Recent research has unveiled an extraordinary caregiving behavior in mice, suggesting that such instincts may be more prevalent in the animal kingdom than previously understood. The study observed mice attempting to revive unconscious companions by pawing at them, biting, and even pulling their tongues to clear their airways.
While instances of large social mammals, like chimpanzees and elephants, offering assistance to incapacitated peers have been documented, the findings regarding mice raise intriguing questions about the evolution of social behaviors across species.
Li Zhang and his research team at the University of Southern California conducted a series of experiments with laboratory mice to analyze their reactions to familiar cage mates who were either active or anesthetized. Over a 13-minute observation period, the caregiving mice spent an average of 47 percent of the time interacting with the unresponsive partner, primarily engaging in behaviors such as sniffing, grooming, and physically manipulating the partner’s mouth and tongue.
“They really open the mouth of this animal and pull out its tongue,” Zhang noted, indicating the profound nature of these interactions. In over half of the observed instances, the caregiving mice successfully pulled on the tongue of their unconscious companions.
Additional tests revealed that when a non-toxic plastic ball was placed in the mouth of the unconscious mouse, helping mice managed to remove it in 80 percent of cases, underscoring their instinctive drive to assist.
This remarkable behavior was further showcased as attending mice helped their companions regain consciousness and mobility faster than those that received no help. Furthermore, familiarization played a significant role; caregivers tended more closely to mice they recognized.
Zhang emphasized that this behavior should not be seen as analogous to CPR, but rather as intuitive acts akin to using strong smelling salts to awaken an individual. The research highlights the involvement of oxytocin-releasing neurons in the brain regions responsible for such altruistic behavior, suggesting a biological basis for the caring instincts observed in various species.
Accompanying studies have reported similar behaviors in laboratory mice, reinforcing the credibility of these findings across independent research teams. While observing this behavior in wild mice may prove challenging due to their prey instincts and tendency to hide, the implications of these findings open new avenues for understanding complex social behaviors in smaller species.
The concept of innate caregiving behavior among young mice, largely unlearned as they had never encountered such situations before, implies that these instincts could be vital for promoting social cohesion in animal groups.
