Sociality – a winning combination

 kw: book reviews, nonfiction, animals, biology, social behavior, sociality

Some animals socialize only within their own "nuclear family", and live solitary lives when not raising their young. Some animal parents work together to raise young (such as red foxes like the cubs shown here); for others only the female raises them alone (think tigers).

Over the full spectrum of animal types, some are primarily solitary, some are a little social, some are very social (such as wolves or starlings), and a small number are eusocial (bees and termites are the prototypes).

With thousands of mammal species, more than 10,000 species of bird and 30,000 species of fish, and on to the millions of species of insect, there is a lot of room for evolution to have produced more patterns of sociality than we can imagine. In The Social Lives of Animals, Ashley Ward reveals the breadth of social life and social patterns among animals.

If an animal is the apex predator in an ecosystem, such as the tiger throughout the East (historically, anyway), being a solitary hunter that meets a mate for perhaps an hour, and then raises her cub or cubs alone, can make sense. Other apex predators, such as wolves, live in packs. Prey animals are more likely to live in herds: there is safety in numbers, and a swirling flock can confuse a predator.

It's funny: Having read the book, and enjoyed it greatly, I don't find a series of stories I want to repeat, which is my frequent pattern. I find myself musing on a philosophical point. I'll set it up this way. There is a range of social patterns found within any particular social species. For example, the stereotypical wolf pack has an alpha pair that does all the breeding, and the other wolves help raise their cubs. This view is outdated; some packs do seem to work that way, but it is much more common for only certain pack members, such as the omega male and omega female, to be prevented from mating, while some or many of the middle-ranking animals can mate. Another pattern is seen in most prides of lions, which includes only one fully adult male who mates with all the females, and drives away any young fellow who tries to cuckold him. Now, what about humans?

I find a greater range of patterns of sociality among humans than among any particular animal species. However, the extreme of eusociality is apparently not seen in human societies (although the Chinese Communist Party is trying to mold the Chinese people into a hive society…but they don't seem to be working toward having one "Queen bee"). A few cases:

• It has been my misfortune to be acquainted with a few psychopaths. Not all psychopaths are criminally-minded, but they all are devoid of empathy, and use sociality only for the purpose of gaining advantage. Anyone who trusts one of them can expect to be betrayed at any time. Some are happiest with little to no human contact. Some are so self-focused they cannot even bear to raise their own child. This isn't just living like a tiger; it is beyond that.
• Near the other end of the spectrum, long ago I subscribed to Utne Reader. In an editorial, Eric Utne self-servingly described his "quasi-commune" and wrote that he and his wife were the "designated breeders", while the others helped them raise their children. This sounds like the stereotypical wolf pack.
• My brothers and I grew up in a nuclear family, raised by two parents who remained married for life, nearly 60 years. It is reflected in the lives of geese, which usually mate for life. While this was the norm in America in the 1950's and '60's, things are changing. 
• Our parents both grew up in extended-family environments, with aunts, uncles, siblings, cousins and second cousins all around. There was little need for "friends" because family provided so many built-in friends. This is similar to the way Orcas and some other cetaceans live.
• Churches that become close-knit become like tribes. Many members find they are closer to fellow believers than to their own nuclear family members. I am not sure what animal model this may resemble.

In some directions, human associations go beyond anything found in the animal realm. The TV show "Modern Family" explored a few such relationships, and there have been reports of groups practicing polyamory: polygamy plus polyandry with multiple partners of both sexes, and probably both gay and straight "activities". Presumably, whatever children are produced are raised by everybody.

That's a few of the ideas that ran through my head as I read the book, and then contemplated its messages.