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Other animals do agree to certain types of social contracts with each other. For example, some species of bats share the food they find with others in their community who they are not related to. It is not possible to force a bat to share against his will, since this process is done by regurgitating food directly into the mount of the recipient. Each bat remembers which individuals in the community have helped them when they themselves were hungry, and they remember which individuals refused to help them in their time of need, and these bats respond in kind. It is not unusual for a bat to be unable to find food for several days, in which case his survival depends on having friends. In effect, by sharing food with others, these bats are purchasing an insurance policy. A bat with a large network of friends is much more likely to survive - and a bat who chooses not to honor his contracts (not help those who have helped him in the past) will soon find himself without any friends when he is in need of assistance.
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