What are animal ‘instincts’?
Riyad Hamer
Instinctive, or innate behaviours are behaviours animals carry out automatically in response to particular stimuli. They occur in all members of a species – or a certain sex – and are carried out in almost exactly the same way every time. An animal doesn’t need to have encountered a stimulus before or observed another animal performing the behaviour, as the response is programmed into its DNA. Instincts include behaviours like caching food, building nests or cocoons, performing mating displays and scent-marking territories. All animals have instincts, but highly intelligent species don’t seem to have as many. The vast majority of human behaviours are learned. Our instincts include yawning, sneezing and moving away from pain.