The capacity to sense and respond to the emotional state of another living being, often considered uniquely human, is increasingly recognized across the animal kingdom. Scientific inquiry reveals that empathy is not isolated to our species but is a spectrum of responses with deep evolutionary roots. The study of animal empathy is a rapidly advancing field, challenging long-held assumptions about the inner lives of non-human creatures. Researchers observe complex social behaviors suggesting many animals are capable of sharing the feelings of their companions.
How Scientists Define and Study Animal Empathy
Scientists differentiate empathy into two primary categories. Affective or emotional empathy describes the ability to sense and share the emotional state of another, such as experiencing distress when a companion is fearful. This response is largely automatic, a form of emotional resonance or mirroring. Cognitive empathy represents a more sophisticated ability, involving the understanding of another individual’s perspective and specific needs. This level of understanding can lead to targeted helping, where the responder offers aid tailored to the other’s situation.
Scientists primarily study animal empathy by observing complex social behaviors like consolation and targeted helping. Consolation is defined as providing comfort, such as physical contact, to an individual who has recently experienced stress or conflict.
The Strongest Evidence: Empathy in Primates
Great apes, our closest living relatives, provide the most robust evidence for both emotional and cognitive empathy. Chimpanzees and bonobos frequently display sophisticated consolation behaviors following aggressive encounters. These acts of comfort often involve spontaneous, gentle gestures like hugging, kissing, or holding hands directed toward the distressed individual. Such contact has been shown to reduce the recipient’s state of arousal, suggesting the act is genuinely alleviating distress.
Apes also demonstrate targeted helping, which requires a cognitive understanding of what the other individual needs. For example, a chimpanzee may retrieve a tool for a companion struggling to open a container, even without being prompted or receiving a reward. Observations indicate that both chimpanzees and bonobos console at similar rates, with younger individuals often being more likely to offer comfort. This sophisticated response is often biased toward close social partners and relatives.
Consolation and Cooperation in Other Social Mammals
Beyond primates, highly social mammals like elephants and cetaceans exhibit notable empathetic behaviors. African and Asian elephants are known for tending to injured or distressed herd members, demonstrating a clear recognition of another’s suffering. They often use deep rumbling vocalizations and physical touch with their trunks to comfort a companion undergoing a stressful event. This behavior is seen when elephants encounter a dying or deceased individual, showing prolonged interest and protective behavior.
Elephants also show an understanding of cooperation, which requires sensing a partner’s role and intent. In a cooperative task, elephants have demonstrated an ability to wait for a delayed partner before pulling a rope together, recognizing that success depends on the other’s presence and action. Similarly, cetaceans, such as dolphins and whales, are known for cooperative rescue behaviors within their pods. Reports of “companion whales” remaining alongside entangled humpback whales, often for extended periods, suggest a powerful supportive instinct toward a distressed member.
Emotional Contagion: The Building Blocks of Empathy
The most fundamental form of emotional sharing is emotional contagion. This basic mechanism involves an individual automatically mimicking or catching the emotional state of another, leading to a synchronization of emotions. It does not require the complex cognitive step of perspective-taking but is necessary for social cohesion and survival. Emotional contagion is widespread across many species, including those with simpler social structures.
Rodents demonstrate this when a mouse mirrors the pain or fear of a cagemate, often by showing increased freezing behavior when a familiar companion is in distress. Dogs exhibit emotional contagion by reacting with signs of arousal when exposed to human or conspecific negative sounds. Even social birds, like chickens, have been observed responding to the distress calls of their chicks. This phenomenon serves as the evolutionary foundation for the complex, targeted empathy seen in primates and elephants.