Mutual symbiosis
Wild animals and Homo Sapiens
The Science of a healthy life
Once, we hunted with wild wolves. Not from domestication or forced cooperation. But instead, humans and equally wild wolves formed a natural and mutually beneficial symbiosis between two predatory species. Just as how we and wolves, once hunted together with wild ravens in the cold north. Fast forward to 2016, and this natural evolution that at times have allowed humans to work together with wild animals have given us another wonderful cross species partnership.
This time, the greater honeyguide bird species and human honey hunters in northern Mozambique, Africa are the ones that work in tandem to conquer the sweet treasures of African bees. And unlike so many other animal/people relations, this is a real partnership benefitting both species equally much and initiated by the birds as often as it is by the human honey hunters.
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The honeyguide bird led the way to the African bees’ nest 75% of the time
Honeyguide Birds
[ 75% efficiency ]
The researchers involved in the study soon concluded that when the human honey hunters special bird call was used, the honeyguide birds would around 75% of the time not just show up, but also lead the way to a proper bees’ nest.
But the question remained whether the 'honey hunters’ call specifically signaled to the birds that willing honey hunting people were around with the intent of finding honey. Or if it was simply a question of the birds noticing nearby people.
This is, after all, a wild bird species that long ago had noticed that it could all by their own calls and sounds actually summon people to help the birds deal with the bees. But had the bird now also learned to actually listen for people to signal in a proper way that 'yes', we are willing to go and find some honey right now.
“It seems to be a two-way conversation between our own species and a wild animal from which both those partners benefit,” Spottiswoode wondered.
72 honey hunting adventures
“could this really be an example of reciprocal communication between humans and a wild animal?” the scientists wondered.
To find out, the scientists involved in the study took part in 72 honey-hunting expeditions. During each of them one of three different sounds was played, one was the proper 'honey-hunters’ signal, while the other two sounds, were used as simple control sounds to try and see if there would be a statistically significant difference.
The researchers did conclude by the end of the study the honeyguides were more than twice as likely to lead the way when the proper “brrrr-hm” sound was used, compared to the two control sounds. The proper sound prompted the bird to not just show up, but to also guide the honey hunters to a successful honey hunt 75% of the time.
This should of course not really be that much of a surprise for anyone that has spent enough time with wild and domesticated animals. There are plenty of cases clearly showing animals quite rapidly picking up on the proper cues that this is a willing human being that it might prove beneficial to work with.
But it is of course very interesting to see such a large-scale cross-species symbiosis develop between humans and a wild bird species across a large part of Africa.
You see, the most fascinating aspect of all this is that the Yao honey hunters have their own specific calls for the honeyguides, while other African tribes have developed other sounds to signal to the birds. Something which the authors suggest indicates that the honeyguides have developed their own local language and interpretation reflecting that of the humans they interact with.
Spottiswoode said
“This suggests that honeyguides seem to attach meaning, and respond appropriately, to the signal that specifically advertises people’s’ willingness to cooperate,” she said.
Stuart West, professor of evolutionary biology at the University of Oxford agrees.
“The honeyguide kind of understands what the human is saying,”
“If we think of domesticated animals, pets, and livestock, we can train them to respond to specific signals,” he added, “but to have something like that in a wild animal is quite special.”
And, as such the great honeyguide bird join the ranks of wolves and ravens which through their own free will and natural evolution have chosen to join the small ranks of wild animals working in mutually beneficial symbiosis together with us humans, while in every way there is remaining free and wild. A natural cooperation which we, in turn, have opted to respect and allow both species to benefit from in beautiful equality.
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