re: Do wild animals focus on things besides necessities?

Tigers kill for pleasure

I think most animals of higher intelligence experience emotions related to things that effect them directly. Physical pain as well as comfort (sunning, being scratched, etc.), as well as joy, sadness, jealousy, and anger.

I sort of doubt they "ponder" things outside of what effects them directly, like the questions mentioned in the original post. Primary objectives are survival and reproduction, but some develop emotions and feelings beyond that along the lines of what I referenced above.

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Do wild animals focus on things besides necessities?

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Or are their whole life’s focus completely centered around food, water, and shelter? I have a hard time believing that they have no sensitivities to emotional thoughts.

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Some animals may have simple emotions but no complex ones like remorse or jealousy.

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Talk to my parents dog. Anytime the other one has something she doesn’t, she goes insane. I do think jealousy is an emotion many mammals can feel.

And elephants and gorillas can feel remorse. Koko the Gorilla pretty much proved that, even if she was an exceptionally intelligent gorilla. It did have me questioning whether she had a consciousness on what was really going on around her, like knowing she’s a gorilla. Dogs don’t know they’re not like humans though.