Aging deer seek solitude – scientific report

Treehugger reports an interesting note from University of Oxford titled “Deer Become Less Social as They Grow Older.”

“As people age, their social circles may grow smaller. When time is limited, you may choose to spend it with only those you really like.

The same holds true for red deer, a new study finds.1

Researchers from the University of Oxford and the University of Edinburgh studied deer interactions to help understand what happens with age—even with humans. They found wild red deer become less sociable with age. Their companion network shrinks as they get older and they spend less time with others.

“Building a general understanding of how individuals change their social behavior as they age is useful for research across many different species, including humans,” study senior author Josh Firth, of the department of biology at Oxford University, tells Treehugger. …”

The conclusions of the report will resonate with older human readers!

URL: https://www.treehugger.com/deer-become-less-social-as-they-grow-older-same-6281664

“Hermit in a Grotto” – early Japanese novel

One of the earliest Japanese novels was imported from China during the Tang dynasty.The novel, titled, You Xian Ku, is often translated as “A visit to the hermit’s grove,” its setting a secretive cave disovered by a passerby. The traditional translation cites the cave-dweller of the story as a hermit but in the sense of recluse, being a fairy. The genre of the novel is fantasy.

URL: https://www.asahi.com/ajw/articles/14698936

Psychology Today: “Embracing Being Alone”

Psychology Today offers a piece titled “How to Embrace, Not Fear, Being Alone.”

From the article: “While no study pinpoints social media as a cause of depression and feelings of isolation—in fact, social media can be a tool for combatting loneliness—it, along with texting, television, and video gaming, can distract us from embracing solitude.”

URL: https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/automatic-you/202209/how-embrace-not-fear-being-alone

NH hermit River Dave – Update

New Hampshire hermit River Dave Lidstone, who was ordered by a judge to leave his squatter cabin, has done so, moving to Maine, where he has a new camp as his new home, speaking avidly about his new situation. Though the millionaire-owner of the New Hampshire property where Dave had squated has since passed away, Lidstone is not looking back re his court case and is embracing his new quarters and friends.

URLs: https://www.ctvnews.ca/world/river-dave-banned-from-new-hampshire-site-moves-to-maine-1.6030661; https://www.sunjournal.com/2022/08/17/new-hampshire-hermit-river-dave-moves-to-maine/

Last Amazonian tribal member’s solitude

A Global Herald‘s “World” report picks up an ABC News (Australia) item. From ABC: “The Man of the Hole’ dies in Brazil after decades of solitude away from civilization. The last known member of an indigenous tribe living in the western Brazilian Amazon has died. The man spent decades living alone after the rest of his people were killed in what some have described as a genocide. Professor Felipe Milanez from the Federal University of Bahia tells The World he died in a much more dignified way than other tribe members. Includes video.

URL: https://theglobalherald.com/news/the-man-of-the-hole-dies-in-brazil-after-decades-of-solitude-away-from-civilization-the-world/