In The Lion King, we are told that the lion is King.
But that is a human story.
Take away the crown.
Take away the words.
Take away the idea of kings and subjects.
What is left?
A big cat.
A lion is an animal trying to understand the world around it, just like a cat, dog, bird, mouse, monkey, bear or human.
How does an animal understand something?
Imagine a cat hears the same sound every day.
You say:
“Mimo!”
Then food appears.
Again:
“Mimo!”
Then affection appears.
Again:
“Mimo!”
Then you open the door.
After enough repetition, the sound becomes important.
The cat remembers:
That sound means something.
It does not need to understand English grammar. It has learned an association.
SOUND
↓
MEMORY
↓
EXPECTATION
↓
RESPONSE
That is communication.
Animals do not only communicate with sound
Their whole body communicates.
A cat may:
- move its ears
- move its tail
- change its eyes
- freeze
- run away
- move closer
- smell something
- rub against something
- hide
- play
- growl
- purr
- hiss
- watch quietly
All of these can carry information.
Communication is not only:
word → word
It can also be:
movement → observation → understanding → response
The first question
When an animal meets something new, it needs to work out:
What are you?
It may ask, in its own way:
- Are you dangerous?
- Are you safe?
- Are you food?
- Are you family?
- Are you something I should run from?
- Are you something I can approach?
- Or do I simply not know yet?
Fear is part of this
Suppose an animal experiences something frightening. Something hurts it, chases it or attacks it.
The animal may remember.
Later it sees something similar. The memory can affect what happens next.
EXPERIENCE
↓
MEMORY
↓
“THIS MAY BE DANGEROUS”
↓
FEAR RESPONSE
↓
RUN / FREEZE / DEFEND / HIDE
That memory can help keep the animal alive.
This is one reason frightening an animal matters. The event may finish, but the memory of the event can remain.
Animals can learn safety too
Now imagine something different.
An animal meets something unfamiliar. Nothing bad happens.
It meets it again. Nothing bad happens.
Again. Nothing bad happens.
Slowly, and at its own pace, the animal may change its understanding.
UNKNOWN
↓
WATCH
↓
INVESTIGATE
↓
NOTHING BAD HAPPENS
↓
FAMILIAR
↓
SAFE
↓
POSSIBLY TRUSTED
This is also learning.
Strange animal friendships
People sometimes see:
- cats and dogs
- birds and cats
- dogs and rats
- monkeys and other animals
- large predators becoming familiar with particular animals
Animals from different species can sometimes learn how to live together.
At first they may misunderstand each other.
A dog may chase. A cat may run. The dog sees running. Running can trigger more chasing.
CAT RUNS
↓
DOG CHASES
↓
CAT BECOMES MORE AFRAID
↓
CAT RUNS FASTER
↓
DOG CHASES MORE
A cycle appears.
But another cycle is possible when compatible animals are introduced carefully, the dog remains calm, the cat has a safe escape route and neither animal is forced to approach.
ANIMALS KEEP A SAFE DISTANCE
↓
NO CHASING OR ATTACK
↓
NOTHING BAD HAPPENS
↓
BOTH ANIMALS LEARN
↓
FEAR MAY REDUCE
↓
THEY MAY BEGIN TO UNDERSTAND EACH OTHER
Over time, some animals may even sleep together, play together, protect each other, seek each other out or become companions.
They are learning each other's language
A dog does not need to become a cat.
A cat does not need to become a dog.
They can remain different.
But each can learn:
- What does that movement mean?
- What happens when it makes that sound?
- When should I stop?
- When is it playing?
- When is it afraid?
- When does it want space?
That is a kind of communication.
Biology does not disappear
This part is very important.
A lion that becomes friendly with one animal is still a lion.
A cat that lives peacefully with a mouse has not necessarily stopped being a predator.
A dog that likes one cat may still chase another cat.
Animals can still be affected by:
- hunger
- fear
- pain
- territory
- mating
- competition
- stress
- sudden movement
- protection of young
- previous experiences
So we should never assume that friendship has removed instinct or risk.
Individual relationships matter. Context matters.
A safety boundary
Online videos can show that a particular relationship occurred. They do not prove that an encounter is safe to copy, that every animal of those species will behave the same way or that a wild animal has become harmless.
Do not stage predator-and-prey contact, corner an animal, remove its escape route or use fear to force familiarity. Wild animals need expert welfare and safety guidance. If a companion animal shows persistent fear, aggression, pain or distress, use a qualified veterinary or behaviour professional.
The important discovery
An animal does not necessarily see every other creature only as:
FRIEND
or
ENEMY
There can be another category:
Unknown
And unknown can change.
An animal may begin with:
I do not know what you are.
Then experience teaches it.
Sometimes:
- Unknown → threat
- Unknown → food
- Unknown → irrelevant
- Unknown → companion
Memory changes the future
An animal is not simply reacting to the present moment. It can also be responding to what happened before.
PAST EXPERIENCE
↓
MEMORY
↓
EXPECTATION
↓
PRESENT RESPONSE
New experiences can sometimes change that expectation.
OLD MEMORY
+
NEW SAFE EXPERIENCES
↓
NEW UNDERSTANDING
That is why patience matters.
So is there really a Lion King?
In the human story:
Yes. Simba is King.
In nature:
There is no crown.
There is no human monarchy.
There is a lion.
A big cat.
Living with other animals. Remembering. Learning. Watching. Communicating. Deciding what is safe. Deciding what is dangerous. Learning who belongs nearby. Learning what other creatures mean.
The simple message
Maybe the question should not be:
Who is the King?
Maybe the better question is:
What does this living thing think the other living thing is?
Threat?
Food?
Stranger?
Friend?
Family?
Unknown?
And then:
What experiences taught it that?
Because fear can be learned.
Trust can be learned.
Danger can be remembered.
Safety can be remembered.
Animals can recognise individuals.
Animals can learn familiar sounds.
Animals can learn each other's behaviour.
Animals can sometimes change their expectations.
Different species can sometimes build relationships.
But instinct and biology still remain.
The whole idea in one picture
SEE / HEAR / SMELL SOMETHING
↓
WHAT IS IT?
↙ ↓ ↘
THREAT — UNKNOWN — SAFE
↓ ↓ ↓
FEAR — LEARN — APPROACH
↓ ↓ ↓
MEMORY ← EXPERIENCE → MEMORY
↓
NEXT TIME, THE RESPONSE MAY BE DIFFERENT
And perhaps that is one of the simplest ways to understand communication between living things:
We experience each other.
We remember.
We predict.
We respond.
And sometimes, with enough safe experience, we learn to understand each other differently.
Ah-mee twoh-foh.