Like humans, animals thrive with support, safety, good genes

Keith Winsten
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Meerkats at Brevard Zoo

So we had some intrigue in our meerkat exhibit a few weeks ago. A meerkat mob is run by an alpha female who rules the roost and is the only one to breed. One of the beta females committed treason by hooking up with a male behind her back and got pregnant. As soon as the alpha sensed the hormonal changes in the beta female, she kicked her out of the group. We provided a safe home for this lone female and she soon gave birth to two pups. And most likely in an attempt to prove she still had what it took to lead the mob, our alpha female soon followed with pups of her own. The first set of kids in a long time.

These two parallel births got me thinking about the effects of parents on their offspring and how the hard truths in the meerkat world have parallels in human society. If our beta female had been living in the wild, then the chances of her babies surviving would have been pretty slim. She would not have had a group of attentive mob members to help raise the kids, she would have had little experience in childbirth and nursing and she would not have had territory to provide her and her offspring with food. All she would have had would have been pluck and determination to make a go at it – but that alone is rarely enough to make it in the wild.

MORE ABOUT MEERKATS:Meerkats multiply at Brevard Zoo

Some of the same factors come into play in human society. The first gift that our parents give us is a genetic one. Some of us are fast or quick or musical or smart or really attractive or have the world’s most winning smile – and there is usually a genetic component at play in these things that we can’t control. Don’t get me wrong, there is a part of these things we can control as well. We can practice to get quicker, or faster, or play the bassoon better, but the range of potential abilities is partially determined by our genes.  No matter how many times I swing a baseball bat, I could never be a major league hitter. My eyes can’t pick up the spin of the ball. A number of twins studies (twins separated at birth) over the years have shown that about 50% of who we are is genetically based.

Another important factor is the socioeconomic level we are born into. Just like some meerkat mobs live in territories rich with food-gathering opportunities, others struggle to survive in a barren landscape. Being born into a household with steady income and access to regular healthcare, nutritious food and good education is going to better your chances of survival. Just this week, I heard a statistic from the Florida Chamber of Commerce that 46% of Floridians would have trouble dealing with an unbudgeted expense of $400 or more. That means that children in these families are always at risk for major, uprooting changes in their lives.

Third, we know from dozens of examples at Brevard Zoo that some individual animals are just better parents than others. Masaya, our female jaguar, is an exemplary mom. Our alpha female meerkat is a pro as well. Other mothers, especially first time mothers, often reject their young. That just happened with a Scimitar-Horned Oryx baby. So just getting a healthy set of genes and being born into a rich household is not necessarily a recipe for success. Having effective, engaged set of parents who invest time and energy in their children can make a huge difference in the wild and in our communities.

Keith Winsten: Lagoon will need time, money to heal

Although I’ve taken a pretty deep dive into the world of anthropomorphism in the paragraphs above. There is one comparison I’ll never make between people and non-human animals. Only people have invented so many other nefarious ways to disadvantage certain members of society. So even if you get great genes, loving parents and access to key resources, you can still lose the lottery of life and be born at a place and time where your caste or sex or religion or skin color will ultimately determine much of the quality of your existence. That I’ve never seen in the rest of the animal world. They are much too civilized.

Keith Winsten is executive director of the Brevard Zoo. Contact him at 321-254-9453 ext 223.

More: Brevard Zoo

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