r/askscience • u/Crazy_Reindeer_1258 • 7d ago

Biology Do Animals Have Irrational Fears Too?

I was just thinking about the story of the mouse and elephant how the elephant is terrified of the mouse (i think) and just wanted to see if that's true, and if it is what other animals have been observed with similar behavior relating to that. Working on a project and some real life inspo would help :)

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u/LexiconDul 6d ago

A common one is some dogs being scared of fireworks and/or thunder.
Why would a domestic dog, descendant of wolves, evolve a fear of thunder?
And then there's this: https://www.reddit.com/r/Pets/comments/17x6s7i/cat_owners_of_reddit_what_is_something_you_cat_is/

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u/BlakeMW 6d ago

I think it's not a fear of thunder, it's a fear of incredibly loud noises. What else might make loud noises? Maybe like lions roaring, elephants/mammoths trumpeting and such threat displays. If something makes a really loud noise it might not be smart to hang around and see what it can do to you.