God’s creatures are so much more magnificent than we give them credit for.
Thanks to the wide availability of surveillance cameras and video-capable cell phones, we now know so much more about non-human creatures than what ethologists tell us.
Not only do animals have empathy, they are altruistic. Some are downright heroic.
On September 5, 2021, Jaap Beets was in his farmhouse in Gelderland, Netherlands, when he heard a loud commotion coming from his livestock outside. (New York Post)
A bird of prey, a goshawk, had swooped down on a chicken, sending feathers flying in the air.
A rooster immediately rushed in to take on the hawk.
Then a goat, much bigger than the hawk, joined the battle to save the chicken.
The hawk flew away empty-taloned only a mere 17 seconds after swooping in.
Below is the astonishing video.
The courageous and noble rooster and goat put us humans to shame.
~E
Don’t mess with Foghorn Leghorn,and Nanny The Goat!
That was just plain wonderful!
Wow! Good buddies!
OMG! Such responses from 2 animal friends that you would not expect to respond so promptly & so decisively! Most of what I’ve read says that animals do NOT formulate their own ideas & put them into action. Hmmmmmmm…..
Can you stand one of my stories? Our first pet in our young marriage was a Dachshund/Beagle mix, an “oops” of a nearby farmer who bred & raised Virginia hunting Beagles. He was free. My PA dairy farmer grandfather told us that the dog looked like he had been put together by a committee (& he was right!). Thereafter, we moved to a Maryland apt. with our first jobs after college/marriage. Our fenced backyard had a gate, out of which we could cross a peaceful alleyway & into the parking lot of a local A&P grocer. Having little money, we’d do our grocery shopping there in 20 min.for the week, which we did one day, departing while our dog was sleeping in the backyard (he was 100% indoor dog…but could spend some 20 or so minutes in the fenced backyard once a day, then in-&-out w/us as needed for potty breaks). While we were gone, it started to sprinkle a light rain. We returned to an empty yard. Where oh where was the dog & how did he get out? I called the local SPCA, thinking maybe he’d been already picked up or sighted with a “call-in” to them. No luck. We looked everywhere ….then, I tearfully called my mom, who lived abt 2 mi. away to tell her of our beloved missing dog. To get to her house you had to cross triple railroad tracks, 2 of the busiest main streets that converged in a “V” and so on. Bawling, when I told her the dog was missing she said, “No he isn’t, he’s right here. He came to the door and barked & I thought you were coming to visit…but when I opened the door, he was the only one there.” Now, this just has always boggled my mind….first of all, the dog had NEVER walked to her house, as he’d only arrived there in a car. And secondly, when he awoke & it was drizzling rain, & we weren’t there to let him back into the apt., (a neighbor reported to us they’d heard him bark at the door, then watched him trot away when we weren’t there in moments to respond)…….HOW did he decide that he’d find a way out of the yard, go to my mother’s home through all those obstacles (and survive)…even tho’ we weren’t there? How did he know the way? Seems to me he made SOME SORT of decision in response to the situation he perceived to not be optimal for him, even for a few minutes. He took himself to a place that he knew would be OK for him 🙂 WITH or without us in attendance. And, PS…it wasn’t until years later that I learned that some hounds have such acute ability to follow shed skin cells….even from a traveling car….even shed weeks or months earlier. I remember this incident in my life & can finally understand the abilities that little dog had….but…..it still seems to me that he had to formulate a plan/decision and act upon it.
What an amazing story of your beagle!
Best little dog ever 🙂 who weighed maybe 15 lb tops but had the heart of a lion. He once chased/caught /cornered an evil man (whom he never saw…only heard & smelled) who broke into the apt. of the single woman above us to assault her. I heard the cries/ tussle…& “loosed the dog” into the hallway. My dog chased him out of the building & cornered him until police came….oddly enough, in the bushes of a nearby church. Sadly, our little Einstein passed away of the first wave of parvo in this country before we even knew what it was hardly…& well before there was a vaccine for it. 🙁 We learned from him to ALWAYS trust your dog’s instincts. If they sense or smell evil, believe it. If they know where to go to be safe, it’s a safe place to be… believe it. I can’t print his name b/c, having an art AND a history degree, I named him after a bold Southern general who had a very melodious name, esp.fitting for this little dog, or any gung-ho dog that can TRACK & initiate. If I printed it, we could be canceled by the woke.
Thank you Dr.E for this uplifting and wonderful post. Not only were the heros brave, they were persistent and determined to save the little chicken. They are true examples of courage!