![]() “I shall largely speak of mice, but my thoughts are on man,” he would later write in a comprehensive report.Īt first, the mice did well. It was a mouse utopia.Ĭalhoun’s intent was to observe the effects on the mice of population density, but the experiment produced results that went beyond that. He provided all the food and water they needed and ensured that no predator could gain access. Calhoun, best known for his mouse experiments in the 1960s when he worked for the National Institute for Mental Health.Ĭalhoun enclosed four pairs of mice in a 9 x 4.5-foot metal pen complete with water dispensers, tunnels, food bins and nesting boxes. One of the more famous ethologists in recent decades was John B. This is an area illuminated by ethology, the scientific study of animal behavior. Perhaps the human/pet welfare state works because one of the parties has a brain the size of a golf ball or a pomegranate. It seems like a win-win, so maybe a welfare state can work after all. ![]() In fact, my loving domination is a condition for the free stuff. My two rat terriers get free food and free health care, though I am not only their provider, but I am also their “master” too. Moreover, for the most part, they seem to like it. Our personal pets live in a sort of welfare state. Readers should view what I present here as a prod to thought and discussion and not much more. Because they require knowledge beyond my own, I cannot offer definitive answers. These are fascinating questions that I am certainly not the first to ask. What would happen if animals in the wild could count on human sources for their diet and never have to hunt or scrounge? What if, in other words, we humans imposed a generous welfare state on our furry friends? Would the resulting experience offer any lessons for humans who might be subjected to similar conditions? Not having to work for food and shelter sounds appealing and compassionate, doesn’t it? Studies have shown that panhandling animals have a shorter lifespan. It transforms wild and healthy animals into habitual beggars. The National Park Service’s website for Sleeping Bear Dunes in Michigan advises, When the population started declining the beautiful ones were spared from violence and death, but had completely lost touch with social behaviors, including having sex or caring for their young.Signs in national and state parks all over America warn visitors, “Please Don’t Feed the Animals.” Some of those government-owned parks provide further explanation, such as “The animals may bite” or “It makes them dependent.” The few secluded spaces housed a population Calhoun called, "the beautiful ones." Generally guarded by one male, the females*********and few males*********inside the space didn't breed or fight or do anything but eat and groom and sleep. But what looked like rat utopias and mouse paradises at first quickly spiraled into out-of-control overcrowding, eventual population collapse and seemingly sinister behavior patterns.įor io9, Esther Inglis-Arkell writes about Calhoun*********s twenty-fifth habitat and the experiment that followed: These were all part of John Calhoun*********s experiments to study the effects of population density on behavior. What does utopia look like for mice? According to a researcher who did most of his work in the 1950s through1970s, it might include limitless food (of course!), multiple levels and secluded little rodent condos. ![]() When the population started declining the beautiful ones were spared from violence and death, but had completely lost touch with social behaviors, including having sex or caring for their young. The few secluded spaces housed a population Calhoun called, "the beautiful ones." Generally guarded by one male, the females-and few males-inside the space didn't breed or fight or do anything but eat and groom and sleep. Sometimes they'd drop and abandon a baby while they were carrying it. They'd move half their litter away from danger and forget the rest. Few females carried pregnancies to term, and the ones that did seemed to simply forget about their babies. They gathered in the main squares, waiting to be fed and occasionally attacking each other. ![]() But what looked like rat utopias and mouse paradises at first quickly spiraled into out-of-control overcrowding, eventual population collapse and seemingly sinister behavior patterns.įor io9, Esther Inglis-Arkell writes about Calhoun’s twenty-fifth habitat and the experiment that followed:Īt the peak population, most mice spent every living second in the company of hundreds of other mice. These were all part of John Calhoun’s experiments to study the effects of population density on behavior. ![]() ![]()
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