Posted By: NY Times
Few things seem to capture the
public imagination more reliably than friendly interactions between different species — a
fact not lost on Anheuser-Busch, which during Sunday’s Super Bowl will offer a
sequel to “Puppy Love,” its wildly popular 2014 Budweiser commercial about
friendship between a Clydesdale and a yellow
Labrador puppy. The earlier Super Bowl spot has drawn more than 55 million
views on YouTube.
Videos of unlikely animal
pairs romping or snuggling have become so common that they are piquing the interest of some scientists, who say they invite more systematic study. Among
other things, researchers say, the alliances could add to an understanding of
how species communicate, what propels certain animals to connect across species
lines and the degree to which some animals can adopt the behaviors of other
species.
To be sure, some scientists remain skeptical that the examples
of cross-species relations offer much more to science than a hefty dose of
cuteness.
“It shows that young animals are really open doors,” said Dr.
Bekoff, who has long studied animal emotions.
MMENTS
At Haller Park in Kenya — where
Mzee, a 130-year-old tortoise, tends to Owen, an orphaned baby hippo — a man
visiting the park with his child gazed at the unlikely couple and remarked,
during a documentary
about the pair, “If two very different creatures get along like this, then why
cannot Iraqis and the British, Americans, Palestinians, the Israelis not get
on?”
Or
as Dr. Haraway, put it: “In a situation in which terrorism is cultivated from
every angle and we are taught to fear practically
everything, why should anybody be surprised that there’s a profound desire for
the pleasures of the peaceable kingdom?”
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