The animal appreciation thread

Rusty Shackleford

Rusty Shackleford

G.O.A.T.
Aren't animals wonderful? Please share your stories/news/videos of animals, whether pets or not, here.

I'd like to start with this video showing a baby elephant playing with some birds. I chose this because it proves that concepts like "playfulness", "joy", and even "love" do not need to be the exclusive domain of human beings, and that perhaps even animals are able to experience them in a more pure form.

 
Fedinkum

Fedinkum

Legend
images
 
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Rusty Shackleford

Rusty Shackleford

G.O.A.T.
Sentinel said:
Saw this many years back. Just hunted it out. Christian the Lion.


Makes me choke every time i see it.
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Wow, that was amazing. That lion was basically a large domestic cat. Same gestures of affection and all. The only difference is that if a small cat gets upset he'll scratch you in the finger. One of these lions would cause a lot of damage if it gets mad, but obviously Christian had a good temperate character.

So there is a full documentary on this, Senti?

Who would have thought you could buy a lion at Harrods? :eek:
 
Sentinel

Sentinel

Bionic Poster
Rusty Shackleford said:
In the states I've known of people who had a mountain lion. Not sure it was legal though.
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In the place I previously lived, some foreigners (read: white people :D) had a cheetah. This was like 30 years back when i was a kid. But I am told after a couple years or maybe 6 months, they had to hand it over to the zoo or something. (Or maybe it was a leopard).

Then either i saw or heard of someone who had a deer and probably had to hand that over too. This is in the city, btw.
 
SoBad

SoBad

G.O.A.T.
I usually like animals and vice versa, except for maybe certain dogs that are specifically bred to be aggressive. I am completely fine with hunting for food, but that lion dentist sounds like a psychopath, frankly.

What’s the big deal about extradition to Zimbabwe, anyway? He obviously appreciates the country and its rich culture and tradition and could use a quiet interlude away from the busy dental practice.
 
Sentinel

Sentinel

Bionic Poster
vanioMan said:
This is my desktop at work - in honour of my favourite animal:


J1Btr6gh.jpg
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Sadly, this beautiful, majestic creature is growing extinct in my country due to large scale poaching -- skins going to Tibet (acco to one article). I have written in detail about this earlier here. How some reserves that are supposed to on paper have over 2000 tigers actually have ZERO.
And any managers/wardens who dare question, are threatened and have to leave. Big business going on, every one bribed. Entire tiger pop wipe out.
 
Rusty Shackleford

Rusty Shackleford

G.O.A.T.
SoBad said:
I usually like animals and vice versa, except for maybe certain dogs that are specifically bred to be aggressive. I am completely fine with hunting for food, but that lion dentist sounds like a psychopath, frankly.

What’s the big deal about extradition to Zimbabwe, anyway? He obviously appreciates the country and its rich culture and tradition and could use a quiet interlude away from the busy dental practice.
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Here here.
 
Rusty Shackleford

Rusty Shackleford

G.O.A.T.
meltphace 6 said:
<3
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Wow. I didn't know starlings flew in flocks that huge. BTW, starlings are very nice birds. Very intelligent, and capable of emulating human speech like parrots.

Mozart once was in a store near his house, and he heard the owner's starling repeat a melody that he had been practicing at the piano. I believe he bought the starling. I don't remember the exact details, but it should be somewhere in Wikipedia probably.
 
Rusty Shackleford

Rusty Shackleford

G.O.A.T.
Spin Doctor said:
That's one of my faves. Cat FTW!!!
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Yeah, man. I love dogs, but I really, really love my kitties. I still miss my two dear cats that have now passed away. Cats are capable of showing an incredible range of emotions, more than most people not knowledgeable of them realize.

One of my cats used to lie in bed with me when I was on my computer, and she would just spread her paw towards me and look at me like she was in love, then sometimes she would sigh. God, I miss her so much. :(
 
Rusty Shackleford

Rusty Shackleford

G.O.A.T.
Spin Doctor said:
That damned music made me cry!!!

Amazing that Christian could assimilate so quickly and have his own pride after being in captivity.
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Yes, it really is. The change he made in the second visit was also amazing. He was more independent, but still he posed no threat to his former owners. Incredible story.
 
Sentinel

Sentinel

Bionic Poster
Rusty Shackleford said:
Wow. I didn't know starlings flew in flocks that huge. BTW, starlings are very nice birds. Very intelligent, and capable of emulating human speech like parrots.

Mozart once was in a store near his house, and he heard the owner's starling repeat a melody that he had been practicing at the piano. I believe he bought the starling. I don't remember the exact details, but it should be somewhere in Wikipedia probably.
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Did he name it Clarice ?

;)
 
Sentinel

Sentinel

Bionic Poster
The YT I saw many years back, shows another man who lived in the jungle with lions. Bearded, long hair and well-built chap. His only companions were two lions (IIRC). I think the credits in the end mentioned that that man was later killed by poachers.

Spin Doctor said:
Omg. I just bawled like a baby.
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Somehow stories of interaction between humans and the great cats touch me deeply. I saw a program a few years back on Discovery / Animal Planet in which these guys are filming cheetah. This cheetah gets on top of their jeep and is sitting their. Finally, the photographer opens the moon-roof and put his head out. The cheetah turns her face and their cheeks brush.

That moment of their cheeks brushing -- it's almost like a "religious moment" for me, for lack of a better term. Do you (anyone) know what I mean, how to you put it in words.
 
Mike Bulgakov

Mike Bulgakov

G.O.A.T.
Sentinel said:
The YT I saw many years back, shows another man who lived in the jungle with lions. Bearded, long hair and well-built chap. His only companions were two lions (IIRC). I think the credits in the end mentioned that that man was later killed by poachers.



Somehow stories of interaction between humans and the great cats touch me deeply. I saw a program a few years back on Discovery / Animal Planet in which these guys are filming cheetah. This cheetah gets on top of their jeep and is sitting their. Finally, the photographer opens the moon-roof and put his head out. The cheetah turns her face and their cheeks brush.

That moment of their cheeks brushing -- it's almost like a "religious moment" for me, for lack of a better term. Do you (anyone) know what I mean, how to you put it in words.
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I have no doubt that big cats have complex emotions and can bond with people; the problem is that the interface programs that rule their brains are not set for gentle human interactions. Usually, once a big cat like a lion moves beyond adolescence, it is territorial and ready for a fight. A swat to the face might be okay in a lion disagreement, but humans aren't built for this.

I love big cats, but would never want to be in the same room as one. Tigers, for example, will instinctively pounce on someone who trips, as this triggers a predatory response. Anyway, I see these animals as beautiful creatures, but it is probably best for humans to keep their distance.

There was an interesting incident involving gorillas at an American zoo, I think in Chicago. A little kid fell into an outdoor gorilla enclosure, and was knocked out. A male silver back came over, and was very gentle as he examined the kid. The silver back even kept juvenile gorillas away. The kid came to and started crying, and the silver back still protected him.

Eventually, an adult female gently lifted the kid and carried him to the enclosure's back gate, where she knew the handlers brought in food and interacted with the gorillas. She kept the other gorillas away, and the kid was okay.
 
Sentinel

Sentinel

Bionic Poster
Mike Bulgakov said:
I have no doubt that big cats have complex emotions and can bond with people; the problem is that the interface programs that rule their brains are not set for gentle human interactions. Usually, once a big cat like a lion moves beyond adolescence, it is territorial and ready for a fight. A swat to the face might be okay in a lion disagreement, but humans aren't built for this.

I love big cats, but would never want to be in the same room as one. Tigers, for example, will instinctively pounce on someone who trips, as this triggers a predatory response. Anyway, I see these animals as beautiful creatures, but it is probably best for humans to keep their distance.

There was an interesting incident involving gorillas at an American zoo, I think in Chicago. A little kid fell into an outdoor gorilla enclosure, and was knocked out. A male silver back came over, and was very gentle as he examined the kid. The silver back even kept juvenile gorillas away. The kid came to and started crying, and the silver back still protected him.

Eventually, an adult female gently lifted the kid and carried him to the enclosure's back gate, where she knew the handlers brought in food and interacted with the gorillas. She kept the other gorillas away, and the kid was okay.
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Wow ! That is a wonderful story, Mike. Amazing.

Sadly, I remember another thread in our forum a couple years back, of some prankster who fell into a tiger enclosure, possibly trying to tease/taunt her, or maybe some kids were daring one another. The teenager got fatally hit by the tiger. Later, i am told they had to put the tiger down.
 
Rusty Shackleford

Rusty Shackleford

G.O.A.T.
Sentinel said:
Sadly, this beautiful, majestic creature is growing extinct in my country due to large scale poaching -- skins going to Tibet (acco to one article). I have written in detail about this earlier here. How some reserves that are supposed to on paper have over 2000 tigers actually have ZERO.
And any managers/wardens who dare question, are threatened and have to leave. Big business going on, every one bribed. Entire tiger pop wipe out.
Click to expand...
This is horrible. Are there other countries with that type of tiger though? That's a white tiger, right?
 
Sentinel

Sentinel

Bionic Poster
Rusty Shackleford said:
This is horrible. Are there other countries with that type of tiger though? That's a white tiger, right?
Click to expand...

I can't recall, it is many years back. I had posted the details in some thread. But yes, we do have some white tigers. They are trying hard to breed these tigers , and other endangered species, but it's tough.
 
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