Everything about Social Animal totally explained
A
social animal is a loosely defined term for an
organism that's highly
interactive with other members of its
species to the point of having a recognizable and distinct
society.All animals are social to some extent—
sexual reproduction requires animals to come in contact together in order to
mate, and in animals showing any degree of parental care there's a minimal social unit of one or more parents and their offspring. The term "social animal" is usually only applied when there's a level of
social organization that goes beyond this, with permanent groups of adults living together, and relationships between individuals that endure from one encounter to another.
Animal social behaviour and organisation is studied in
comparative psychology,
ethology,
sociobiology,
behavioural ecology and
computer science (
artificial intelligence). Typical issues in social behaviour are:
- What is the typical size of the group? What factors limit group size? What factors lead to groups merging or splitting?
- Does the species show territoriality? If so, to what extent? If territories are maintained, what is their purpose? Are they held by an individual or a group?
- Are there permanent social dominance relationships within the group? Is there any pattern within them?
A few species, notably insects of the
orders Hymenoptera (
ants,
bees and
wasps) and
Isoptera (
termites) show an extreme form of sociality, involving highly organized societies, with individual organisms
specialized for distinct
roles. This form of social behaviour is referred to as
eusociality. Some
vertebrates, most notably the
Naked Mole Rat, are also eusocial
Some animals whose social behaviour is of particular interest:
Humans (Homo sapiens)
Gorillas (Gorilla gorilla)
Dogs (Canis familiaris or Canis lupus familiaris)
Wolves (Canis lupus)
Chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes)
Dolphins (Delphinidae)
Lions (Panthera leo)
Bonobos (Pan paniscus)
Meerkats (Suricata suricatta)
HyenasFurther Information
Get more info on 'Social Animal'.
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