Why do wild animals behave “wild”? 

This is simple, it is because they are wild. But what does that mean to be wild? I want to start all this by prefacing that we are simplifying entire textbooks into this one article, which is impossible to do, and still explain every aspect of it in exact scientific detail.  Because of that, I will be trying to provide practical insight in order to try my best to alter how the average person views animal behavior, not be published in scientific journals. 

First, let's define two words and divide the animal world into two groups: domestic animals and wild animals. Domestic animals are those that have been kept and bred by humans for a long enough period that they have evolved into a different species, or subspecies, from their wild counterparts. As we learned in our biology class in middle school, evolution takes a long time, not a handful of generations but hundreds if not thousands. Wild animals are simply ones that have not gone through, or in some cases, completed the process of domestication. Now there are some obvious physical examples of change within domestic animals, let us take a pug for example that is quite a far cry from a wolf. I would argue the largest, and most important change is in the very thought process of how animals view the world when domesticated, not the physical changes. 

Before we get into how that thought process changed, let's explain how it works. Every thought process can be simplified into an “if-then” statement. Meaning if X then Y, a simple cause-and-effect statement. This basis of thought is true for every sentient conscious being, those self-aware and capable of thought, from a flea to you and me. Think of those “if-then” statements as dominos set up to knock each other down. The only difference between your ability to think, and a cockroach is the ability to place more dominos. A cockroach will move to a set location for food but can not problem-solve how to make food appear if none is present.  While we will go to work to be paid so we may buy food if there is not any present in our fridge. Both we and the roach have the same train of thought, going to a set location for food, we are just able to put more dominoes down to find a way to get more food. 

Now how do we apply these “if-then” statements in our conversation about wild vs domesticated animals? I feel the biggest difference between wild and domesticated animals is how they respond to the lack of a “then” to their “if”. Meaning “if” I get picked up, “then” what happens? If you have not been taught that being picked up by something larger than you is safe, how would you respond by being picked up? An example is, that we learn from a young age that being held by our mother is safe, whereas a stranger may be dangerous. Therefore, if I am held by my mother I am safe, but if I am held by a stranger I may not be safe. That chance of danger, or unknown “then”, leads to one thing: fear. Fear comes from both, knowing something dangerous may happen, but more commonly not knowing what will happen at all. What has changed among domestic and wild animals, is how they respond and view that fear and unknown.  

The process of domestication, in most examples, means that animals have evolved to rely on us not just for food and shelter, but more importantly safety. I am going to apply this to dogs in this example, as most have been exposed to them and are familiar with them. That pug we talked about earlier physical appearance, and its approach to fear and the unknown has been greatly altered by domestication. We are their safety response in the face of fear, not their instincts. Their instincts now tell them to trust humans, rely on them, and seek safety from them. Don't misunderstand, those fight and flight instincts are still present but pushed way down and no longer the first thought when faced with fears. That fear is still present though, all this means is they are more prone to cower by you than respond with a flight or fight approach. This is why socializing your dog is so important, by exposing them to the world in a positive manner, you are teaching them a positive “then” to their “if”. Dogs' tendency to seek us for safety is why dogs allow humans to abuse them without fleeing to never be seen again, or fighting back. Because they have evolved to trust and seek safety from us, they don't know how else to respond but to trust you. This is why harsh training methods may still work on dogs, even if ineffective. Because they will keep trying to get it right in the face of the fear caused by the aversive methods, instead of fleeing or seeking safety, your approval is their safety.

Wild animals do not have the same luxury of seeking safety from an outside source. They must rely on their instincts, and be suspicious of the world around them. This is how they survive, by thinking danger is around every corner because, for many, it probably is. So knowing this much-needed fearful and suspicious outlook on the world exists in wild animals how do you think they respond to an unknown “then” in their train of thought? If you guessed fearfully, you guessed correctly. If they are unsure of what will happen next, their instincts tell them they may die if they do not respond quickly. This fear of death is where the viewpoint of wild animals being aggressive or unpredictable comes from. Let me say, that nothing is aggressive or mean, just because they want to, it is because they feel they have to. Nothing in this world will wake up and bite you for fun. When that snake bites you after you catch it from your yard, it's not cause it is aggressive it is because it is scared for its life. It was just picked up by a thing many times its size, why wouldn't it be scared and fight for its life? Now for unpredictability, this can apply, but not in the way we think. This fear for their life does not go away just because we bring them home. They still feel a need to respond how they see accordingly when presented with an unknown. Now think about everything going on in your house, every little noise and smell. Think about how they may view it. Your kids running around laughing may be a joy to our ears, but what does our pet think? For a domestic animal, probably not a lot. For a wild prey animal like a chinchilla, this could be a stampede of animals coming to eat them. If you are unsure of what is happening around you, or even if you're safe or not, how would you respond? Probably fearfully as well. Now this does not mean wild animals can not live happy lives as pets, but it does mean careful thoughtful consideration needs to be given to them. It means we need to be conscious of how they have evolved to view the world and respond to their needs, not our wants. This means we need to be extra mindful of their well-being and intentionally view things from their perspective, and not place our own emotions on their behaviors filtering the truth. I will not go in-depth on how to do this, as it varies greatly with species and more than we can express here. We at The Conscious Pet Owner specialize in understanding and explaining these thoughts, so if you have any questions or concerns please do not be afraid to reach out so both you and your animal companion may thrive from a place of understanding.