We were lucky enough to watch some interesting animal behaviour on a recent trip to Chestnut Park an otter sanctuary in the Peak District.
The story was that a female otter was being re-introduced to a cage she’d shared with her sister and father. Unfortunately this female had started bullying her sister so was removed for a week, when reunited her sister turned the tables and started picking on her. There was much snarling and growling with the keepers staying close by with two nets in case they needed to separate the sisters.
I believe we all have an inner otter who wants to get revenge on former bullies, to give ex-persecutors a good kick when they’re down.
As people we need to learn to rise above base instincts. This doesn’t mean we need to turn into doormats who repeatedly let ourselves be bullied by the same people, we need to put boundaries in to stop them bullying us, but mustn’t cross the line and become bullies in the process.
