Many cultures have holidays focused on candles, lights, etc. at about the winter solstice. This (among other ends) serves the function of reducing the emotional/psychological burden of the short photo period this time of year.
Now, as far as I’m aware, humans are the only species that regularly makes light with tools, and we go to more far complicated behavioral lengths to manipulate our neurological processes than any other species. That said, I can’t help but wonder if there are other species that specifically seek out more light in dark times in order to achieve ends analogous to (or homologous to) our “holidays of lights?” Do muskoxen stare at the northern lights when they are feeling down? Do other tropical-origin species introduced to mid-latitudes seek out bright light during the darkest days?
It seems to me at least plausible that some do. Very many species engage in things like behavioral fever (e.g., seeking warmer microclimates when fighting infections), self-medication, and context-specific phototropism. Dark-season light-seeking (for non-photosynthetic purposes) is not so different.
I would appreciate hearing of any examples you know of, please.
When we lived in Aarau in Switzerland, walking on a winter afternoon. Heading home there would be cats on the windowsills, catching the last rays of sun.
Today - our cats are seeking the deepest and coolest shade. The wind has dropped. The sun blazes. 26C in and out.
On many occasions I have noticed dogs at sundown, sitting on the beach, just above the water line, and looking out across the water to the west. Maybe it was just my imagination, but they appeared to be watching the sun go down. On the other hand, maybe they were just catching the sea breeze and getting away from the mosquitos.
Are moths an example?
If you mean the tendency of moths (and some other flying insects) to approach lights at night, it appears not. From what I’ve read, moths and many other flying insects end up approaching lights simply because artificial light interferes with their instinctive navigation by the stars. Some percentage of them end up spiraling in towards the lights.
Interesting thought experiment. It’s hard to imagine how one could ethically test for this (lab experiments? Please, no). However, I can offer some anecdotes. My husband and I have a small sled dog team (6-8 dogs). When I’m outside photographing the northern lights (several times a month from late August to late April), the dogs stay asleep in their houses, even when we have super bright auroral storms that light up the entire sky like daytime. But it really seems like they group-howl a lot more when there’s a full moon. I know that sounds like a cliche: I should’ve been taking notes all these years but somehow never did. Even so, we still don’t know WHY they howl – if it’s an emotional thing or what.
I have to admit when I opened it I was expecting discussion of the light shows some animals display (glow worms, to name just one) - which is a quite different but also interesting(?) question. If there are any around here, though, I don’t know of them.
In terms of your actual question, it’s definitely an interesting thought, but I can’t contribute any examples either way. (Of course, there’s also potential confusion between light-seeking and heat-seeking: would cats still like sitting in the sun if it weren’t warmer?)
Not specifically for light, but there is one non-human species I know of that uses fire as a tool. The black kite Milvus migrans in northern Australia is attracted to forest and grass fires since they flush insects and small animals into the open where the kites can prey on them. There is well documented evidence, and I have witnessed it myself, of these birds picking up burning sticks and dropping them in unburnt areas to spread the fire. This is not something you want to see when you have just spent days trying to suppress a wildfire and a kite lights up the bush on the other side of the firebreak.
I see they can carry substantial sticks
What comes to mind is highly visual predators, such as felines, being drawn to the visual effect of lights. Think of the way kitties will chase the “magic red dot.” I do wonder if pumas sighted near urban areas were attracted to the city lights.
I sorta found an example!
I searched for winter light seeking behavior on Google Scholar.
This paper:
Chen, J., Okimura, K., & Yoshimura, T. (2020). Light and hormones in seasonal regulation of reproduction and mood. Endocrinology, 161(9), bqaa130.
discusses winter depression and light-seeking in zebrafish, and related topics. It states that
“Fish normally swim toward a weak light stimulus (positive phototaxis) but avoid strong light (negative phototaxis) [70] Darkness-induced light-seeking behavior, in which fishes become transiently hyperactive upon loss of illumination, is also common [71].”