If you ever had the joy of talking to an animal activist they may use the argument that all animal attacks are because of "territorial disputes" or they were protecting there young, or even that they felt "threatened" and that animals don't attack people for no reason, well i think that's bullshit! I myself have nothing against animals, but i want to show that animals like people can be violent if desired and don't need to have a reason. one example is from a show i recently watched (Chimp Attack), it was quite disturbing and really changed my view of chimpanzees and the image the media gives them. Your probably thinking that there has to be some reason for an animal to attack a human right? Wrong. Trainers and animal psychologists are making the assumption that animal behavior is predictable, and that animals only do things when provoked, well what if a whale has a bad day, does that give it justification to kill its trainer (Killer Whale Report), which by the way has fed it for years and developed a relationship with the creature. Ok, so your thinking maybe animals just don't like humans, well how about this case that involves animal on animal vengeance (Elephants). I am not sure why but these random acts of violence seem to come from animals of higher intelligence, maybe there is a link between intelligence and the capacity to commit unprovoked brutality, who knows for sure, but i know i no longer feel bad when animals are put down for attacking humans, Once they taste blood they want more :-(
I think it has something to do with our inherent joy to like to watch and enjoy seeing someone else get hurt or violent video games or shows. I think it is just something inherent in higher intelligence creatures to find interest and curiousity in the pain a nd suffering of others.
ReplyDeleteI thought the presentation of this post the other day was quite interesting. I'm a manager at a kennel and am around animals a lot. Obviously I don't handle wild and exotic animals, but dogs and cats are enough to deal with in the first place. I haev seen how they can turn on you with a blink of an eye. I love animals, but I feel you can never really fully trust them. For example, did anyone hear of the story a couple years ago when the chimp attacked the owner and the owner's friend? I believe one person died and the other's face was torn apart. I just can't believe people raise animals like this. They belong at the zoo or in the wild.
ReplyDeletePersonally, I believe than intelligent animals do not get joy from harming each other or another species. Some animals however are misunderstood. For example elephants were brought up as dangerous animals that would hurt people without being provoked. These elephant attacks though are due to a well studied phenomenon. When bull (male) elephants are in musk, which lasts for around a month, they have up to ten time the normal amount of testosterone in their systems which causes them to react more harshly than normal. I believe most animals of higher intelligence are good but as in humans can have psychological or physiological problems which can affect the behavior of a few individuals. The cases that are brought to light are just so dramatic that they accumulate massive amounts of media coverage and hype which is over representing the actual occurrence of such phenomenon.
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