Animals And Humans
Sometimes animals do strange things, of course this is how these actions seem to us, but apparently not to them. I remember a squirrel that decided that it liked my company and when I would sit on the stoop in front of the house, it would come along and sit next to me. This lasted through the entire spring and summer. It got to the point that if I was eating fruit or something like that, I would give some to the animal. I decided after a few months that I didn't want the squirrel to become dependent on me because it would starve in the winter so I put an end to this relationship. Even though I ended it, I have to admit that I enjoyed the idea, it was fun and people that saw this, couldn't believe it. It had gotten to the point where the squirrel would come looking for me and even peak through the glass on the front door of the house hoping to see me.
Worm A species of earth worm has developed herd behavior. Scientists have observed red wigglers moving under the ground in very large groups. They seem to communicate with each other by touch. What drives these primitive animals to do this? That is still a mystery. I had read a post from a person that lives near Area 51. It is not often that you get a chance to tie two completely different subjects together. He thinks that people that own exotic animals there, which are allowed to be owned in that state, are being attacked more often that anywhere else. I wouldn't know how to prove or disprove this. When people own lions and tigers that are taking a chance on being attacked, at least that is what I believe.
Cat Most of us have heard about Oscar the cat. He is the one that lives in a nursing home and will sit on the bed of a dying patient. It seems that the cat can predict who is going to die in a few hours. On top of this strange ability, when the staff try and put the cat out, it will sit outside the door and cry. Some have determined that this ability must be due to the cat's heightened sense of smell. One animal expert stated that “she was certain that Oscar was sensing vital organs shutting down”. One thing that most of us do incorrectly is assign motives to animals for what they are doing. “It peed on the rug to spite me”, or “growled at the kids because it hates them”, or something like that. An animal might be marking its territory by peeing on a rug. I know that this doesn't make it any more pleasant for the owner, but the animal is not doing it because it hates you. As far as growling at kids, an animal might be afraid of being stepped on. I see this all the time. It certainly doesn't denote hate of any kind, it is a warning like saying, “don't step on me I am down here”. Sometimes outside sources can affect animal behavior. One of these is the liver fluke. It is a parasite that lives in the bile ducts of the livers of grazing animals. This fluke lays eggs that are eaten by snails when they pass out of the original animal's system and the snail excretes infected slime balls which are taken by ants back to their nest and eaten. The infected ants will now climb to the top of tall grasses and just cling there. This is done so that grazing animals will eat the grass with the ant and get infected and start the cycle all over again. Remember this also, wild animals have no dentists that they can go to for sore teeth, or doctors for aches and pains. Animals can also develop mental problems.
Lion An expert was asked why people should not keep wild animals as pets? The replay made a lot of sense and I had never thought about things this way before. He said that to a lot of wild animals we are predators, I think that we could take this a step further and say that to the bigger wild animals we are seen as food. This is not a very comforting thought, is it? Human civilization is dependent upon animals, but most of us never think of things that way. We know that animals provide us with food, but they also help create the world we live in. The bees and ants are examples of animals that help pollinate crops and without them we wouldn't have anywhere near as many crops as we enjoy today. Seeing eye dogs aid the blind. Mice help scientists discover new drugs, etc.
Dog It is a mystery why most dogs are so happy to live with humans and will even give up their lives to save their human owners. There are so many stories of faithful dogs doing things to save lives. I remember one where there was a fire in a home and the family dog woke everyone up by going to each one individually. The last one had his door closed and the dog threw himself at it several times until the family member cam running out of his room. Everyone was saved including the brave dog. This dog was certainly displaying something akin to human emotions. We know that dogs are pack animals and once they accept the fact that they are in a family they feel that this is their pack, but does this explain the fact that they are willing to give up their lives for us? Not only dogs become heroes. It was early in the morning and the lady of the house was asleep. She had no idea that the apartment building she lived in was on fire. Her cat sensing the fire decided to throw himself against her door and did so repeatedly until she woke up. There was so much smoke in the building that she and the cat had to go to the balcony until the fire department arrived. Another cat jumped on a poisonous snake that had found its way into a back yard and was about to bit one of the family's children. The cat was bitten but survived. There is even a cat that has befriended a blind and deaf dog. He leads it around obstacles, guides it to its food and sleeps with the dog every night.
Hyena There is no doubt that animals have emotions and in their way they can be very kind. Some say that animals have souls and there are stories of paranormal investigators saying that they have seen ghost animals, if you believe in this kind of thing. I like animals and I think that most people do, but when it comes to wild animals they should be left in their habitat. It probably took tens of thousands of years to get dogs and cats to where they are today. Anyone that thinks that they can accomplish this with a tiger or lion in one generation better rethink that. |
