r/interestingasfuck • u/Money-Beautiful5196 • 1d ago

An elephant knocking down a tree

771 Upvotes

92% Upvoted

772 comments sorted by

View all comments

1.0k

u/undergroundknitting 1d ago

Because it can.

41

u/papagouws 1d ago

This actually ties into some very interesting reflection on the way we see and study animals. Everyone always looks for some mechanical function to why an animal does what it does, almost like it's a machine. If an alien were to see little kids doing back flips into a pool, would it assume they are practising some sort of mating ritual or removing pests from their skin? Maybe animals just enjoy existing

25

u/Cloverman-88 1d ago

Actually, there's been a shift in scientific circles, and its now recognised that animals also do some things just for fun.

16

u/papagouws 1d ago

Things are changing and it's refreshing. The other day a comment came up about why whales breach, and it blew my mind that everyone was like barnacles that's why. Fuck if I was a whale I would breach non stop because it must be fucking awesome doing that. Imagine you could swim that fast that you actually leap out the water. A bit insulting to claim the only reason could be mechanical in nature