I keep seeing these sorts of videos in my YouTube feed, and it makes me really wonder if wild animals really do this. I saw one today of a dolphin asking humans to save a turtle caught in a net.
Are videos of animals asking humans for help (like dolphins leading people to help a whale, an eagle leading humans to a trapped mate) fake?
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I think they are real, most of the videos I’ve seen seem very real and then the person follows the animals then sets them free and sometimes the animal will like make a symbol of thanks or return to the people later to “thank them” for helping. The videos are so beautiful when they are freed!
“Is this link fake?”
<doesn’t provide link>
Some of them snip videos of different animals to fabricate a tear-jerk narrative
Yes.
Yes and no. Animals, especially mammals have varied and an innate sense of empathy. It’s probably a biological by-product of our evolution and it has many benefits, especially for communal and social animals. Birds are another fair example and they’re very intelligent too, most of them anyway.
Intelligence can sense intelligence. I’ve seen birds peck around when humans are eating food in public and I’ve seen young birds do the noises and open beaks to humans because they want food, the same way they do in the next or fledgling with their parents. Cats kneed when they’re cuddling and this is a ingrained reflex from kittenhood when they kneed the teets of their mother for milk.
I think some animals see other animals and humans as just bigger animals or bigger version of themselves and aren’t as discriminating when it comes to mutual benefit. If you feed crows in your garden, they’ll come back. You keep feeding them, they’ll bring friends and family.
Mutual social cooperation seems to transcend species.
I don’t think they all are. I am frequently shocked by how clever some animals can be. Even just my last dog and some of the squirrels I fed around my house have done things I never would have thought an animal had the ability to think through and implement.
So I don’t have a video of it, but a doe fought my dog till I came to see what was what. She then moved to the edge of the radio fence, and stood there watching me till I followed her to my barn. Her fawn was trapped in one of the stalls, so I opened the door and let it out where the mom promptly took it back into the woods.
Mostly yes faked as hell
“What’s that, Lassie? A tiny, baby lamb trapped in a collapsed old mine shaft exactly one half mile due south-southeast of here? Let’s go girl!”
Some are, some are not. Animals in distress have been known to go to their own predators or prey for help.
Sometimes it even works.
As a viral post some time ago put it, to a wild animal humans are basically the fae. Maybe they’ll help you just because. Maybe they’ll turn you into ten thousand spiders. But if the alternative is a slow and painful death, you’d probably rather ask.
8 years ago a severely cross billed young and thin crow came to me asking for help. When a young crow has cross billed, it’s extremely difficult to forage for food. I started feeding her. 8 years later, her bill has only a slight cross and a large gap between top and bottom bill. She has also taught her young that I can be a source for extra food. Most of those stopped visiting after a year.
One year, one of her offspring had developed avian pox and came back to me for help. If the pox doesn’t enter the air ways or throat, they have a good chance of survival if they can get enough food and water. Sadly, this was not the case with this crow. It stayed with me continuously until it died. It felt safe here, away from predators.
My neighbors years ago had a cat they neglected. It was malnourished, half bald and had open sores on both ears. It came and sat at my door every day. I tried to not get involved but would put out water for it. Until one day, it showed up with a huge, cleanly killed rat and placed it right at my door and sat watching me through the glass. That did it. I asked the neighbor if I could have the cat. After a couple days of thinking about it, they said yes.
That absolutely beautiful cat was a Turkish Van with a bad flea infestation and cancer on his ears. We had his ears trimmed down, got the fleas taken care of and he was gorgeous! One of the best cats I’ve ever had the privilege of calling a roommate.
I have many other stories of animals coming to me for help. I DO believe some of the videos are real.
Not sure about wild animals, but domestic animals do it. One time, my former landlord’s (outdoor) cat led me to a place where her kittens were trapped after we noticed they were missing and waited while I rescued the kittens. It was a long time ago, but I think they were at the bottom of a large, empty trash can or barrel of some kind.
My guess is that a wild animal that goes to a human for help probably had some prior, positive experience with humans, like being fed, or was around humans enough with nothing bad happening that they were not afraid to approach.
Yeh they use paid actors. Some get paid in cash some get paid in cod
I can’t tell for all animals, but I genuinely think that Allie, my neighbour’s dog, knew when I came to help her. It was a very hot day. My neighbour wasn’t home. We’re not friends, by the way. I don’t even know his name. But his dog was outside, panting, without any access to shade, water or food. I filled a big plastic container with water, and went to my neighbour’s backyard. I didn’t know how Allie would react. She barely knows me, and I was on her territory, after all. She stayed calm. I am convinced that she felt that I was coming to help her. I put the bowl in front of her, and she drank for a long time. I left.
No way! Haven’t you ever seen Charlie the Wonder Dog in action?
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Killer_whales_of_Eden%2C_New_South_Wales?wprov=sfla1
I didn’t fully read the question and thought you were asking if videos of animals talking were fake. I need to go to sleep…
Short answer- some of these videos are real but some of them are spliced together from different videos to purposefully pull at heartstrings and create engagement. It’s pretty easy to tell them apart because there will be a lot of cuts in the ones that are faked and you can usually tell by the markings on the animals, surroundings, etc, that they are using several different videos. Also, there may be voiceovers/ text explaining what is supposed to be going on.
I have two momma deer that gave birth (twins and single) on my property this year and now trust me. I have horses, goats and chickens and the deer come about ten feet away and watch. They live like the rest of my animals – bed down at night and are out eating daily. I don’t feed them because I think it does a disservice but they seem to feel safe because they watch me interact with the other animals and know predators are not around as much. They come out of curiosity to see what I’m doing in the barn but still keep a distance. I like to think it’s a safe feeling vibe on my property that drew them here. So not specifically asking for help but they would if they needed to I bet. Having their babies born and raised here sort of counts