Brains or Brawn: The Basis of Survival

People have argued the importance of both instinct and intelligence in terms of the survival of a species, but which is more vital? I believe that both are equally important for survival but each characteristic tends to produce different species over time. The wolf has been around since the earliest men on this earth. Those certain wolves that befriended man in the beginning, after years of breeding, came to be known as dogs. Dogs and wolves come from the same genetic lineage, but each personifies a different characteristic: intelligence in the dog and instinct in the wolf. Although both species have survived over time, the survival of the wolf has relied heavily on its natural impulses on how to live, while a dog’s intuition and intelligence has been the key to its’ survival, producing two distinct animals out of one genealogy.

After befriending man, the dog been able to use circumstance and smarts to secure its’ survival throughout time. It has taken advantage of man and used us in order to have us take care of them. Whether intentional or not, dogs use their looks to get their way in almost as a sense of flattery. The term “puppy eyes” has been derived from the look a dog gives his or her owner when it knows it has made a mistake; showing that dogs can read people’s emotions and be able to evaluate situations. Many dogs will return to a home after they have escaped realizing that they have it better where they were rather than being out on their own. More importantly, dogs can also find their way home, showing a simple form of memory. Dogs also form relationships with man, which their counterparts do not. The only part of instinct that dogs show is in terms of mating. Dogs mate using the animal instincts imprinted in their genes. The majority of the dogs existence is based on intelligence while only a small part, mating, derives from instinct. Although dogs are not as intelligent as man, they can use a simpler form of aptitude in order to outsmart man and take advantage of its circumstance in order to get taken care of by man.

The dog’s more animalistic counterpart, the wolf, uses its imprinted instincts to feed, hunt, and pass its genes throughout history. The wolf is a hunter in nature, stalking and killing its prey, using its simple impulses in order to feed itself. Although a bit of intellect is needed in order to capture its prey, the instinct of the wolf is the basis of its survival. Wolves also travel in packs, which is based on their impulse for attachment. Wolves are very impulsive animals that tend to act on reflexes. Place a hand in front of a wolf and when I pull it away I might lose a finger. In contrast, place a hand in front of a more docile cousin, the dog, and he might sniff and lick your hand. Wolves tend not to take their time to think through situations, rather when they see an opportunity for food, they take it. This causes wolves to be seen as reckless because they don’t always think through situations. Wolves also use their animal character when it comes to mating. Much like dogs, wolves find a mate and then proceed to pass along their gene to secure its survival over time. Although wolves use intelligence in certain circumstances of hunting, much of the survival of their species is based on the instinct a wolf has for mating and feeding.

Although these two animals have branched from the same common genetic traits, each has harbored the majority of a different characteristic in order to survive: the dog has relied on smarts and intelligence, while the wolf has remained more animalistic. Yet both have been able to successfully pass their genes through time. This shows that although an animal may rely more heavily on one characteristic than the other, both attributes are present in both animals. All animals have instincts and impulses that they follow no matter how intelligent the animal may appear to be, and no matter how instinctive an animal may seem in order to survive it must have some capacity of learning and intellect. One genealogy has produced two different animals in the dog and the wolf, but the genetic makeup of each animal contains both intelligence and instinct, which provides the sanctuary of their pedigree throughout the rest of existence.