Do Animals Love?

Humans love love. From our music to movies to art, so much of it revolves around love. But are we the only species in pursuit of love? Are there other animals who say I do?

Even though some animals like lions and spiders would feed on their dead relatives to sustain their nutritional requirements, and animals such as bees or ants would expel the decomposing bodies out of their colonies to maintain hygiene without experiencing any remorse or guilt, animals such as crows and magpies flock around their dead ones and deliver a cacophonous symphony, which may be an act of respect for their dead mate, or just a warning call to summon other birds to the site of death to inspect its cause.

Human love is a chemical reaction. A person in love shows a spike in dopamine and serotonin levels that give them a feeling of happiness and security. However, we aren't the only ones in the animal kingdom with these hormones. Dogs are chock full of oxytocin. They get a surge of oxytocin every time they make eye contact with their bonded humans. Not just humans, they also show a spike of this hormone when they meet a dog partner.

Animals also sometimes form attachments with other non-human species. "After photographer Isobel Springett took in an abandoned fawn, it was almost immediately adopted by her Great Dane, Kate. Pip feels very strongly for her canine caretaker, and even though Pip joined a herd, she still finds time to spend with Kate." Such relationships, while rare in nature, do take place in exceptional circumstances. The animals respond kindly to food and protection and develop a friendship over time.

Prairie voles(rodents) have been under the spotlight for researchers these days as they seem to show social traits that are very human. They tend to stay in relations with their mate even after mating and provide care to the young ones. Many prairie vole males form a bond with the female to whom they lose their virginity. When a partner dies, they also experience something similar to grief. This behaviour is quite unlike their closely related hamster species, where some females are known to slaughter and eat their partner after mating, which makes them an interesting study subject.

The resemblance between animal and human love is not limited to heterosexuality. Japanese macaques are known to engage in relations with both females and males of the species. Bottlenose dolphins are also known to mate with both sexes, which helps them strengthen their social bonds. These animals show what we humans would call bisexuality. However, some males of domestic sheep (Ovis aries) have a same-sex partner preference for life, even when fertile females are around.

All these social partnership styles do have their evolutionary significance. According to Darwin's natural selection theory, animals produce far more offspring than they need to replace themselves. Same-sex relations among animals could be a way of controlling the population. In domestic sheep, female siblings of the homosexual males show an increased number of offspring, indicating that their related genes are carried forward to the next generation. Animals that give care to their younger ones also show higher survival of the young.

At the end of the day, love is subjective, and it depends on our definition of it. But be assured humans aren't the only ones looking for a happily ever after.

Figure 1.Kate and Pip

Figure 2.Voles