Humans following Nature’s lead: How animals use Strategic Social Distancing to ward off disease

With the proliferation of COVID-19 cases across the globe, understanding social distancing has become vital for the survival of mankind. As humans of 21^st Century we are lucky enough to have been vaccinated for most of the chronic diseases. However, animals who encounter similar situations practice  Social Distancing to protect themselves from any outbreaks. In fact they develop and hone behavioral immunity by incorporating social distancing just when they are encounter a disease.

Nevertheless, there are both emotional and psychological consequences of social distancing for mostly all the species. The primary reason for this is our habit to thrive on social living. But adaptation is the key and animals like ants are shrewd enough to bring distance into their colonies for preventing the infection from spreading.

Even after bearing the consequences of COVID-19 in the initial months, social distancing for some of us becomes difficult. In the wildlife, there are spiny lobsters who prefer shunning their infected mate to mitigate the risk of Panulirus argus virus 1 infecting the lobster community. Whereas there are certain species who curate a healthier and more sustainable form of this concept. For instance, Mandrills when faced with a disease do not entirely isolate themselves. They bring Strategic Social Distancing into play by maintaining certain ties, given their sociable nature.

In order to flatten the curve of the whopping COVID-19 cases, humans have to cling to their modern-digital interactions for a while. And technology in this sense is a boon for our society. To put it more simply, many animals like mongoose who are habitual to intimate social interactions, fail to endure a disease outbreak. In the same vein, humans are hardwired to resort to seeking social and emotional support from their peers.

As COVID-19 becomes our reality with over a thousand cases each day in BC, Dr. Bonnie Henry clarifies the latest COVID restrictions by cutting out on social gatherings. Therefore, we can all join hands and say no to social interactions until we witness a considerable result. When animals can survive the outbreak and stick to Social Distancing without any technology or vaccine then why can’t homo sapiens?