Do Animals Have A Sense Of Family

Hi
The other dayI was watching one of the many animal programmes,it was quite harrowing,it was about a dog found on the streets near death here in the UK he was named Hobo,but it wasnt just his body,but the eyes told a story of great sadness,and it was like he was begging to just be part of the human family, to come in from the cold, it is not just dogs,a chimp lost his mum during a raid by another troop of chimps,he was totally an outcast,no other female would give him the time of day,at night when the others got their beds togther he was left out exposed to probable death,but a strange thing happened,the Alpha male took the little orphan,and shared his food,in doing that he made him a part of the family,and the chimp had the protection of the whole troop.They say animals feel grief,and have seen elephants try to rouse one of their own,like the case of Echo.

Or isit us humanising animals,and because of the way we live we translate the way we live on to the animals,do we want them to be like us,or do animals see a group as protection,and they dont see family at all just a means to survive.crystalgirl

That's a fascinating question, I am very much guilty of thinking of mine as small people in fur coats so probably no help at in answering it. But I do think my dogs know they are part of a family, they pine if anyone of us are missing. And it doesn't really matter which one is gone, when my husband was in hospital resently they were as worried as me, and when Mollie went to the vet Betty was inconsolable for the time she was away.