“Lazy” scientists who are mothers of animals

Conrad Lorenz thought he was “very lazy”. He is too lazy to work and only wants to stay with animals as lazy as him. Such a “lazy” person has become a world-famous zoologist.

A lazy person who stays with animals

In Europe and Austria in the 1930s, a man often took a group of geese to the river, lying idle in the sun, occasionally took out his camera and took a few photos of the geese. Lorenz Conrad is him.

Lorenz was born into an elite family, but instead of becoming a doctor like his father, he stayed with a group of animals all day.

He thinks he is lazy. Because of this, he is more suitable to observe animals and understand their behavior, because most animals also have nothing to do. So at the age of 30, he gradually gave up studying medicine for many years and began to focus on zoology research.

Turn home into a crazy Zoo

Lorenz estimated that he had raised hundreds of birds, animals, fish and insects in his life. These animals often make a mess of the house, but the family won’t stop him from raising animals. Small animals live freely in his home, and some of them are “lawless”. 

Birds steal fruit and “go to the bathroom” on furniture and curtains; The monkey smashed the fish tank with a desk lamp and tore up his book. The most troublesome thing is the parrot “Koka”. Once, it flew to the table and fanned all the powdered sugar on the table into the guest’s face; Once, while his father took a nap, he pecked off all the buttons on his father’s trousers; Another time, it wrapped the whole crown of a tree in the yard with wool 

Imprinting behavior

When some animals are born, they regard the first moving object in front of them as their mother. This behavior plays an important role in evolution. If small animals can closely follow their mother after birth, they can be sheltered and nurtured. Secondly, imitating their mother’s actions can learn survival skills faster.

Put your son in a cage

No matter how much trouble the animals made, Lorenz never thought of keeping them in a cage. He believes that only by allowing animals to move freely can they really understand them. Instead, he put his son in a cage. When his son was very young, he made such a bad decision in order to protect his son from ravens, coyotes, lemurs and other animals. 

Be regarded as crazy

Lorenz tried to get along with animals like animals, which almost made him crazy.In order not to scare the jackdaws when they put metal foot rings on the roof for marking, he will wear a Black Halloween devil costume. The neighbors were frightened by the “devil” and the crows around him.

Once, in order to call back Koka, he shouted at the sky in the crowd. Koka heard the cry and really flew back to his shoulder. This call shocked tAfter a goose broke its shell, the first thing it saw was Lorenz. After that, it only liked to follow him. As long as he went a little farther, he would shout in despair. Lorenz realized that the geese regarded him as their “mother”, so he assumed the responsibility of his mother: imitating the cry of the geese, coaxing the geese to sleep and feeding it

The same thing happened to a flock of wild ducks he hatched artificially. In order to become a dutiful “duck mother”, he often squats on the grass, mimicking the 8-shaped route of ducks, turning back and croaking, and taking a group of ducklings for a walk. 

Through the study of this phenomenon, Lorenz put forward the famous theory of “imprinting behavior”.

Lorenz is not really lazy, but more willing to give time to what he loves. He was full of curiosity and patience for animals, and finally won the Nobel Prize in 1973 for his research results in animal behavior. 

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