Every animal species has their own culture built into their DNA that guides tradition. The Whooping Crane (a bird species) perform a mating dance where they bow their heads, flap their wings, leap and bounce off with stiff legs. The dance is in an effort to secure their partner who they will mate with for life.

When left to their own devices, animals operate on pure instinct, while the actions of humankind are influenced by factors including, and outside of nature; Man-made devices tickle our instincts, nudging how we interpolate and interact with the world. Animals can sense when a natural disaster like a tsunami is about to hit. To be in tune with instinct, is to be in tune with nature. Man has a God-complex: there is something inside, that compels him to take over and treat other life forms the way he wants, with the justification that it’s for the betterment of civilization. Animal only thinks “survive”.

In human civilizations that value emotional intuitiveness and nurture, women are the leaders. In civilizations that value masculine traits like success and achievement, men are the leaders. Hierarchy is determined solely in context to culture.

It is a popular belief that humans are more intelligent than animals, but our approach is human-centric. Think about the measuring stick by which intelligence is measured: we decided what intelligence was in the first place, and we determined intelligence as the most important form of measure. 

Imagine humans valued intuitiveness and instinct above intelligence and the other human-valued traits. Humankind would no longer be at the top of the hierarchy, and our treatment of Animals would look wildly different.