The Agressive Impulse (1977)

[Music] encyclopedia britanica educational Corporation presents a study of human life man and Beast [Music] the violent Clash of two powerful animals is among the most dramatic and spectacular events in [Music] nature the fury of these battles suggests a fight to the death but that is seldom the case in fact most of these fights do not even result in a serious injury why then do these animals suddenly attack each other and just as suddenly back off it may appear that animals fight and Slaughter each other without cause actually fighting among animals is rare and when it happens there is usually a reason in a herd of bison the Bulls compete with each other for the females when one bull moves too close to another's cow the battle is on the Bulls fight furiously not to kill each other but rather to prove which is stronger when one of the Bulls is unable to win he quits and the stronger bull claims The Waiting [Music] female human competition also is sometimes violent duing over a woman may now seem romantic but in times past it was often a deadly [Music] business animals also fight to protect their homes in order to guard his herum of females the elephant seal bull establishes his own home territory whenever another bull seal tries to enter this area there is sure to be a fight this response may be an instinct an inborn Behavior which does not need to be learned and cannot be changed in many animals there also seem to be inborn limits on fighting these seals for example only bite each other on the neck where there is thick skin and scar tissue and as in most species the seals allow the loser of these battles to escape unharmed [Music] while it may not be an instinct in humans we too often get angry when someone intrudes on our personal territory signs fences even National boundaries are all ways we warn strangers to keep their distance or risk being [Music] attacked when big horn sheep Clash the ringing of their horns can often be heard for Miles these sheep are fighting to determine their Rank and status in the herd older and stronger sheep are sometimes challenged by younger animals and occasionally a new leader will emerge from these fights but more more often the Challenger is beaten and simply limps [Music] away Rank and Status are also important to humans and may be expressed in many ways while actual fighting is rare we compete for money and power big houses and big cars are common symbols of success in this struggle some animals attack and kill other animals for food but this predatory killing is different from other forms of aggression when it is hungry the lion like all predators is a killer but when its hunger is satisfied the lion is really very peaceful [Music] Man Too is a predator armed with clubs or spears he learned to hunt down other animals as ruthlessly as any lion for many primitive societies hunting was a major source of food and clothing the development of Agriculture decreased the need for hunting but it did not decrease our taste for meat just as these pygmies hunt the elephant or any animal stalks its prey we continue to kill for [Music] food we raise millions of animals specifically to be killed and eaten this does not mean we are heartless murderers it simply means we are meeting our need for food all life helps to sustain other life from the tiniest organisms to the large animals at the top of the food [Music] chain the behavior of some animals is inborn and cannot be changed but most higher animals can and do learn from the environment by observing adults young monkeys learn to gather [Music] food similarly bears and other Predators must learn to hunt these and other aggressive acts often require some kind of training guard dogs must be taught to act ferociously at Disobedience School trainer Michael CER teaches dogs to protect people and property the dog's aggressiveness is determined by the kind of training it receives as a whole I would say the uh domesticated dog is basically a peaceloving animal what we have to do is actually inflate the dog's ego to a point where he becomes so self-confident and actually cocky that he when provoked would then be capable of following through with an actual assault some dogs are taught only to make threatening noises others are trained to actually attack on command just as animals can learn to fight and attack so can humans Warfare is the most tragic example of this ability throughout history armies have clashed in thousands of bloody battles over the years there has been a dramatic increase in the destructive Fury of War we desperately need to know if we or any animal can learn to be less violently [Music] aggressive Tigers the largest of all cats in the wild they are Fierce Predators but even when raised in captivity tigers are dangerous trainer Harry Thomas has learned to control these frightening Animals by re enforcing their more gentle Behavior he can teach them to perform I use a type of training which I call affection training and in this we've gotten away from the old school which we call the whip gun and chair type of thing and uh we use more of a onetoone relationship with the animal we try to find what tricks or behaviors best suit the cat usually I watch the cat's plane and in playe I see a particular good jumping cat or a rollover cat and so then we reward the cat from there and pick up what it does best instead of trying to force it into something these Tigers may be trained but they are not tame they have not lost their ability to kill they have only learned to restrain it occasionally when I fed the cats in you give them a knuckle or a shin bone you can see with one crunch they bite through the bone and you realize what power and strength they actually have it it doesn't really scare me it makes me respect them I think for the powerful animal that they are working with nine tigers at once is still risky I've proven that man can get close to a tiger I love them and I I respect them and I feel that they show me signs of certain affection back but a couple times I've almost slipped and I can see on their faces the urge to jump and uh I don't think you can ever get that wild Instinct out of the even in a natural killer like the tiger violence can be controlled no matter how Fierce the competition There are rules in every game which limit the amount of violence these B battles demonstrate the many ways we have learned to fight without actually killing each other many species of animals have natural ways to limit aggression wolves avoid bloody tests of strength by play fighting here again a game replaces an actual fight sometimes the loser of the game deliberately exposes his throat to the teeth of the other wolf to Signal he is [Music] beaten much of our humor is yet another form of controlled aggression violent feelings are expressed but throwing a custard pie doesn't really hurt anyone [Music] many people believe some violence is necessary to let off steam and to release tension but studies indicate that watching or participating in violent activities May tend to increase our aggressive feelings and make us more violent while each species has different needs animals too must stand up for themselves they must be able to to defend their homes hunt for food and protect their young all these aggressive actions are necessary for [Music] survival and of course limitations on aggression are just as necessary unless they must kill for food most animals live peacefully with one another and share resources without fighting kill or be killed is not the law of the Jungle cooperation is far more common than violence the tasks of grooming food collection home building and caring for the young are often much easier when they are shared living together in groups helps many species to [Music] survive one such group is being closely studied at the Oregon primate [Music] Center here these Japanese Maks live much as they do in the wild scientists can study which of their behavior is inborn and which is learned because they live on the ground where the competition for food is Keen this species of monkey has learned to fight more than most [Music] the large older monkey is particularly aggressive but he is not just a bull he is protecting his food and proving that he is still the strongest the younger monkeys are in turn learning the rules of the group to avoid injury they must not bother the older and stronger animals from this adult monkey's example the young will also learn how best to survive when they grow up humans too change their behavior to meet different circumstances among the Waring tribes of new Guin extreme aggressiveness is often [Music] necessary Modern urban people have very different needs and customs in most situations violence is neither necessary nor [Music] desirable but violence is a major problem in our society the frustrations of poverty and Injustice often lead to violence but despite all our destructive acts we like most animals do not seem to have an inborn Killer Instinct true we are capable of more violence than any beast but we are also capable of more cooperation [Music] we have developed into the most dominant species on Earth not because we are the most aggressive but because we are the most flexible and Cooperative more than any other creature we depend on our ability to learn and to change we have seen that we can learn to control aggression oh [Music] [Music]