Thursday, October 20, 2005

What Animals Know




Click to enlarge this wonderful photo of a wild gorilla using a stick to measure the depth of a portion of water before she crosses it. While Gorillas who've been captured have demonstrated amazing feats, including both a recognition of human language, as well as an ability to use particular tools or hand signals to communicate back to humans. we continue to see ourselves as the superior race. We continue in too many cases to not give enough credence to the intelligence of the animal kingdom because it cannot speak our language, cannot build rocket ships and bombs, cannot pollute the atmosphere to the point of global warming. Yes, this bothers me. To read more about these wild gorillas, go to this article in The Washington Post Online.

If you could communicate with any animal in the world right now, which one would it be and what question/s might you ask?

17 comments:

Billy Jones said...

Here's a gift for you. Now get far from Wilma, okay?

Pris said...

How super of you to do that! Thanks. As you see, I have your link already in my links column.

For other readers, the link is bloggingpoet.com where you'll find a list of the top 100 bloggers, gradually growing.

Coloratura said...

Oh, most definitely my cats. One of them has a bad back, and I'd love to know just how much it's hurting her, if she needs anything... and then the other one has such a darling personality, I'd just love to chat with him for a while... although I kind of already do.

After that, it would be horses. They are the most beautiful creatures in the world to me and I would love to be able to talk to them.

Pris said...

What a great choice. I'd like to ask the cat in my garage where she came from and if she wants to join our family:-)

Another stranger one is I'd like to talk to a salmon and ask how it finds its home breeding ground to know where to go to spawn.

Pris said...

I think it's legit. The spirit of the whale is still there, I bet. I'd like to know the answer to that one, too.

I'd also like to talk to an olden dinasaur and ask what really happened and what the world looked like back then with no buildings and cars and people rushing all over.

novice.knitter said...

I have always loved Herons... I would like to know about soaring above the earth with my own wings, and how to catch fish so swiftly with a beak... such graceful, beautiful coastal animals.

Pris said...

Oh yes!

Pris said...

Yes, you've got that right. Someone once shared with me something that they said before eating a meal. They thanked the plant or animal for giving its life so that we might eat.

That is entirely separate, however, from how we kennel them, pump them with additives and kill off endangered species just for the fun of it.

mouse said...

I believe that all living things are beings. The animal that I would most like to talk to is probably a crow or a raven. They are always watching. The crow is always in close proximity to we humans. They obviously think that we discard a lot of good stuff. The raven will get into our stuff before we discard it. My question would be "How come I never see your babies?"

Pris said...

That's a neat question, too.

Kate said...

I love this post and this question. I try to talk to animals (and plants) and sometimes they do talk back to me. I am working on developing this skill.

I would love to be able to talk to all the animals I meet any time I want to. I just ask them normal questions like you would ask any person you just met.

If I could choose one animal to ask a question of, I think I would choose George W. Bush (humans are animals too, you know!) And I would ask him why he doesn't resign! (Sorry for the political dig, I don't know your point of view on the subject, but that's the one question that comes to my mind all the time! :-)

Pris said...

This one made me smile since I have the same question. If he answers, let me know:-)

Geoff Sanderson said...

I actually did manage to talk to a pig once, and asked him what he thought about homo sapiens; he gave a wry smile, and answered "I'm much too polite to tell you."

Pris said...

oh gawd:-)

Pris said...

I'd like to know that, too. I'd also like to ask my dog why he likes to lie in front of the toilet, making it impossible for anyone every to sit on it any other way but sideways (he's a BIG dog and won't move:-)

Geoff Sanderson said...

Pris, it's time you got your dog toilet-trained - that is, trained not to lie in front of it. And don't you have a door on the smallest room? That's the one place we should have some privacy (that's why it used to be called 'the privvy' in England) without being dogged by intruders.
I have all my best thoughts in what you Americans so coyly call 'the bathroom'; some of my best poems - or should I say 'my least worst'? - have started life in there.

Billy Jones said...

Pris said, "Yes, you've got that right. Someone once shared with me something that they said before eating a meal. They thanked the plant or animal for giving its life so that we might eat."

Pris, that is (was) common practice among almost all native populations around the world (native Americans, Australian Aboroginies, Maya, Aztec, Eskimos, etc. etc.) a part of ancient spiritual practices that modern religions taught us to forget.