caldrail's Blog

I wouldn't change the name...well, then again, February does end tomorrow...otherwise I'd say that there's still time for another lovely specimen to rear its head.

As for keeping wild animals as pets... I don't think anything beats the stupidity of people who keep chimpanzees as pets and try to raise them like children.

 

Only last week there was a horrific news story about a woman in Connecticut who had a 200-pound pet/"child" chimpanzee that attacked her friend and ripped the friend's face off and bit off her fingers. Attacking chimpanzees generally go for the face, fingers, and genitals -- and all chimpanzees become increasingly dangerous as they mature. The friend (a woman, but the cop who arrived thought it was a man because she was unrecognizable) is now in a hospital that has gained world renown for performing face transplants.

 

I dislike chimps, monkeys, etc., and have never been able to understand how anybody could think one of those animals looks "cute" or "funny" dressed up as a human.

 

-- Nephele

Eh, I don't dislike them, I don't like them...but I do respect them, and all other non-human animals, as being great to look at and marvel. But even domesticated animals will turn if mistreated...it's their natural instinct.

 

A woman down the street has two pitbulls, the 'dad' and the 'daughter' of a litter. She insist that her dogs are loving, friendly, and the lot...and, honestly, Junior and Echo are. On the other hand, she's trained them not to fight and to behave. But give those dogs (or any others, for that matter) a different environment, and they will get aggressive and do harm. As much as I love Bella and know that she wouldn't really hurt me, I know that things could change given different circumstances.

I dislike chimps, monkeys, etc., and have never been able to understand how anybody could think one of those animals looks "cute" or "funny" dressed up as a human.

 

-- Nephele

 

Its the human need to anthropomorphise everything. We give boats, cars, trains, and planes names and personalities (usually female I notice) and entertainment abounds in imagery of animals with human expressions, motives, and emotions. We know how to speak human - most of us are pretty lousy at speaking animal.

 

Chimps unfortunately are very endearing creatures when young but they do tend to get aggressive in their mature years. Coupled with an upper body strength that dwarfs our own typical human being, its something to be wary of. Personally I agree with you Neph - dressing animals in human clothes isn't as cute or funny as some people think, but then there's a lot of people who like to laugh at others especially when the object of their mirth isn't aware of it.

Chimps unfortunately are very endearing creatures when young...

 

I don't really find chimps, monkeys, etc. endearing even when young. They're all shit-throwers.

 

-- Nephele

Eh, I don't dislike them, I don't like them...but I do respect them, and all other non-human animals, as being great to look at and marvel. But even domesticated animals will turn if mistreated...it's their natural instinct..

 

It isn't just mistreatment that does that. Dogs are social animals like us. That means we tend to get along because dogs understand the human owner is the alpha pack member and co-operates... most of the time... Problems arise when the dog thinks it can dominate, or it misunderstands the signals its getting, or simply does what it always does but at an inappropriate moment.

Also, dogs have been domesticated for thousands of years, whereas chimps will always be wild animals regardless of how they are treated by their owners.

 

Another thing about chimps... It's very likely that they naturally perceive human beings as rivals for the same resources. After all, humans and chimps evolved from a common ancestor, and there was a time in prehistory when there were several species of competing "ape-men" existing simultaneously -- Homo habilis, Homo rudolfensis, and Paranthropus boisei in the early Pleistocene period, for one example. Eventually, Homo sapiens won out in the evolutionary struggle, and at the expense of the most competitive species to ourselves.

 

While I myself don't perceive chimps as rivals for my resources (I've no worries about a chimp competing for my job), I think the bit of wildness that remains in me may be a contributing factor towards my dislike for the species.

 

And by the same token, I've no doubt that the honkin' huge chunk of wildness to be found in every chimp that any idiot ever put a diaper on and coddled and called "baby" (are you listening, Michael Jackson, you freak?) is responsible for pet chimpanzees' rage on their owners.

 

-- Nephele

Also, dogs have been domesticated for thousands of years, whereas chimps will always be wild animals regardless of how they are treated by their owners.

Not necessarily. Humans and dogs got off to a good start because we had reason to co-operate in prehistory, plus humans have been breeding dogs and changing the species for thousands of years. We don't breed chimps the same way nor do we have any use for them except to sell teabags (re: Tetley's ads of the 70's) or as daiper consumers.

 

Another thing about chimps... It's very likely that they naturally perceive human beings as rivals for the same resources.

Well, they would, but so far chimps haven't shown much interest in supermarkets,burger vans, and indian resteraunts, so I suspect the competition isn't really a factor. Also, even in Africa, human beings moved out of the neighborhood to rear domestic animals and crops rather than the nuts and stuff chimps prefer.

 

While I myself don't perceive chimps as rivals for my resources (I've no worries about a chimp competing for my job), I think the bit of wildness that remains in me may be a contributing factor towards my dislike for the species.

I suspect the chimps don't have your fashion sense Neph. Maybe in the US you're lucky, but the the european anthropoids have certainly killed my job prospects

 

And by the same token, I've no doubt that the honkin' huge chunk of wildness to be found in every chimp that any idiot ever put a diaper on and coddled and called "baby" (are you listening, Michael Jackson, you freak?) is responsible for pet chimpanzees' rage on their owners.

Well, I think it has more to do with temperament. Chimps have been observed fighting border wars between groups and some of the violence they commit in the wild is truly shocking. Truth is, they ain't that different from us, and their nasty underside is something we'd prefer not to recognise.