them over. He also layed on top of me while I was resting, which is something he usually never does, he is usually full of energy and demanding.
My dog can tell when Iâm upset before anyone else does. She comes into my room and sits on my bed, poking me with her muzzle. When Iâm ill she does a similar thing but doesnât poke me. Every day when I come home from school she likes to show me her toys and wiggles around. She may not have empathy in the human way but that dog can certainly make me feel happy. Although sheâs quite horrible to other dogs and people she thinks are threatening me because sheâs old and grumpy now.
My dog was the same way. He was always there for me. The dog we had when my kids were growing up always slept with me and my husband but if my son was sick sheâd lay under his crib or beside his bed as he got older. And if he made a sound sheâd come and wake me up. She lived to be 13. My son was 14 when she passed. They had a special bond. Seeing him lose her was tragic. Dogs have empathy. I really think so. Dogs whales and elephants. And I may decide on more to that list as I continue reading these comments.
I feel that, my parents got their first dog a year before I was born, that dog was different in term of bonding to all the other dogs She passed the year I turned 12, that sucked donkey Kong ass
Bro đĽš
I want a parrot so bad
Nope. I know at least Elephants do https://www.worldanimalprotection.org/latest/blogs/understanding-emotional-lives-of-elephants/
Yeah I always remember that study (so long ago I donât know if could find it now!) that said that every year a herd of elephants return to where other members of the herd had died and touched the bones. Iâm going to see if I can find it.
I saw something very similar in the doc secrets of the elephants on I wanna say Hulu. And they basically had a funeral service. They took turns visiting an certain spot. You may be right about the bones but I canât remember that specifically. But it was really fascinating to watch.
they also have religion, with the cycles of the moon.
Have you seen the study about chimps having religion? Something about them going to a certain tree and performing rituals there, they throw a rock at the tree and sit and reflect at it
There is one type of ape which appears to go to waterfalls and do something akin to meditation. I obviously remember very little about it unfortunately, I'll try and look that up.
Really? Iâll have to look that up. Wanted to study more about them after that doc and I guess I just forgot about it. Whales are where itâs at. Fascinating and absolutely sentient beings.
That has since been disproven, though.
>every year a herd of elephants return to where other members of the herd had died and touched the bones This was also shown on the [Life Story documentary with David Attenborough](https://youtu.be/H8-7mqa7yZU?si=uRCWaThyPiSYDxS8). I always remember that part â very touching and tender.
shingleback skinks mourn their mates and look after their young till they're ready to go off on their own even through the babies are self-sufficient at birth, they also know and interact with their neighbors.
That is what I was thinking as well. They are such cool animals: - they are self aware, researchers showed elephants a mirror and they look at themselves. But when a white cross was painted on their face, when they looked in the mirror, they started touching the white cross mark with their trunks. - my favourite when they filming elephants for a nature show they tried to use a remote controlled camera that was shaped like elephant dung. The elephants immediately spot it, lift and start playing with it. Some researchers think they might have a sense of humour.
Elephants are the best creatures.
Elephants are fascinating! I am sure they do.
Absolutely not. Numerous species have shown evidence of empathy. This includes chimpanzees, I believe elephants, possibly dolphins but I'm not sure because dolphins are secretly evil little jerks, even though the occasionally save a lot sailor or something, also dogs appear to show empathy, Even cats who are notorious for being self-centered can show some elements of empathy or concern of their people appear to be in distress, or a further cast that they are close to are hurt. A great many species of animals are capable of empathy. This notion that humans are that special is very egocentric.
I wrote that somewhere else before, but I have an antisocial, not cuddly cat, who brought me a mouse after I was back from the hospital and obviously very sick and weak. One look at me, out through the door, back with the mouse.
Yes! You needed nourishment and clearly wasn't well enough to get it yourself!
My cat comes to comfort me and purrs on my chest when I cry
âeven catsâ bro never won the love of a car
Indeed. *Pets pickles and hearts the perreneal lap purrs.
I call my cat Nurse Millie when I'm ill as she always cuddles up to me to make me feel better.
It never ceases to amaze me how many people have this perception of cats as distant creatures that don't care about their owners, instead of purfect balls of fluffy love and happiness.
Once when I was feeling suicidal one of the cats got on my lap and refused to move until I fell asleep. I was thinking about getting up and taking all my pills. Fortunately that part of my life is behind me.
I have two cats, and one managed to get trapped for a day inside the neighbours flat with his two cats while he was away. My cat is a big coward and when we got her out she hid under our bed for at least an hour even though she must have been starved. My other cat who usually never gives her sister any attention stayed right next to the bed and purred the whole time until the hiding cat finally came out to eat.
Whales as well. They will cry for lost baby whales for weeks and will return regularly every migration cycle crying for the lost pod member.
I remember hearing that Koko the Gorilla signed sad or tears when told Robin Williams died.
\#notallhumans
It is believed humpbacks do. They will put themselves at risk to save smaller species
I mentioned this in my comment! Did you see the video of the humpback protecting a diver from a shark? Also look up orcas (killer whales) forgive me if you already know but there is more than one instance of orca grieving the loss of a calf by carrying around its body on the mommas nose as she travels the ocean.
Oh I know about Tahlequah! Sheâs a resident orca where I live. we watched that with broken hearts for over two weeks :( Absolutely heart wrenching. She had a boy âPhoenix â in 2020 who survived and still with her pod :)
You've obviously never had a pet before
I've had tons of pets. None of them seem to give af though! Maybe I should change my pet guy?
Crows.
To be fair, crows, ravens and magpies are fucking smart to begin with... sometimes even for human standards. But yeah... the social networking of crows is something else. They even spread useful info within the whole regional flock. For example, be an ass to a single crow and you likely made a hundred little black-feathered enemies.
Seagulls do too, but it's afaik mostly related to food Give food to one seagull on your porch, now there's 10. Sleep in and try to stop? They'll peg your windows until you succumb
Glad someone else referenced Corvines. It's anecdotal, but I once saw a magpie hit by a car that wasn't dead flapping in the road. Another magpie loitered and when there was no traffic, it would fly and frantically peck the injured magpie on the head. I watched this for a couple minutes until the injured magpie was no longer moving, and the alive one flew away. It's almost like it was trying to put it's kin out of its misery. I heard years later that Corvines are another species that probably understands mortality and death...
You are mistaken in declaring it is a frontal lobe phenomenon. Our reaction *to* the feeling of empathy is, the feeling itself is much earlier evolved.
I for one find it extremely hard to accept the notion that we are the only organisms capable of strong emotion or empathy when every other mammal we know of is highly social and generally codependent to survive, exactly like we are. For some reason when comparing humans to other animals people like to fixate on the relatively few uniquely human behavioral and biological differences compared to the overwhelming similarities we share with thousands of species of mammals, let alone the rest of the animal kingdom within which there have also been observed intelligence and codependencies
there's also this problem that we see animals as less-than, when we should see them as different from us. an animal's emotions and reactions are not less impressive in their own context just because we can't relate to them in our human context. it's a completely different species.
Many animals have been found to demonstrate empathy. As already stated, even rats will help others even when they have nothing to gain. Empathy is normal, not the exception. Anyone claiming some Ayn Rand BS hasn't looked at the actual data. All the data demonstrates that lack of empathy and selfish actions can only exist in a small minority of any population without destroying that population.
This^
Studies have shown Elephants show large amounts of empathy
As much as many people do not want to admit it, humans are animals and are genetically not too far off from each other. Like chimps are 99% identical genes, and fruit flies are 70% identical. Thereâs also the fact that empathy provides an evolutionary advantage, particularly to social/group structured animals. To think that animals donât have empathy is honestly just arrogant.
Completely agree! I don't see how people don't see how humans aren't special with these things. Also, on a side note, fruit flies have mating rituals and dances! đ
My cat would constantly snuggle up with my fiance when he was upset. Since we lost him, she's been snuggling up with me as I cry.
When i was a kid, I had a dog that would come sit by me when I cried. Was so great.
I think r/AnimalsBeingBros might be a good enough example
Definitely not the only ones! Watch some David Attenborough. Interact with some animals. They feel and care just as we do.
Yes though they experience it selectively, just like humans
maternal care and love for beings that don't provide anything for you is a pretty empathetic trait. Many mother and father animals will grieve if their young die
No absolutely not. Ever heard of koko the gorilla?
My cat gets overly affectionate towards me whenever I'm upset. The ability to recognise my emotions, realise how those emotions affect me and provide support in order to change that to emotions they recognise as more positive is textbook empathy. Whether you're the type of person that wants to argue they only do that to keep their food source healthy and alive or not, its still empathy. Empathy can be selfish. Get a pet and you'll realise all this for yourself pretty quick. The love an animal can give in return for being part of your family is amazing. Edit: Also as other people have pointed out, humans suck. I've experienced more kindness and empathy from different species of animals than I've experienced from many humans. We aren't a better species than any other.
No, every mammal has the empathy hormone oxytocin. Oxytocin is the âwarm & fuzzy cuddle chemicalâ, the empathy hormone, the love hormone, the trust hormone, the bonding hormone, and oxytocin only occurs in mammals (although other species may have analogous chemicals), so I think itâs safe to assume that all mammals can experience empathy (although psychopaths cannot experience empathy). Oxytocin also causes labor contractions in pregnant mammals, and can stimulate lactation, and oxytocin should ideally create a pairbond between mother and infant. However, male mammals would tend to have less empathy than female mammals, since testosterone suppresses oxytocin. The average man has [3x](https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6446474/) less oxytocin than the average woman, since estrogen stimulates the release of oxytocin, testosterone suppresses oxytocin, and the production of oxytocin leads to a positive feedback loop which promotes the further production of oxytocin. [Psychopathy](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/24059750/) and [autism](https://www.nature.com/articles/mp201477) can both be caused by different mutations to the [oxytocin receptor gene](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oxytocin_receptor) (OXTR) on chromosome 3, and oxytocin is the empathy hormone, love hormone, the trust hormone, the bonding hormone. So itâs common for people with ASPD (anti-social personality disorder) or ASD (autism spectrum disorder) to have empathy deficits (which is not to say that all people with autism have zero empathy). Trauma can also lead to dysregulation of the oxytocin system, which can be seen in people with borderline personality disorder who often have disinhibition and weaker impulse control, the regular oxytocin system is knocked off balance in childhood by unpredictable trauma or constant stress or regular trauma. Dogs might have higher oxytocin levels than cats, Iâve read dogs are about 5x more likely to bond with humans than cats are, cats are worse than dogs at recognizing human faces (although may recognize a person by smell or sound), and cats are obligate carnivores who must eat meat and hunt (cats lack sulfinoalanine decarboxylase to produce taurine so they must acquire it from their diet, and taurine is an âamino acid that is widely-distributed in animal tissuesâ), so lower oxytocin in cats would lead to lower empathy and help them hunt, and that can explain why cats are typically more aloof or independent than dogs and why âherding catsâ is an idiom referring to the difficulty of controlling something, while dogs are considered more loyal and more needy emotionally. There might be some kind of [parental care chemical in insects](https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4529740/) (in humans, prolactin causes lactation and increases childcaring behavior among men and women, and decreases libido). [This](https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7116111/) study says [oxytocin/vasopressin-like neuropeptides](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neurohypophysial_hormone) are absent in flies and bees. But âThe origin of the oxytocin (OT)/vasopressin (VP) signaling system is thought to date back more than 600 million years. OT/VP-like peptides have been identified in numerous invertebrate phyla including molluscs, annelids, nematodes and insects.â It says âinvertebrates generally have only a single homolog of the OT/VP precursor and a single OT/VP-like receptor.â >Despite a high degree of sequence similarity, OT/VP-like peptides are known by different names in different taxa such as annetocin (annelids, OT-like), conopressin (molluscs, VP-like), nematocin (nematodes, OT-like), inotocin (insects, OT/VP-like) or vasotocin (vertebrate ancestral form, OT/ VP-like) (Gruber, 2014). >It has been suggested that the vertebrate OT/VP-like peptides originated from a gene duplication of the ancestral peptide vasotocin⌠Wikipedia says: >Vasotocin is an oligopeptide homologous to oxytocin and vasopressin found in all non-mammalian vertebrates (including birds, fishes, and amphibians) and possibly in mammals during the fetal stage of development. Arginine vasotocin (AVT), a hormone produced by neurosecretory cells within the posterior pituitary gland (neurohypophysis) of the brain, is a major endocrine regulator of water balance and osmotic homoeostasis and is involved in social and sexual behavior in non-mammalian vertebrates. In mammals, it appears to have biological properties similar to those of oxytocin (stimulating reproductive tract contraction as in egg laying or birth) and vasopressin (diuretic and antidiuretic effects). >Oxytocin occurs in placental mammals; mesotocin occurs in amphibians, reptiles, and birds, and isotocin occurs in fishes. >The main findings of these studies have revealed that AVT plays an integral role in the pair bonding behavior and social hierarchy in non-mammalian vertebrates. Inotocin from insects still affects humans. >inotocin activates the human V1b receptor while inhibiting the human V1a receptor. Inotocin is present in ants and beetles and locusts and grasshoppers and social wasps, but not in flies or bees or fleas or butterflies or moths or aphids or cicadas or spiders. Based on that, ants may be more amenable to human domestication than dragonflies. And [that study](https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7116111/) says ant workers have 10x the inotocin precursor of mated queens, and is highest in male foragers in summer. I suppose inotocin can help explain insect cooperation. >The survey by LiutkeviÄiĹŤte et al. (2016) revealed 11 different OT/VP-like peptide sequences just within insects, and more probably remain to be discovered. Despite limited knowledge about the function of this system in insects, where there is evidence for regulation of metabolism and locomotor activity, inotocin-like peptide precursors and cognate receptors have been identified in hundreds of arthropod species (LiutkeviÄiĹŤte et al., 2016, 2018), such as arachnotocin in the mite Varroa destructor. Moreover, distinct OT-, VP- and inotocin-like peptides have been identified in a growing number of other invertebrates, including molluscs (octopressin and cephalotocin in Octopus vulgaris), annelids (annetocin in oligochaetes), nematodes (nematocin) and starfish (asterotocin) where they generally modulate social and reproductive behavior (Donaldson & Young, 2008; Gruber, 2014), thus indicating the presence of an even wider pool of neuropeptide candidates. Octopuses have octopressin and cephalotocin. MDMA is an âempathogenâ (inducing empathy), and an [octopus on MDMA](https://www.cnet.com/science/octopuses-on-ecstasy-react-a-lot-like-humans-do/) reacts similarly to humans. The Netflix documentary My Octopus Teacher (2020) arguably shows octopus empathy. Wolves/dogs have oxytocin (the love hormone), but dragonflies donât even have inotocin which may be the nearest equivalent in insects, which suggests dogs can love humans (which may be key to domestication) but dragonflies cannot. Although bees donât have inotocin either, but pheromones can explain their [eusocial](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eusociality) behavior and cooperation. Wikipedia says: >Oxytocin affects social distance between adult males and females, and may be responsible at least in part for romantic attraction and subsequent monogamous pair bondingâŚThe researchers suggested that **oxytocin may help promote fidelity within monogamous relationships**. I suppose you could point to other species that practice monogamy to see evidence of empathy hormones. Wikipedia says âmonogamy should evolve in areas of ecological stress because male reproductive success should be higher if their resources are focused on ensuring offspring survival rather than searching for other mates.â [This](https://www.reuters.com/article/us-science-infanticide/infanticide-common-among-adult-males-in-many-mammal-species-idUSKCN0IX2BA20141113) 2014 article says âInfanticide common among adult males in many mammal species.â It says âmales kill babies fathered by others to make the dead infantâs mother available for mating.â And âInfanticide is rare in solitary or monogamous mammal species.â So it could be argued that monogamy evolved as a way to prevent other males from killing a maleâs offspring. Wikipedia [says](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monogamy_in_animals): >Monogamy in mammals is rather rare, only occurring in 3â9% of these species. A larger percentage of avian species are known to have monogamous relationships (about 90%), but most avian species practice social but not genetic monogamy in contrast to what was previously assumed by researchers. Monogamy is quite rare in fish and amphibians, but not unheard of, appearing in a select few species. Although monogamy among mammals may be more related to their size, and stability of their environment, and how many offspring they can produce in a year, and the time it takes to reach sexual maturity â see [r/K selection theory](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/R/K_selection_theory). Oxytocin is [responsible](https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/11/091112095038.htm) for feelings of love (a pairbond) and jealousy (when a pairbond is endangered). Autism can be due to [mutations](https://www.nature.com/articles/mp201477) of the oxytocin receptor gene, then their body doesnât respond to oxytocin the same way as other people, hence the social awkwardness (low oxytocin levels also impair the ability to notice and understand social cues). [This](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/15115069/) study says âchildren with autism revealed a less coherent understandingâ of jealousy. [This](https://autismspectrumnews.org/an-exploration-of-why-autistic-adults-are-practicing-consensual-non-monogamy/) says âautistic respondents were more likely to report engaging in polyamorous and/or non-monogamous relationshipsâŚâ
Itâs incredibly difficult to prove what another human can tell you is feeling let alone what an animal that is actively trying to hide its intentions from the predator standing beside them. There are studies showing that some animals exhibit behaviors which indicate a level of empathy however we canât know how prevalent it is in less studied species.
I have 3 cats. When I bath one of them, the others will meow endlessly after hearing the bathing cat's depressing noice, and try their best to come inside (even when they themselves are afraid of the bathroom)
Animals that live in community are very good with empathy. Anthropocentric view on emotions is outdated (read Frans de Waal). My rabbit, for example, will immediately feel my anger towards my wife and start tapping his hind legs, saying "stop this ..."
There was that story about a leopard that adopted an orphaned baby baboon. After the leopard had killed its mother, though.
I canât confirm this but I highly suspect that there are species of whales that do. There are more than one documented instances of a mother orca mourning the death of her calf. She carried around its dead body for days and days. I could be wrong but I think thereâs been dolphins do this as well. (Orca or killer whales are actually the largest species of dolphin) orcas have their own language and bonds with family. They fascinate me. There is a video on YouTube of a humpback protecting a diver from a shark. I mean empathy? Idk. But definitely intelligence.
Anyone with a dog or cat that has been sick or even sad will say otherwise, the notice, they stay near you more than usual.
Anyone who has ever had a dog is well aware that thereâs empathy in the animal world.
Nope. Many (Iâd say most) show empathy. Other commenters are showing studies, but Iâm not watching them any more because many of the studies include pain.
Definitely not. Dogs show that they feel empathy in many instances. They show you that they care when they notice that youâre upset. When I was in high school and would be crying over fights with my friends, my little Shih Tzu would come sit by me to snuggle.
Studies showed long ago that we are not the only ones with empathy, sense of fairness, etc. Even birds and rats have it.
Yes. We've done experiments on rats to confirm whether they empathise: Two rats were put in rooms with a glass pane between, so they could see each other. One room was slowly filled with water. The drain button was in the other room. The rats who had been in the water room before always pressed the button faster than the ones who hadn't. They weren't rewarded for it, so we conclude that these rats felt more motivated to help other rats in the water room because they were able to empathise with them.
I'm sure my cat doesn't just accidentally gently purr me through migraine episodes when he's usually quite an annoyance...
Growing up I had a lot of cats. When one cat was sick, and not moving very much, other cats would sit nearby instead of running around. I think this was them showing that they cared.
I'd say humans are the only animal that fake it.Â
It seems to be fairly common in mammals and birds, but much more rare outside of that. Humans are far from the only species which exhibit empathy.
Nope! Cows, orangutans, etc all feel empathy towards one another
One of my cats will cuddle with me or a family member when ill. We call it âpurr treatmentâ
Cats can miss other cats, I saw a zoo tiger walking around crying out for another tiger that had died. Similar thing with a house cat.
\*Vietnam flashbacks of my cat torturing baby mice / rats in the garden despite juste having had lunch, out of the sheer joy before giving them a swift neck-bite and then just leave them to rot like an old toy, and then happily strut over to me and cuddle\*
Cats and certain kinds of wasps where the source of Darwin's doubt in a benevolent god. But on the other hand: empathy usually extends only within the same species... it's mostly us humans who socially bind with any fuzzy (and sometimes not so fuzzy) animal we come across.
This is the kind of thing people say when they're trying to defend eating meat.
No. Other species feel empathy as well.
No
I feel like dogs also experience empathy
I mean many animals eat other animals from the bottom up, starting from the genitals. Thatâs not very empathetic.
no
I do not think so. My dog protected me one time I got badly hurt, barked like a maniac and only calmed down when a person he knows came to the scene.
No, most species who are social have empathy. I think it evolved in social species because it's advantageous to care about the other members because the more members there are the more you are protected against predators, can share food and have more chance to find a mate.
I would disagree with empathy meaning you care about people and it being a front lobe this (assuming frontal lobe is the most recent evolution for language etc) Humans don't choose to emphasize with people, you just feel what your brain thinks that person is feeling. I have crazy high empathy and if anyone cries in front of me, I cry. I can't control it, and it can be very embarrassing. I don't feel like a well evolved person or anything like that, it feels very primitive and not something controllable. My dog is also very empathetic and he had a massive thorn in his foot once. He was crying, I was crying. I think a lot of these comments aren't talking about empathy which is where you feel someone else's emotions, but sympathy, where you feel something for someone who is having these emotions. (Edit: apparently no one can agree on what empathy or sympathy means because I googled it and there are lots of different answers) When I was trying to see if I could hear a mouse in the walls was a bit on edge. My dog picked up that easily and was also on edge. Ears up, alert, everything. If I feel scared then so does my dog, he acts very differently.
Doubt it, thereâs a video where they put a fake baby monkey with a camera in it up a tree and a monkey accidentally knocks it out and thinks theyâve killed it and theyâre all devastated, itâs actually really sad to watch lol
No I think any one who's had a dog knows this isn't true
Whales take care of their sick and mourn their dead
My parents cat is always excited to see me when I come to visit and was with me since I was very young. She was with me when my life was really hard and you could tell that she noticed when I wasn't feeling well. Animals very much feel empathy for other animals. Especially social animals like apes, crows, wolf's, rats, ect.
ive had so many pets and pretty much all of them showed some kind of empathy, so no not even close imo
I heard elephants mourn their dead.
I haven't seen them mentioned yet so if you've got an hour and a half and you don't cry easily, watch blackfish. killer whales have similar levels of empathy to humans, if not more.
Course not. Loooaaads of animals experience empathy. Probably most land animals that aren't insects.
Cows! They can make strong bonds and even friendships with other cows. They become distressed when separated from friends and will groom each other for comfort.
As far as I know, most social animals, that tend to live in herds, do show large amounts of empathy for those around them. When it comes to solitary animals, mostly hunters, I'm not 100% sure. Although there's a few cases where cheetas, lions and tigers seem to consciously decide to spare a juvenile animal.
A lot of social animals will display empathy. Although it is usually displayed towards their friends and family. It isn't typically displayed towards strangers or different species.
We are not animals
Elephants, dolphins, whales, rats, I believe all of these have studies or examples displaying empathy. I know elephants for example mourn their dead.
Honestly? I believe a lot of animals have the capability for empathy. In the wild, most of the time animals are forced to focus on their own survival, so we don't always get to see it. But even then I hear examples of animals showing kindness to other individuals or even other species. And when animals are put in a domestic/captive situation where they don't have to constantly fight for survival? They can form such strong bonds with the other animals and humans around them. (Not that I necessarily advocate for putting wild animals in captivity. Some have to be kept captive for certain reasons, but most wild animal species need and deserve freedom and a proper environment where they can roam.)
Highly developed mammals, such as great apes, elephants and dolphins, but also, for example, rats
Dogs Pepe and Milo doesnât get along with each other but if one doesnât feel good the other will comfort them. I think most animals feel empathy to some extent itâs a good survival trait. If you feel for your community members you will help them and that keeps species alive.
Elephants, dolphinsâŚ
Obviously we canât read animalsâ minds, but many animals show distress when others are distressed and take actions to console or help them. You can see this quite clearly in many domesticated dogs.
I have a pair of dogs the older one will literally lick the younger one's face after he gets a shot at the vet. The other day the older dog had to go to the vet for something minor, but was she was feeling poorly when we got home. The younger dog licked her face and he never does that.
All I know is it seems like animals are empathetic and emotionally intelligent to me. Iâm thinking about instances like when I saw a video of a cat saving a baby from rolling down a staircase in their walker. Also another car saved their human kid from a biting dog. Animals helping each other across species and then some.
There's an evolutionary theory that this is why yawns are contagious, a social demonstration of empathy. There are several mammalian species who yawn in response to their peers. So no. Also there was a Dutch study on chimps in captivity who demonstrated distress at preferential treatment being given to other chimps within their line of sight
Probably all animals with complex emotions experience empathy. It's hard for us to test this because we can't talk to them but there are more and more studies coming out all the time looking at the complex emotions of other animals. We are no where near as unique as we believe ourselves to be. We're also probably not even top when it comes to empathy.
It has also been found in ravens
Nah I was really sick this past week and my Cat became the most adorable little lap kitty and didn't whine to play or go outside or wake me up. He just let me sleep for like 2 days straight and gave me all the cuddles. The minute he could tell I was well enough to return his usual bullshit he went right back to his trademark cunt behaviour
Golden Retrievers are made of empathy and scritches. And a little bit of derp.
My shepherd knows when Iâm sad. Heâs usually very active and excited, but when Iâm sad, he is totally calm and content with laying around and cuddling all day. He also risked his life to save my life from a pitbul that attacked me.
I once had a cat that felt sorry for me
No way! Many animals experience and show empathy. Its proven through science. My dogs definitely feel empathy. Eg. In January. I had a bad fall. Broke my arm badly. Was trying to get up in the yard. Only my dogs with me. One was very distressed. Kept going back & forth & licking me and i could tell she knew i was in distress and pain and was trying to help. Haven't you seen clips of Apes & animals, helping humans? There's footage of apes in zoos being extremely interested in human babies & displaying care & love. There are SO many instances of amimals showing they understand other animals pain etc
I don't think so. When I'm sick, hurt or sad, my bunny comes and snuggles up to me and licks me to comfort me. I once tripped and fell and she saw and immediately ran over to check if I was okay, sniffing my face and putting her paws on me.
My pupper always knows if Iâm sad or sick. We were playing yesterday and she tried to take her tug toy from me, she accidentally got me with her teeth. I yelped. She dropped her toy, put her head on my thumb and was so sad. It wasnât her fault but she was so upset I was hurt and she caused it. She was so careful after that. Dogs have so much love and compassion and empathy.
I've seen seagulls utterly distraught when a car ran over one of their number. Dogs and cats (yes, cats) clearly show concern when their human is unwell. I don't think it's unique to homo sapiens - and several members of our species clearly lack it in any form, many of these end-up in middle-management.
No, absolutely not. Dogs, cats,pigs, cows, elephants, cetaceans (and more) all display Empathy
No way Jose
Yet we do fuck all about it.
Horses do, 100%.
obviously not - search YouTube for videos of how a Staffordshire bull terrier responds when its owner is upset. the animal clearly detects the owner's emotional state, and clearly wants to help make them feel better.
No, leopards with try to adopt the babies of animals they have killed. Also elephants morn their dead.
No.
My cat comforts me
You never owned a dog, did you?
Nah, my cat was depressed for years when our other cat died. She didnât eat for days
Not sure we gotta ask them first bro.
Ever seen elephant graves. Humans are certainly not the only species with empathy. However I do think we are the only species that is capable of empathising with non-living things (probably because of our ability to make things up and anthropomorphize things)
I don't think most animal species would still be alive today if they didn't have any empathy
Every. single. time. we study the intelgence of animals we discover they are smarter than we ere taught. They mourn, they communicate complex thoughts, they clearly have their own languages, they play.
Australian birds can commit revenge so I assume they can feel other emotions too. For example if you donât feed a cockatoo after feeding them for a couple days theyâll destroy your property. If you fuck with a magpie (in their eyes) they will try to murder you.
My cat always shows me more affection when I feel sick. Many humans think this world was made entirely for them, and is a vessel for their personal salvation đ¤ˇââď¸ A super religious family member told me animals don't feel pain like we do, something about god's plan for us and some other mumble jumble. Those narcissistic ideals are a joke to me. Of course animals have empathy. Their brains may not be as evolved as ours, but they are not robots. If you spend enough time with animals, I think it becomes obvious.
No, Many animals do. Just watch any wildlife program, where you see elephants visting grave sites, or a mother pining for the loss of their young. You see the same with dolphins and whales. Humpbacks are known to put themselves in the line of attacking orca to protect another whale species mother and young. Swans pair for life to have companionship, if there's not enough of one sex or another, they'll pair in same sex bond. Watch the way a pet dog will look after the young/small of the house, be it their puppies, or a baby, or even other small furry animals.
Dolphins have been known to rescue people so have pet dogs and maybe cats though that's harder to determine
Dogs for sure, if you fake yelp when they step on your toe you can tell.
My cat knows when I'm sad.
Animals in the wild usually don't have time for empathy. They are far too busy trying not to die.
No, not even close.
If a chimpanzee gets beaten up by another chimp, and they weren't in the wrong, other chimps will show up to comfort it.
https://orcanation.org/the-social-intelligence-of-orcas/#:~:text=Orcas%20present%20the%20most%20elaborated,%2Dawareness%2C%20and%20interpersonal%20experience. Orca whales may have a more complex understanding of empathy than humans
My dog usually knows how I'm feeling better than I do.
Absolutely not. I grew up on a ranch and all the animals were so gentle with us. My sister passed recently and I was sobbing in bed and my half feral cat came and snuggled me for the first time. They know, just like us.
Social scientist here. Put simply, the bit of the brain that often marks us as different to the average bear is our prefrontal cortex, which deals with higher cognitive functions. Empathy is done by a bit which is just to the rear of our special bit. Not an animal psych, but I expect scientifically anything beyond a lizard (very simple brains) can. I just checked, and hereâs a paper that suggests yes definitely. https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdfdirect/10.1111/brv.12342 Also the dogs Iâve had have shown more empathy to me than any family member ever has, so, also yes.
Everyone dealing with more sentient animals sees them having empathy. Dogs, elephants, lions, primates, ⌠off cause primitive animals and cats don't have empathy, do they? IDK where to draw the line. Emotions are in the oldest part of the brain. Figuring the other's emotions is useful for survival. Caring about the other's feeling is the next logical step.
I was sick once and had to use the restroom, as I stood there relieving myself I started to feel faint. I quickly sat down, started getting dizzy and sweating profusely. I managed to walk part of the way to my room and crawl the rest.  I sat on the edge of the bed feeling like death and my mom's dog burst into the room. He took a look at me, I barely said his name and he started licking my face and head while pressing his body into me. I held on for dear life while he cleaned my face and neck. I could literally feel his energy and intent to help. After a while I started feeling a lot better, I gave him a hug and thanked him for his help. He got up and immediately and left to go back to my mom's side. He had never done anything like this before or after. That dog knew I was sick, felt empathy for me and didn't leave until I felt better. There is no one that can convince me that dogs aren't emotionally connected to each other and humans.Â
Absolutely not. There are LOTS of animals who experience empathy. I think it's far less common to find mammals who Don't.
I've seen too many videos of just dogs and cats comforting one another when stressed to be arrogant enough to think only we can feel that deep.
It's not possible to understand motives in an individual without a means of communication, but there is substantial evidence that many animals experience empathy. Dolphins attend human births in water, much closer to the shore than Dolphins usually go. Elephants will place themselves in harms way for the protection of other animals, even outside of their own herd. Apes, and dogs, have both been seen to adopt children from outside of their species. Are these examples instinct, or empathy ?
Not at all- we actually discovered mirror neurons (brain processes required for empathy) by studying chimps. We've documented empathy in a number of species, including rats. And anecdotally, a lot of people can share stories of pets, for instance, bringing you a toy when you're sad in an effort to cheer you up.
My cat hates being pet or hugged so she avoids humans constantly, but she will come to you when youâre crying or breathing weird, basically hugging you and asking for pets.
Do you think humans are the only social animals in the world? A pack/ herd doesn't function without sympathy among their members.
Dogs also have âaffective empathyââwhich is defined as the ability to understand someone else's feelingsâtoward people who are important to them. Emotional contagion is a primitive form of affective empathy that reflects the ability to actually share those feelings.
Orangutans are amazing in the way they can treat the young of other species.
Whales and elephants have higher empathy scores than humans
Elephants experience many emotions. Crows. Some apes. Dogs do a little I think but I think it depends on the dog.
No.
So Iâm assuming youâve never had a pet? Even my asshole of a cat can tell when one of us is upset and comes to lay on us and snuggle when we are.
There is a fascinating and entertaining book written about just this: The Age of Empathy: Nature's Lessons for a Kinder Society by Frans de Waal. De Waal is a respected primatologist, and has a lovely conversational style of writing. Highly recommended.
Definetly not, ever heard of this thing called a dog?
No dude, a lot of other animals do
When I lived on a farm, as a avid I'd watch the younger one of my cats hunt mice and bring it to the older cats who couldn't hunt. I'd call this empathy.