EVEN ANIMALS PICKET AND RIOT !
Beyond behavioural and evolutionary changes aimed at adapting to adversities common to animals and plants, I had some personal experiences of animals not only going out of their ways to seek comfort and better their lots, but actually picketting and rioting...in an organized manner!
SEEKING GREENER PASTURES FOR SURVIVAL
The rain-motivated migratory exploits of the wilderbest in the Serengetti is a sight to behold. The animals in their millions only need to "smell rain" and off they go....treking thousands of kilometers to reach lush greens....crossing a river now laden with crocodiles...equally ingenious in timing their annual wait....for this bounty in meal! They spare some time to give birth to kids in their trek....which they kick into motion in a matter of minutes!
There was this ram in a friend's neighbourhood which totally abandoned its owner's home. Reason? Male company! All efforts by her master to bring her back home was in vain. The more she was harried home, the more she sneaked back to her new family and friends! It was all about perpetuating its kind. She has sired countless kids in the "diaspora"!
And then I shouldn't fail to mention this dog in my estate which is fond of sneaking through its master's gates to seek the company of a male "friend" in the next street. Her friend is now being regularly locked in....but trust this dog never to give up so easily. It would stand on its hind legs and lean over the occluded base of this gate so it could peep through fenestrations in the upper section!...yapping away in a determined effort to attract the attention of its host....
Then there was this flamboyant peacock which practically absconded from its owner's quarters to pitch tent in my compound in Ikorodu. The first time I saw it in flight, I thought I had seen a ghost as it caught the corners of my eyes on its homeward flight one evening!
It simply landed in the bush at the rear of the main building....preparatory to its night rest. I supposed its main attraction in my premises was the neatly mowed lawn... A fact confirmed by its owners when they finally traced it down to my compound...some feathers in their grasp for identification purposes!
I must confess I missed its magnificence though....its splendour as it spread its colourful wings in the noons whenever it ventured out of its hideouts in the bush. It never allowed us to come close...a fact I interpreted as his wanting just the lawn and not the owner of the lawn!
SYNERGIZING EFFORTS TO DEFEAT PREDATORS
Otters team up to kill king cobras and share the meat!
Quite interesting to see an eagle engage in a dog-fight with an owl....flying so fast in the path the owl hoped to gain an airlift....and sending a clear message that its territory was not to be triffled with!
Soldier ants would team up to bring any enemy to its knees. Instant defeat! It's all about synergy!
Buffalos would square up to confront marauding bands of lions on rustling missions. As the beasts scampered to safety, the fretful predators now precariously perched on tree branches was a sight to behold!
One lost its grip and fell down....and was briskly gored to death by the angry buffalos. One killer down... Another buffalo saved!
I also reared cocks and fowls in my compound in Badagry. I had purchased them as chicks....and really loved administering their feeds myself. I tried to keep to regular feed times but I must confess I sometimes ran late. At such times, the chicks would simply fan out and peck away....but as they grew older, they would have none of that!
They would scale the barrier demarcating the hospital section from my living quarters and march down right into the hospital reception...all 60 of them! And be sure to leave some faeces behind if I wasn't quick enough with their meals even then!
And as I rushed on with serving them, they would ensure that I got not a few painful "bites" on my feet...a bitter lesson not to run late next time!
I had some terms for their actions....
....mutiny per excellence!
....animal picketting!
....and animal riot!
Even plants develop bitter taste....grow thorns...and spines....to thwart the raids of predators!
It's all about survival....and synergy...
And ingenuity...and guts....
So I ask...
Are you the weak link in the human synergy chain?
Dr Tosin Akindele is a Lagos-based Medical Practitioner and public affairs analyst.
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