Thumbs and bipedalism do not a person make

I know some human people who would read THIS and still think they had valid arguments to the contrary.  What is it that makes some human peeps feel so threatened with the idea that other animals are more like us than not?  Why does the fact that other species are capable of emotions and compassion make some two-legs so full of fear and WANT to distance themselves from it?

Sigh, some days I seem to see/read more about the terrible things people do to each other and other species than the good things, and have to remind myself that we have a good side.  HERE are some more photos from the same website that a friend sent me awhile back, to help remind us that human people are capable of good deeds too.

Incident at the Bronx Zoo

Maybe I'm cold hearted, but I have zero sympathy for the man who recently received a tiger smackdown at the Bronx Zoo.  I don't wish death on the guy, but he earned those swipes.  What could he possibly have been thinking?!  The man, who's motives aren't clear from this article, voluntarily invaded a tiger den in which cubs had recently been born.  Is it safe to say the adult tiger(s) involved were protecting their family and space?  I believe so.  I also believe they had the right.  I think it's just as important to protect the captive wildlife from the human people staring at them through the glass as vice versa.  There should be stronger measures to ensure the public can't pull stunts like this.  Have you read Marc Bekoff's Animal Manifesto?  Or Wild Justice?  Or The Emotional Lives of Animals?  You should.  It should be required high school level reading.

The caption headline of the article on MSN.com's homepage is entitled, "Man badly mauled by tiger attack".  It should say, "Man badly mauled by tiger after invading tiger's personal space, tiger protects cubs".

❦ Wild Kingdom Book Challenge! ❦

Hello, fellow book and animal lovers. I'm setting myself an animal studies/ anthrozoology based reading challenge and I would love it if you'd join me! Any genre counts, as long as it pertains to the human-animal bond. Anthropomorphic stories can count too, i.e. Alice in Wonderland and her waistcoat wearing white rabbit. Possible reads can include fiction, non-fiction, rereads, children's stories, textbooks, wildlife journals, whatever you'd like. Remember, you don't have to have a blog to participate and you can comment anonymously if you prefer.

- The challenge will run from January 1st-December 31, 2012.

-Books may count toward other challenges.

- Choose where you want to go:

1-3 books = The Hundred Acre Wood

4-6 books = Rikki Tikki's Bungalow

7-9 books = Best Friends Animal Society

10 or more = The Jane Goodall Institute

- You can use one of these banners to link your post to the main challenge.

- Here are some possibilities:

Black Beauty - Anna Sewell

City of Ravens - Boria Sax

Megan's Mare - Lynn Hall

The Ten Trusts - Jane Goodall & Marc Bekoff

The Animal Manifesto - Marc Bekoff

Putting the Horse Before Descartes - Bernard Rollin

Incident at Hawk's Hill - Allan W. Eckert

Charlotte's Web - E.B. White

The Yearling - M.K. Rawlings

Moby Dick - Herman Melville

Spoken in Whispers - Nicci Mackay

The Man Who Listens to Horses - Monty Roberts

Out of the Mist - Pat Lyne

Horsekeeping on a Small Acreage - Cherry Hill

Animals As Teachers and Healers - Susan Chernak McElroy

The Animal Within Us - Jay D. Glass

Never Cry Wolf - Farley Mowat

Gorillas in the Mist - Dian Fossey

Stories Rabbits Tell - Davis and Demello

Uncle Wiggly's Storybook - Howard Garis

Fury and the Mustangs - Albert G. Miller

The Black Stallion novels - Walter Farley

When Elephants Weep: The Emotional Lives of Animals - Jeffrey Moussaieff Masson

The Art of Racing in the Rain - Garth Stein

Buffalo Gals and Other Stories- Ursula K. Le Guin

King of the Wind - Marguerite Henry

Misty of Chincoteague - " "

All Creatures Great and Small series - James Herriot

The Midnight Fox - Betsy Byars

My Friend Flicka - Mary O'Hara

The Philosophy of Animal Rights - Mylan Engel & Kathie Jenni

Bunnicula - Deborah & James Howe

The Darkness is Light Enough: The Field Journal of a Night Naturalist - Chris Ferris

Wild Minds - Marc D. Hauser

Some We Love, Some We Hate, Some We Eat - Hal Herzog

The Man Who Talks to Whales: The Art of Interspecies Communication - Jim Nollman

The Jungle Book - Rudyard Kipling

Thought to Exist in the Wild: Awakening from the Nightmare of Zoos - Derrick Jensen

In the Shadow of Man - Jane Goodall

Watership Down - Richard Adams

Hope you join me. You can sign up at my book blog, click HERE. Looking forward to hearing from other animal enthusiasts!

Female crocodile given waxing and pedicure in time for mating season

Click HERE, for the article from the Daily Mail.

To me, this sounds downright twisted.  How was this allowed to happen, because the creature came from a research center? Where were the professional handlers? If the poor crocodile had objected to this treatment just once by snapping or biting someone, you can bet she would have been put down. Absolutely unacceptable. Does anyone know anything more about this?

Examples of anthropomorphism in consumer culture

Anthropomorphism in fables and storytelling is one thing, but as a selling tool it's just downright creepy. This video is from SnickersBrand's youtube page.

This one is from redbull's Youtube page.

This one is from thesims152325's youtube page. The Sim Pets 3 website describes the game as a way to "take direct control of your Sims pets and explore new ways to mess with their lives." Control and mess with. After watching this commercial, I think the creators could use some therapy. What a great way to further detach people from animals' true natures. Don't spend time with your actual pets, sit in front of your computer screen and mess with virtual pets instead! You'll get brushed by a woman in a French maid costume and you can urinate on the furniture while your owner gets laid! Ugh.

Angry Birds!

Alfred Hitchcock may have been onto something. Today's shared article is from page 32 of National Geographic's July 2011 issue. Just click the pic to enlarge and read.

Hey, I've known people that have been less than friendly to the birds trying to nest on their porches. Turn about is fair play.

Xenocide? Really?

And this is a great example of why I want to study anthrozoology in a cultural context and educate the uneducated.

Elephant problem? These beings have as much right to be here as we do. Killing them for needing to share the limited resources and space is NOT the answer.