So animals have culture?
Cultural practices in non-human animals have been observed for decades, the only reason it isn't more widely recognised is because of the anthropocentrism that is so prevalent in the sciences. Many animals have been observed mourning, creating art, giving gifts, decorating their spaces, establishing and adhering to fashions, enjoying music, developing language, using tools and engaging in ritualistic behaviours, all of which are clear indicators of culture.
It isn't just mammals either, such behaviours are commonly observed across the animal kingdom, including birds, reptiles, fish and insects. Non-human animals often behave in ways that bare striking resemblance to our own cultural practices, especially around mourning, we have just always dismissed these as 'instinctive' under the false assumption that culture is unique to the human animal.
Of course, we also have a significant vested interest in denying animal intelligence, emotion and culture. The more animals resemble us and the more complex they are, the harder it is to justify exploiting them, even under existing ethical systems that don't generally consider animals who aren't pets to be very important. It's harder to eat a pig when you have seen them decorate their barn with flowers, as has been observed in sanctuaries.
If you'd like to read more about this, I'd recommend checking out The Emotional Lives of Animals. You can find a few good articles below as well:
New Scientist
Science.org
Science.org 2
Psychology Today
