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Until recently, humans were thought to be the only species to experience complex emotions and have a sense of morality.
But Prof Marc Bekoff, an ecologist at University of Colorado, Boulder, believes that morals are “hard-wired” into the brains of all mammals and provide the “social glue” that allow often aggressive and competitive animals to live together in groups.
He has compiled evidence from around the world that shows how different species of animals appear to have an innate sense of fairness, display empathy and help other animals that are in distress.
WOLVES
Wolves live in tight-knit social groups that are regulated by strict rules. If a pack grows too large, members are not able to bond closely enough and the pack disintegrates. Wolves also demonstrate fairness.
During play, dominant wolves will “handicap” themselves by engaging in role reversal with lower ranking wolves, showing submission and allowing them to bite, provided it is not too hard.
Prof Bekoff argues that without a moral code governing their actions, this kind of behaviour would not be possible. If an animal bites too hard, it will initiate a “play bow” to ask forgiveness before play resumes.
ELEPHANTS
Elephants are intensely sociable and emotional animals. Research by Iain Douglas Hamilton, from the department of zoology at Oxford University, suggests elephants experience compassion and has found evidence of elephants helping injured or ill members of their herd.
In one case, a Matriarch known as Eleanor fell ill and a female in the herd gently tried to help Eleanor back to her feet, staying with her before she died.
In 2003, a herd of 11 elephants rescued antelope who were being held inside an enclosure in KwaZula-Natal, South Africa. The matriarch unfastened all of the metal latches holding the gates closed and swung the entrance open allowing the antelope to escape.
This is thought to be a rare example of animals showing empathy for members of another species—a trait previously thought to be the exclusive preserve of mankind.
DIANA MONKEYS
A laboratory experiment trained Diana monkeys to insert a token into a slot to obtain food. A male who had grown to be adept at the task was found to be helping the oldest female who had not been able to learn how to insert the token. On three occasions the male monkey picked up tokens she dropped and inserted them into the slot and allowed her to have the food.
As there was no benefit for the male monkey, Prof Bekoff argues that this is a clear example of an animal’s actions being driven by some internal moral compass.
CHIMPANZEES
Known to be among the most cognitively advanced of the great apes and our closest cousin, it is perhaps not surprising that scientists should suggest they live by moral codes.
A chimpanzee known as Knuckles—from the Centre for Great Apes in Florida—is the only known captive chimpanzee to suffer from cerebral palsy, which leaves him physically and mentally handicapped.
Scientists have found that other chimpanzees in his group treat him differently and he is rarely subjected to intimidating displays of aggression from older males.
Chimpanzees also demonstrate a sense of justice and those who deviate from the code of conduct of a group are set upon by other members as punishment.
BATS
Vampire bats need to drink blood every night but it is common for some not to find any food. Those who are successful in foraging for blood will share their meal with bats who are not successful.
They are more likely to share with bats who had previously shared with them. Prof Bekoff believes this reciprocity is a result of a sense of affiliation that binds groups of animals together.
参考译文：
直到最近，人类还被认为是唯一能够体验复杂情感和拥有道德观的物种。
但是博尔德科罗拉多州大学的生态学家马克•别可夫教授认为，道德规范已被“硬性接入”了所有哺乳动物的大脑中，它会提供一种“社交粘合力”，使得那些好斗成性和好竞争的动物可以在群体中和平共处。
他从全世界收集的证据显示，不同种类的动物似乎都有一种内在的公平意识，表现出同情，帮助其他处于困境中的动物。
狼
狼生活在一个组织严密的社会团体中，受到严格规则的约束。如果一个狼群过度扩张，成员之间的联系便不够紧密，狼群就会解体。狼群也会表现出公平性。
在嬉戏中，头狼会与等级较低的狼进行角色交换，造成自我“妨碍”，顺从地让它们咬自己，当然前提是咬得不狠。
别可夫教授认为，如果没有一套道德准则来约束它们，这种行为是不可能发生的。如果一个动物咬得太狠，它就要主动“鞠躬”来请求原谅，之后再继续游戏。
大象
大象这种动物非常喜欢群居，而且易动感情。哈佛大学动物学系的伊恩•道格拉斯•汉密尔顿研究发现大象可以感受同情，另外还发现了证据显示，大象会帮助象群中受伤或生病的成员。
有一次，一头名为埃莉诺的母象病倒了，象群里的一头母象温柔地帮助埃莉诺站起来，并一直呆在她身旁直到埃莉诺离世。
2003年，一个由11头大象组成的象群救了一只困在位于南非夸祖拉—纳塔尔省一个围场内的羚羊。母象头领打开围栏门上所有的金属插销，打开入口，让羚羊逃走。
这被认为是动物对其他物种的成员表现出同情的一起罕见例子——以前这个特性被认为是只有人类才具有的。
黛安娜长尾猴
某实验室训练黛安娜长尾猴将一枚代币放进投币口以获取食物。 一个动作熟练的公猴被发现会去帮助没有学会投币的一只最老的母猴。这只公猴三次捡起她掉下的代币，把它们塞进投币口，使她能够获取食物。
由于这样做对公猴没有任何好处，别可夫教授认为，这是动物行为受到某种内在道德指针导引的一个明显例子。
黑猩猩
黑猩猩被认为是猿类中认知最发达，也是与人类亲缘关系最近的，科学家们表示，它们的生活是遵循一套道德规范的，这一点也许并不会令人惊奇。
一只名为“指节”的黑猩猩——来自佛罗里达州的猿类中心——是唯一为人所知的患大脑性麻痹的被俘获的黑猩猩，这种病让它的身体和头脑都患有残疾。
科学家们发现，群体中其他的黑猩猩都对它另眼相待，它很少遭遇年长雄猩猩的恶意挑衅。
黑猩猩们还表现出一种正义感，那些背离群体行为准则的猩猩会遭到其他成员的攻击，以示惩戒。
蝙蝠
吸血蝠每晚都需要饮血，不过有些蝙蝠找不到食物也属常见。那些成功觅得食物的蝙蝠会和不成功的蝙蝠分享。
它们更有可能会与之前把食物分享给它们的蝙蝠分享。别可夫教授认为，这种互惠互利是一种合理加盟感造成的结果，而将动物维系为群体的正是这种合作感。
相关书籍：《Wild Justice》---Prof Bekoff（博尔德科罗拉多州大学的生态学家马克•别可夫教授）
