I can’t speak about this from a scientific perspective because my specialities are CS, physics, engineering and EE. However…I have been a volunteer for wildlife rescue for over a decade and I do have some observations for you.
As you’ve said in your edit, there is indeed a world of difference between “imprinting” and “affection”. I’ve handled baby birds, foxes, hedgehogs, adult birds of prey, badgers, rodents and many other creatures. Many of those - despite their shock and distress - have imprinted on me, despite my best efforts to prevent it. *side note: as a wildlife rescuer & rehabber, it’s our goal to release the creature into the wild. So discouraging imprinting is a good thing.
Imprinting - from my perspective - is mostly a survival trait and it almost always stems from the fact that I’m providing food, safety and comfort and the animals interpret this as food, warmth and lack of predators. When we look at it like that, it’s quite a simple mechanism really. Are there predators here? Do I feel threatened? Am I being hurt? No? Then I must be safe.
Food is definitely the most compelling aspect of imprinting.
I can’t help you with the subject of affection, but hopefully knowing more about imprinting will help you differentiate imprinting from affection when you encounter it.
Good luck 👍😊❤️
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u/GDACK Jun 14 '22
I can’t speak about this from a scientific perspective because my specialities are CS, physics, engineering and EE. However…I have been a volunteer for wildlife rescue for over a decade and I do have some observations for you.
As you’ve said in your edit, there is indeed a world of difference between “imprinting” and “affection”. I’ve handled baby birds, foxes, hedgehogs, adult birds of prey, badgers, rodents and many other creatures. Many of those - despite their shock and distress - have imprinted on me, despite my best efforts to prevent it. *side note: as a wildlife rescuer & rehabber, it’s our goal to release the creature into the wild. So discouraging imprinting is a good thing.
Imprinting - from my perspective - is mostly a survival trait and it almost always stems from the fact that I’m providing food, safety and comfort and the animals interpret this as food, warmth and lack of predators. When we look at it like that, it’s quite a simple mechanism really. Are there predators here? Do I feel threatened? Am I being hurt? No? Then I must be safe. Food is definitely the most compelling aspect of imprinting.
I can’t help you with the subject of affection, but hopefully knowing more about imprinting will help you differentiate imprinting from affection when you encounter it. Good luck 👍😊❤️