Being a loner isn’t un-herd of for these four-legged seniors.
New research shows that it is in an animal’s nature to isolate as they age — but unlike the known detriments for humans, breaking away from the crowd during their golden years can be beneficial for beasts.
Studying creatures great and small — as large as deer and apes, all the way down to bugs — Dr. Josh Firth from the University of Leeds told The Guardian there is “a very general pattern of individuals becoming less social with age.”
That could have something to teach us, Firth said.
“While it is certainly [worth] still trying to mitigate the obvious disadvantages that might come with people reducing their social connections as they age, we should also consider the potential benefits,” he added in an article published in the journal Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society.
Among animals, the most common reason for avoidance found was a desire to steer clear of infections and diseases that might threaten more susceptible older populations.
For example, in a study of red deer Firth conducted, outliers were found to be less prone to a parasitic worm infection of nematodes afflicting the main herd.
“We found that in general, you’re more likely to get infected by these nematodes as you’re growing older, but you can offset that by not interacting with as many individuals,” Firth said.
Looking at other animals for the first time, house sparrows also narrowed down their social circles as they got older.
“The number of friendships, and how central a bird is to the wider social network, declined with age,” another researcher, Dr. Jamie Dunning, stated.
He added that like people, it’s tougher for them to make friends with younger members of their species as they have less to bond over.
Dunning stressed the importance of socializing for the younger birds, however — if for no other reason than to gain life experience to use in their golden years.
This is also relevant for chimps, bees, and other insects as well, said lead researcher Amanda Bretman.
“We systematically reviewed evidence that even in insects we don’t usually think of as having complex social lives, their social environment has some big impacts on their lifespan and aging,” she said.
While more research is needed to better understand the customs of animals isolating, they “provide a good model system for considering the costs and benefits of changing social behavior with age,” Firth added.
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