Are humans more important than animals?

[JaziandCo]

In both instances, more animals were introduced to the depressed animals. It didn't work. The circus horse died with another horse sharing its stall and Pumpkin the cat is on anti-depressants even with another cat in his house. It's not that they fight, it's that they miss their friends.

 

EDIT: and I really can't speak for the dog who ate his owner. Obviously, they hadn't bonded. You can't judge every animal by that, though. And I'm pretty sure that it's instincts that make cats, rats, and birds kill their sick children. It helped them to survive, as the sick and weak were weeded out.

With other animals with similar personality traits to their friends? Age is also a factor, an animal that has grown in age and is considered adult - elderly won't bond as well as baby - young adult. Also remember that I did reference grief being felt by creatures with higher intelligence.

 

I'd have to say that a dog that was once bouncing all over the owner trying to lick his face is pretty well bonded with the owner. Yes, there are dogs that will lie next to their elderly owner and starve to death. There are also dogs that will start eating you as soon as their food bowl has been empty for a few days. Regardless of how much you might have been inseparable. The instinct to survive is often stronger than the emotion of grief.

 

Even horses will abandon foals and refuse to let them nurse. Even elephants, who're supposed to be one of the most intelligent land herbivores, will occasionally shrug their shoulders and not care about the death of something they see as weaker. Bears, who fight like mad to protect their cubs, will even abandon them without a second look back if they feel that it's necessary. Domestic dogs will occasionally have a litter of 10 and 2 will die. They'll spend a few minutes trying to revive their dead pups, push them aside, and go back to caring for the 8 that lived. The only time I've heard of a dog or cat getting upset over the loss of a litter would be if all of them died without being killed by the mother. Is that because they're mourning the loss of their children, or because their bodies are telling them to care for young when they have no young to care for? Considering several dogs will pick themselves back up after the bad litter and return to normal after the next one, I'd say it's probably the latter.

[Memy12ab]

Well for starters Humans are animals. Also everyone knows there are little kids amethyst families starveing out there. Well there are also little lion/tiger/lepdoard/Ect cubs and Thier families that are starving. Really i think god knows what he's doing and we should just let the worse come and after the hurricane is gone a rainbow will light up the sky.

[dragcave:D]

Domestic dogs will occasionally have a litter of 10 and 2 will die. They'll spend a few minutes trying to revive their dead pups, push them aside, and go back to caring for the 8 that lived. The only time I've heard of a dog or cat getting upset over the loss of a litter would be if all of them died without being killed by the mother. Is that because they're mourning the loss of their children, or because their bodies are telling them to care for young when they have no young to care for? Considering several dogs will pick themselves back up after the bad litter and return to normal after the next one, I'd say it's probably the latter.

Well, they haven't had anytime to bond first off, and secondly, they're probably used to the death of young ones because the bigger the litter, the less chance of survival i think. They'll be like licking them, "ARE YOU DEAD? COME BACK ALIVE?'' then realize that they are actually dead, and feed the other alive young.

[Snow Plow]

Well for starters Humans are animals. Also everyone knows there are little kids amethyst families starveing out there. Well there are also little lion/tiger/lepdoard/Ect cubs and Thier families that are starving. Really i think god knows what he's doing and we should just let the worse come and after the hurricane is gone a rainbow will light up the sky.

I'm sorry, but what if this isn't what whatever God anyone believes in intended? There are people who don't follow any God, and who are horrible, as well as those who don't believe in any God and are fine, good, wonderful people. How do we know that this is how a God wanted it to be? Animals and humans starving? Who wants that? We have to do what we can for everyone while we're around. It's our choice how we do that and who we help.

 

JaziandCo - I don't know. I suppose that that's a factor, but at that point, they are missing their friends. If they could find someone exactly like their friends, maybe they'd be okay, but that would go for humans, too, wouldn't it? Your best friend dies and you find a duplicate of her/him. You get over the grief faster.

There are people who don't care about the death of friends/relatives, either. There are also people, like my friend's younger sister - like me, sometimes, who don't show that they care, even if they do. We don't cry when our pets/family members die. That doesn't mean that we don't care. We just get on with life. I didn't show any outward signs of mourning when my grandpa died. I miss him, but I believe that he's in a better place, even if he never believed in it. I act pretty much the same as I did before. That doesn't meant hat I don't care. As for animals kicking out their kids - Some people just don't love their kids, either.

[Kurtos]

Domestic dogs will occasionally have a litter of 10 and 2 will die. 

 

Never heard if this, what race do you mean?

Our (lol,ok) female dog allways had 10 or 11 pups, none of the died or was born dead. And i never heard of this chance, at least not with our race

Edited July 29, 2011 by Kurtos

[JaziandCo]

Well, they haven't had anytime to bond first off, and secondly, they're probably used to the death of young ones because the bigger the litter, the less chance of survival i think. They'll be like licking them, "ARE YOU DEAD? COME BACK ALIVE?'' then realize that they are actually dead, and feed the other alive young.

If you take a newborn baby out of a human mother's hands and kill it, she will never forgive you. Just saying. If you do the same to a dog, she'll shrug it off as long as you give her a suitable replacement such as a foster litter. But yes, the rest of your post is pretty much the point I'm trying to make. Animals are much more used to death and dying being part of their world than we make it out to be.

 

Really i think god knows what he's doing and we should just let the worse come and after the hurricane is gone a rainbow will light up the sky.

 

I'm sorry, but that sounds like someone who hasn't seen the ugly in the world yet. Come what may, it won't get me down as long as it doesn't touch me, and time makes everything better. Because time alone can help the people in Haiti, or in Japan, or Norway, or Africa. Not money or volunteers, just time will fix everything. No, I disagree. All time does is allow Earth to heal herself from devastation, but not the species that was devastated.

 

JaziandCo - I don't know. I suppose that that's a factor, but at that point, they are missing their friends. If they could find someone exactly like their friends, maybe they'd be okay, but that would go for humans, too, wouldn't it? Your best friend dies and you find a duplicate of her/him. You get over the grief faster.

 

No, I wouldn't. The pain would still be there, because I wouldn't be able to share any memories or inside jokes with the replacement person. The pain might actually be worse because of that. Just because I found someone like the person that died doesn't meant I found that person again. But animals seem to bounce back once things return to what they've perceived as "normal".

 

There are people who don't care about the death of friends/relatives, either. There are also people, like my friend's younger sister - like me, sometimes, who don't show that they care, even if they do. We don't cry when our pets/family members die. That doesn't mean that we don't care. We just get on with life. I didn't show any outward signs of mourning when my grandpa died. I miss him, but I believe that he's in a better place, even if he never believed in it. I act pretty much the same as I did before. That doesn't meant hat I don't care.

 

The people who don't care about the death of their friends are typically seen as horrible friends, and relatives it really depends on the circumstances. I hated my grandfather for what he did to my dad and don't miss him, but my dad who was beaten and abandoned by him broke down and sobbed at his funeral. My dad didn't starve himself because of the loss and no longer cries about it, but his face is visibly sad whenever he talks about his father. It's pretty strange for a human to be completely unaffected by the loss of a loved one, even if it's in just a small way. The fact that you said you miss your grandfather, that emotion probably shows through when you talk about him.

 

As for animals kicking out their kids - Some people just don't love their kids, either.

 

And again, that's something most people think is horrible. To have children and not give a spit about whether or not they're alive and well. But it's seen as completely alright for animals to do that because "they're animals and don't view death the same way". It's true, they don't. They don't like the loss of companionship, but death itself (as well as pain and torture) doesn't seem to be such a big thing in the animal world.

[JayWanderer]

I've noticed that a lot of what's being said is an animal's ability to cope with death. However, as much as a species has evolved to be able to cope, I do not believe means that it should still FACE that type of suffering or tragedy. People can cope as well, however I would never neglect someone faced with death just because they are able to.

[JaziandCo]

Never heard if this, what race do you mean?

Our (lol,ok) female dog allways had 10 or 11 pups, none of the died or was born dead. And i never heard of this chance, at least not with our race

Dogs have breeds =3 It's no specific breed, and iirc it happens more in backyard bred dogs or inexperienced breeders who don't know how to fight to keep a pup alive, but it does happen. My dog comes from a litter of 12 where one died and one was born with a deformed leg. They were accidentally bred, so I'm sure their owners had no idea how to manage a litter, but momdog didn't really seem to care that she'd lost one with the 11 she had running all over her.

 

I've noticed that a lot of what's being said is an animal's ability to cope with death. However, as much as a species has evolved to be able to cope, I do not believe means that it should still FACE that type of suffering or tragedy. People can cope as well, however I would never neglect someone faced with death just because they are able to.

 

This originally started because I'd said I'd save a toddler over a kitten in the street because the toddler has a whole line of people that will mourn for it for years (aside from just being an innocent, living, human being, which I think should be reason enough), while the momcat and the rest of her kittens may grieve for a few hours or days and then trudge on with life.

[iluvcatz10293]

Call me crazy, but in my opinion, tigers are way, way, way, way, way (etc) more important than humans. Tigers are my favorite animal, so this topic is close to me. All cats are very precious to me. Yes, I infact would die for cats. Especially mine at home. He's my life, all cats are, but he's my baby. Anyway..I don't really care near as much about humans as I do animals, so I would say I have to agree with the girl you dislike. Sorry.

Edited July 29, 2011 by iluvcatz10293

[iluvcatz10293]

I would also like to point out, to all of you who say animals can cope with death better...

 

When I learned that humans are the only species that knows about death, I looked at my cat and I realized, when he dies, he will be completely clueless...it broke my heart. I cried almost all night, and though he might be mine..I feel the same for all animals. Especially cats.

 

Also, just because humans are smarter, we're also animals and we all die within time..and I wouldn't say that any one animal, copes with death better than another. We are all uninformed about some things, but most of us know that in Heaven (if you believe in it), that it's a paradise, and you see what you want, do what you want..no pain, no suffering. Other animals don't know that. So if there were an animal that copes with death better, I'd say it would be humans.

[arabian sparkle]

In my opinion?No.Humans are animals.I don't mean to be offensive or anything,but the world would be better off without us.Why are there less than 3,500 tigers and billions and trillions of people?Because we kill them.We destroy their living space.If there were no bad people bulldozing their way across the planet and throwing their trash in the ocean,I believe we could learn to co-exist with nature.If there are not as many people,we wouldn't wipe out entire species by living where they use to live.We would only kill the popular species,and in small numbers.

[7Deadly$ins]

In my opinion?No.Humans are animals.I don't mean to be offensive or anything,but the world would be better off without us.Why are there less than 3,500 tigers and billions and trillions of people?Because we kill them.We destroy their living space.If there were no bad people bulldozing their way across the planet and throwing their trash in the ocean,I believe we could learn to co-exist with nature.If there are not as many people,we wouldn't wipe out entire species by living where they use to live.We would only kill the popular species,and in small numbers.

They kill them because they have no other way to live.

[Kurtos]

QUOTE (arabian sparkle @ Jul 28 2011, 07:24 PM) In my opinion?No.Humans are animals.I don't mean to be offensive or anything,but the world would be better off without us.Why are there less than 3,500 tigers and billions and trillions of people?Because we kill them.We destroy their living space.If there were no bad people bulldozing their way across the planet and throwing their trash in the ocean,I believe we could learn to co-exist with nature.If there are not as many people,we wouldn't wipe out entire species by living where they use to live.We would only kill the popular species,and in small numbers. 

 

 

 

They kill them because they have no other way to live.

 

errr, comes down to the animal.

 

Tigers were killed for the production of potency-boosters. the people who produce this are not poor and were never poor. They could have chosen an other live.

 

If you speak about seals and the Inuid, then yes.

 

The bulldozer are not the property of poor people, but that of big companys, they could do better things.

 

unauthorized hunters who kill lions and elephants also choose to do these. They could have lived another life, but they want money.

 

We all know better than throwing trash into the ocean. Theres no excuse, but we are lazy like hell. We could have chosen to do better.

 

the really bad things are done by greedy people, not by those who need the money.

[Snow Plow]

In my opinion?No.Humans are animals.I don't mean to be offensive or anything,but the world would be better off without us.Why are there less than 3,500 tigers and billions and trillions of people?Because we kill them.We destroy their living space.If there were no bad people bulldozing their way across the planet and throwing their trash in the ocean,I believe we could learn to co-exist with nature.If there are not as many people,we wouldn't wipe out entire species by living where they use to live.We would only kill the popular species,and in small numbers.

I agree. I seriously considered suicide as a 5-year-old for that reason. Obviously, I didn't have the guts to do it, but it makes me appreciate life more. Still, I don't think that living with nature is an option for everyone anymore. We need to help as we are and try to conserve it and not kill everyone that still does live in it.

 

Jaziandco - Apparently, the fact that I'm sad doesn't show. Dad was a bit mad at me because I didn't act sad when I heard. It's one reason that I didn't want to go to his funeral...

That, plus, we can't expect to be able to read tiny differences in animal's expressions. They could well look sadder when they think of their dead friends, but their faces are so different from ours that we wouldn't be able to tell. You don't have to believe me on this, but I really think that they can grieve the loss of friends and family, if they were close.

[Mukouno]

Call me crazy but for me all life is equal. I think it is as important to save the tigers as in the first post (and every other endangered species) as it is to save children from starving. The whole world is in need of help.

Furthermore I believe it is kind of arrogant from humans to think they are the best out there and look down on every other race. There are many things animals can do that we aren't able to do.

[Alpha1]

Personaly I consider it moraly wrong to be contributing to the destruction of the planet we live on, and to allow species to go completely extinct where I know I could have helped prevent it.

 

You're in luck. ; )

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Doomsday_argument

[Kestra15]

Well for starters Humans are animals. Also everyone knows there are little kids amethyst families starveing out there. Well there are also little lion/tiger/lepdoard/Ect cubs and Thier families that are starving. Really i think god knows what he's doing and we should just let the worse come and after the hurricane is gone a rainbow will light up the sky.

Is that before or after the fairies and dragons return to inherit the Earth?

[LeahTheSilverWolf]

Humans are a species with a one in a (number of other species) ratio to other animals. Nothing relies on humans anymore... Humans are dependant on everything but every thing is independent to humans. If something came along and killed all the humans that were sick, dying, bad/criminal, and useless, the food chain might be back in check.

 

If you've read any books such as the Warriors or Seekers series by Erin Hunter, or Silverwing by Kenneth Oppel, or anything along the lines of those, they kind of put the animals' situations in perspective for us. I may be too young to do much, but what I can do is make people think. I guess it's just the fact that I'm well educated and that this generation is the green "do something" generation that makes me think this way.

 

 

[JayWanderer]

If you've read any books such as the Warriors or Seekers series by Erin Hunter, or Silverwing by Kenneth Oppel, or anything along the lines of those, they kind of put the animals' situations in perspective for us.

The Sight by David Clement-Davies is also a good read for such perspective.

[Snow Plow]

The Sight by David Clement-Davies is also a good read for such perspective.

As is Black Water from the Pendragon series, although in a different way. Seriously. It's the best of the Pendragon books. It puts animals' struggle into perspective by putting humans in the situation of work/food/dominant-species-don't-want-to-die-so-they'll-give-you-the-dangerous-jobs animals. Then again, I like hearing animals argue over whether it should be legal to kill and eat humans...

Edited August 3, 2011 by Snow Plow

[Dragonbells]

We should all do our part to take care of these endangered animals, especially since the majority of the time they become endangered because of humans. It's not always the case, mind you, but most of the time.

 

That being said, I don't think it's right to completely place one species over another in its importance in the world. We're all important, and I'm happy that there are a great diversity of people willing to invest in both animals and humans.

Edited August 4, 2011 by Dragonbells

[reaitywarrior]

i believe that over the years people forgot why animals are important in the ecosystem, more important than us maybe. while we as a species are intelligent, we are also stubborn and very hard on everything around us. the earth wont notice if we all up and died from our own stupidity

[TikindiDragon]

Humans are a species with a one in a (number of other species) ratio to other animals. Nothing relies on humans anymore... Humans are dependant on everything but every thing is independent to humans. If something came along and killed all the humans that were sick, dying, bad/criminal, and useless, the food chain might be back in check.

Actualy, as it happens, a bunch of species currently *do* rely on humans so exclusively they may not survive without us. Just sayin.

[Diame]

Actualy, as it happens, a bunch of species currently *do* rely on humans so exclusively they may not survive without us. Just sayin.

And that was either our fault to begin with or the basic cycle of life where things can't adapt and die out.

[RubyRed74]

The animals pretty much keep the world in balance, so I'd say they're pretty important. Not saying that the humans in need aren't important, but there'd be a lot more in need if we completely messed up nature.