Poll | 01/06/2009 12:00 am

When's the last time you visited an art museum?

Within this last month

23% (62 votes)

Within the past six months

26% (68 votes)

In the last year

18% (48 votes)

In the last five years

20% (53 votes)

I've never been to an art museum

5% (14 votes)

Other (tell us below)

7% (19 votes)

Total votes: 264

Read more about: Art, Culture, Lifestyle, Museums

203 Reader Comments (so far…) Sign In or Register to comment

Your tales made me jealous…well, not so much being surrounded by hippos and odd winding shapes in the sand. Those you can cherish and tell to people who go wide-eyed and get too nervous to laugh, like me. I would like to have those experiences, but I’m much too content to stay home and write. Going to Borneo did sound attractive. I have nothing against insects, but if you thought they were alarmingly large, then I’ll defer to your judgment. Have you seen wild okapis? That’s what I thought of when you mentioned the wildebeest. Okapis are the ultimate mismatched animal to me. Obviously since they didn’t discover them until the early 1900s and I think I may have heard were the source of “unicorn legends”, they must be difficult to find. And of course the Congo is so messed up politically. But (again from my zoo experiences, no Congo journeys for me) they seem adorably trusting. But I am most jealous of your encounter with the three female saints of primate research. I think Dian Fossey in particular was so single-minded that she would have preferred to be back with the gorillas. I can’t decide whether I admire her or not. I noticed going through Gorillas of the Mist that her appealing writing style diminished with her growing anger to the point where it was almost painful to read not even because of what was happening to the gorilla pop. I still don’t know much about Galikidas. I would have liked to investigate her more for my project but I ran out of my time, my presentation almost ended up being too long anyway, and I was mostly focused on my findings with the animals I observed. But can you recommend a good book on Galikidas? Didn’t get to relate my favorite orang story, if you don’t mind. There was a 50+ female in one of the groups I was observing who I became particularly fond of. The whole point of my study was to try to increase their activity levels, and there were younger orangs who were less active. One day she decided she was going to climb a tree. There were two possible ways she could have done this—just climbed from the bottom up, or a little further down there was a rock outcropping that would have boosted her up a bit. She’s looking at the bottom of the tree, started reaching for it, and I swear then she just sort of looked like, “yeah, I’m too old to do that,” so she shuffled over to the rocks, climbed up on them and into the tree and sat there looking very satisfied. Since I’ve seen the zoo side of the equation for a few years, I think zoos try to do the best job they can. Often keeping animals is an inexact science. There’s so little we know about them in the wild, and when you have to deal with different climates and a human’s conception of what would be a good exhibit not always translating, zoos do face challenges. Does that mean they should give up? No, but they should be realistic. I agree with your point about space especially with elephants. The reason why male elephants are rarely kept in zoos is because zoos are afraid they won’t be able to control them in breeding season. I rarely see any animal play with enrichment—about the most sucessful cases are the primates and dolphin training. At the same time, we need zoos to act as conservation stewards. They’ve made great strides since the old days of metal cages and even the not-so-old days of feeding polar bears marshmallows. I do know that keepers and zoo personnel really do care about their animals primarily. Mistakes they make are due to lack of knowledge, not lack of effort. However, I’m disappointed to see zoos growing more commerical. Pretty soon they’re going to look like Six Flags rather than a combination of Six Flags and a museum. And that then makes me wonder if the animals are going to be used more for entertainment (in a passive sense, hopefully), than for education. Zoos can’t lose sight of education, on all fronts. I still love zoos, but I hope they stay true to their mission and improve. On a similar subject, this may sound a bit conspiracy theorist, but sometimes I wonder if what people don’t understand about the animal/human connection is by design. In the worst case, it makes them easier to exploit. I’ve never been fond of the “we are the stewards of the earth” argument for stopping global warming because it gives us license to say, “we’re more intelligent than species whose habits we destroy”, etc. We should stop global warming, because dammit, we live here too, and we’re all connected. Any zoo would love you as a docent but carry on writing and adventuring. And political office? Very nice. I’ve been spending way too much time looking at the AC/SP threads. Oy! If your posts are anything like your political career in terms of grace and intelligence..it would be monumentally insulting to compare them to you. Thank YOU for sharing.

By Blue Lizard on 01/09/2009 3:18 pm

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Blue Lizard … I find it wonderful to have found you as - and you must believe this - I have not regaled friends with the stories I shared with you - as they just do not care or understand or envision. YOu must understand — it is beyond their scope and so I am wise enough (and yet so sad) to keep quiet when I can talk on subjects so much more interesting than the sales at the grocery store — or long arguments on WOW on things that would make no difference to the politicians if we even COULD solve their problems. As you were not on, I believe, earlier in the year, you do not know my goddaughter is MN Senator Amy Klobuchar. I don’t know a lot, but enough to know that we - the people - will never be privy to the underworkings of that body or any other inside info that might skew our thinking in one direction or other. It is a club — and it is exclusive. What we think makes no difference at all — so why can’t we on WOW be civilized, knowing there are things that we can help each other with, teach each other about as you and I do, and act like cultured people and not like out-of-control know everythings that truly know nothing on the inside. I know that and more. I also know that being in politics locally is where a single person can make a difference - and it is satisfying and rewarding to all. Get much further from that and it is a wild wild jungle out there. I think opakis are beautiful - there backside and hind legs and striped color is stunning - but I have only seen them in zoos as the Congo is off limits. They are the only animal that has a tongue long enough to wash its eyes — how good is that attribute?? But I think you will find that the oryx is the unicorn — as when you actually see them as I do from the side, it does look like a single horn. They are beautiful against the red of the sand dunes, escaping predators like lions in Namibia by being able to climb the dunes and wait until the lions give up below. Nature is wonderful, isn’t it? Dian Fossey was difficult, and increasingly was disliked for her strange behavior. But no one is disliked - hated - more than Birute. YOu and I know that we can do great work without getting so egocentric and mentally weird that you become beyond difficult to be around. If she doesn’t want to speak to you after you have come forever down her river, she is downright rude, worse. Her employees don’t like her, but I think they like their subjects well enough to stick around. She has published her own story — cross that one out. There is a book from a time back about all three women — again biased I am sure. The firsthand accounts I have read over the years in articles about her after a visit seem to tell it like it is — like Fossey but so much more so, she has been in the jungle too long and there is not much to like anymore. Praise her work — but there should be signs for 100 miles that say “stay away” from her enclave. In Chicago, speaking, you just didn’t like her. And that is a shame. If you can pull up some first hand accounts of visits to her, you will understand more. I think she is there less and less - she has a home in a larger town - but so much earlier when I looked into a visit - and you could - I found it was costly and awful. Your final portion - we are all connected - rings so true and our thinking matches so well. If you are interested, one of my favorite places in Enderby Island. I will let you look it up - but I have stories of attacking Hooker sea lions only found there that take you away from this world. If you look at a world map, I believe I have hiked every dot on the map in the polar regions north and south — to see wild nature that no one else had seen - or hardly anyone - makes the spirit soar and life - well, beyond the pale. So I do know my animals, reptiles, insects, and birds — I actually saw 365 species of birds in a single day in the center of Australia. I am not a birder but I know them by name through osmosis (whether I like it or not) - and 18 foot long salt water crocs were a daily surprise for weeks. Enough. A kindred soul — how good is that! However,

By joan larsen on 01/09/2009 6:35 pm

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I agree. It seems like most of the world is more focused on the trivial and tangible—and even when it’s not trivial and tangible they make it so, while acting as if it’s as important as…well, other things. One of my other loves is poetry. I don’t claim to be an expert, but most people don’t know how to discuss it, and even if they were willing to learn more…most don’t want to. Then when you meet supposedly serious poetry students, they insist upon taking rigid positions that they will defend to death without opportunity to explore and learn about other sorts of poets, poems that broke the mold, etc. Give me intelligent conversation, with the intent of learning and not convincing, over a debate any day. You’re introducing me to all sorts of places and animals (something you don’t do often, I am honored), which I love. I’m not having to defend anything! Despite this, I don’t really object to people having political arguments. It just astonishes me how quickly they can go into the gutter, especially on here. Either in terms of ground staked or language used. And then that affords absolutely no chance of anyone listening, no one takes it seriously. Plus, the best process is not often a partisan one. Both sides tend to go to excess, and if they would only listen to each other…ha. It’s worse because all of the threads are currently on controversial topics…AC/SP. But you make an even better point. Given that the subject is fairly unimportant to those who are the topic of conversation, why get so serious to the point of rants and threats and…phew. But congrats on having such an illustrious goddaughter! The closest I could get on Google to a first-hand article about Galdikas was a biographer…I think her book was called Follow (something), very disheartened because Galdikas was dismissive of her, but dealing with the actual orangs energized her to continue. I also found that the Orangutan Foundation still offers week-long tours, which I’m sure must grate on Galdikas not just for personality reasons, but if she does serious research, it must be annoying to have to explain it to people periodically. But hopefully those that take the tour are passionate and well-informed, and in any case she should at least be gracious to visitors. And coworkers. I mean, they all care about the same thing, right? Her book got published later than Goodall’s and Fossey’s, and anyway I noticed during my orang project everyone loved the capuchins, loved the gorillas, skipped the orangs. I’m still interested in reading her book, bias aside. I think it’s a lot of things—the environment is so harsh, both her and Fossey built their research and their sights from the ground up, plus they saw the destruction of the habitat and creatures they loved. Authors get sad and angry about the state of the publishing industry. Plus, I have this suspicion that illustrious women have to be a bit of a b—— to get things done, either real or perceived. The difference is in how classily you exercise that power. Eleanor Roosevelt had a lot of detractors, but is still thought of as the ultimate in first ladies. A friend of mine this summer and I were standing next to an okapi enclosure and it started reaching for the branches above our heads with its very looong tongue. My friend, promptly reached up and broke a twig off to feed it as I looked around hoping no one would see. The okapis routinely eat part of the landscaping—I think it’s there for that purpose. I googled Enderby Island and found something I thought you would enjoy if you haven’t seen it already, an artist who painted pictures of the Rata forest. http://mceown.artistsnetwork.com/CategoryView,category,Antarctica%20Week…. It looks beautiful. He mentioned the Hooker seals as being a little aggressive on the page. It’s sad about the disease that wiped out part of the population, though. I guess that’s part of an island—unique beautiful, very vulnerable species. I also found this while replying to another poster and thought of you. I didn’t know anything about blue lizards until now, and now I find out they’re extremely rare and endangered. Great. http://news.mongabay.com/2007/0307-blue_anole.html. I’m hoping the salt-water crocs were not an unduly unpleasant surprise for you…

By Blue Lizard on 01/10/2009 12:21 am

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Embarrassing as this is to say, YOU are lighting up my life! And, yes, my belief in life - well, one of them - is to continue try TRY new things, never getting complacent, always looking forward. People are very vocal in their writings so if it didn’t suit them, let’s just say “there would be hell to pay”!! Does that about sum it up??? But I am on this - well, I DO like to write - but I am hoping it will open up my world and my contacts. I want to be LEARNING, GROWING, but I want topics of LASTING interest instead of … well, you know what. I don’t want to “clutter” my brain. Would you like to write them - should the 2 of us, suggesting the animal site? Let’s get going … so? Many thanks for your “research” I smile when I say, as I know it is FUN! I will follow through on the sites after I write you — but RATA TREES are one of the things that make Enderby like an imaginary place that, like the little girl, you must drop crumbs to mark your path or you never will be seen again — it is like a made-up imaginary world that draws me. As for salt-water crocs — nothing is an “unplesant surprise to me” in the animal world as life is a continuing story if you but look around the next corner - and I wouldn’t miss it for the world. Quickly, you might want to also join me in initiating a poetry and literature and music site. Along with you, we have currently in FP one of the experts of the world, it seems, on poetry — the man loves poetry and his knowledge of Japanese poetry that I knew little about was stunning as is its poetry. My daughter - the child currently running all over the Falkland Islands this week on her way to South Georgia (the #2 place in the world) on her way to becoming the world’s next penguin expert of Antarctica that her mother already is - has written on WOW as often as she can on poetry - knows Emily Dickinson by heart (Hines Hammond when she comes back). She puts me to shame with her own knowledge - as do a few others here that blow me away! You will find me defending about anyone from negatives — but my exception is Birute. Once you read the articles of those who have visited and my own impressions from her stage appearance — I could only apologize for her as I think there is a screw loose. But read her book, as she married a local (and divorced???) who must have seen fame in his sights early in the game. I am sorry, but Goodall got her way and continued to act civilized, and so did the best of the first ladies - dear Eleanor. I am not giving your stimulating message enough in return - but think of the hour!!! I will just say THANKS for now!

By joan larsen on 01/10/2009 5:56 am

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BL — just had an opportunity to look at the web sites you suggested — and you opened up some writing that reflects mine - and a person who must see the world with the same eyes. I may write him. I have spent time in Greenland, so I find a kindred soul a pleasure (though I would only go to Greenland once as it cannot hold a candle to my favorites). But I thought the final lines of the artist say what is within my own heart so I will send them on to you: “The Polar Regions are the last great wilderness and have many secrets to reveal. The regions are a place of immense space. If one is fortunate enough to experience that space, he can witness the movements of his own mind.” I could have written that for they reflect exactly how I think. Thanks so much!

By joan larsen on 01/10/2009 12:35 pm

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I’m really enjoying this, too. I’m a big emailer and writer, and for a while most of my communications were just short little things relevant to the present, not really with a lot of thought involved. Thank you. I’ve been reading FP’s posts on other subjects, and I had no idea he was an expert on Japanese poetry! This is amazing! I really enjoyed when Diana posted Ithaca…a friend of mine mentioned the poem to me a few months ago and at the time I just had to look it up. I love that poem. In addition to the animal site, I think a literature and poetry site would be welcome as well. I think it would be especially helpful to do it through WoW (though I guess they have a book section already), especially the animal section, but I don’t know how to do that. Do we stand prostrate at the founders’ feet or something? Anywhere we can email suggestions? Yes, let’s do it together! If we wanted to make a site separate from WoW, I don’t know much about websites in general—tried to help a friend of mine and didn’t work. Do you, in addition to being an animal guru, know much about website design? If not, I know a very easy way to get it off the ground would be to use blogspot.com. I put selections from my (currently unsuccesful) literary magazine on there and it’s free and easy to use. I still haven’t figured out how to post pictures, but I’m sure it’s possible. We could feature Merrell and her animal art, in addition to that sculptor she showed us! I’m glad you enjoyed the links. I thought the artist showed a lot of the same passion as you. On one of the political posts I put the link about the blue anoles…and got some very positive responses! Good thing I didn’t post my politics. I’m more of a theory person, so even if I did have an opinion I did want to defend, I would probably get shot down because I didn’t have links and proof from all the hot blogs and such. When I learn more, I adjust my theory, so I might not always stay on the same side as I began with. Which is just fodder for the scoundrels right there. I’m a Hitchhiker’s Trilogy fan, so I really enjoyed Douglas Adams’ “Last Chance to See”. Apparently he once hiked up a mountain in a rhino costume to raise money for the WWF, (I think? Know he went up the mountain). Don’t know if it’s mentioned in that book, but as a frequent costume character for my zoo job I have to say, I admire his guts. I’ll have to check out more Durrell in addition to Galkidas. It’s a shame she’s not as welcoming as he. It is interesting how Goodall managed to maintain her civility when her other two “angels” are/were famously rude and eccentric. It says a lot about her character. It does seem the conservation issues faced by both gorillas and orangs are more severe than those of chimps…but, like on the political threads, if you’re rude, you have (or should have) less of a chance of being taken seriously. Once again, there’s a way to do things without being rude. Does your daughter have a favorite Emily Dickinson poem? I’m between “I cannot live with you” and “I’m nobody, who are you.” Don’t know all the poems by heart though. There are so many people to admire on this site. Is this the same daughter who’s the astronomer? My goodness. Actually, the comment by the artist reminds me a bit of “the brain is wider than the sky”. That’s what nature and knowledge both are to me. The Rata Forest when I looked at it kind of reminded me of an Alice in Wonderland setting—I don’t know why. Thinking of the animated Disney cartoon—just the variety of colors. I agree with your comment that “life is just a continuing story”. When animals surprise us—like your hippo story, and your crocodiles—they are just living their lives which we happen to be observing, or in cases of habitat destruction, intruding upon. We become part of the story for a minute, and it’s our decision on whether we want to alter the story or not. You’re right, nothing should surprise us, except we often forget we’re part of that story, too! It reminds me of how elephants have their favorite feeding grounds, they set out on their journey, come back years later (anelephant never forgets) and presto, there are people there. Both want to continue their story. Who wins? All right, I’ll end this post. But let’s see what we can do in the way of an animal section on Wow!

By Blue Lizard on 01/10/2009 4:39 pm

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Good evening … and first, a fascinating story of your anagram — and the island where the royal blue lizards are the last hold-out. I was at first fascinated with the person studying the last few, but you know that island is a hot, humid, buggy hellhole — and you would have to be dedicated to the extreme to take the first step onto to the place. Nonetheless, it does become your home ground, doesn’t it? Would you tell me you first name perhaps as I think we will be corresponding for a LONG time, twins in our thinking as we are? Jumping around — FP (Frank) is usually found on politics so you could latch onto him there and ask what might get you started in Japanese poetry. He has some beautiful short ones that say it all in a few lines. And - do ask him about the person he loves who does Arabic poetry — he has the web site — and believe me, Frank has impeccable taste. Classical literature is up his alley also. Astronomy? - well you can tell from his avatar. Birds — oh yes. My daughter? She too knows astronomy — and like you and me, is immersed in nature. . and I am sure that now that she is close to Antarctica, she will find that - like her mother - she attracts penguins. In that way we do not understand, they recognize and come up to those few who they sense a connection. That I know for sure. Oh — lemurs love her. We haven’t talked about it lately, but at zoos, they seek her out and have since she was a young girl. Figure that one. I find it so exciting to find a like-minded soul … who is like listening to myself in every way. Could it be like the penguin attraction — two people who just know they have met their match. What should we do about it? Let’s start here and see what comes of it. Click the top of the home page - contact us - and write separately from me, suggesting that a goodly number of us are wanting - needing the kind of space we had during the summer (for we did) to regularly talk about poetry, literature, and animals. We suggest that there is a regular column perhaps once a week for people who want to talk about animals - wild or domestic - and have stories to tell. I will approach it in a slightly different fashion but please go for it this weekend - and I will tonight. If this does not happen or does not get good reception on animals/nature than we can go to your next choice. But this is set up and has a huge reading audience - I have the latest numbers. Give them your e-mail so you can hear back privately - and write again. YOu must have had enough of me and my ideas for today — but let’s go to town!!!!!

By joan larsen on 01/10/2009 5:57 pm

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BL — can you imagine? My daughter answered your question via e-mail on the poem of Emily’s from the high seas on the way to Antarctica. This is her reply to you: A cap of lead across the sky Was tight and surly drawn. We could not find the mighty face The figure was withdrawn. A chill came up as from a shaft Our noon became a well. A thunderstorm combines the charms of winter And of Hell. She sweeps with many colored brooms and leaves the shreds behind. Oh housewife of the evening west Come back! and dust the pond. Yoiu dropped a purple raveling in You dropped an amber thread. And now you’ve littered all the East with duds of emerald. And still she plies her spatted brooms And still the aprons fly Til brooms fade softly into stars And then I come away. Emily Dickinson from Hines Hammond

By joan larsen on 01/10/2009 6:40 pm

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My first name is easy to figure out—everyone calls me Liz. Obviously comes from Elizabeth, not in my anagram. Silly me. Should have noticed the contact us button. This would be awesome for Wow, and we definitely do have the numbers to support us, whereas with a small blog we’d have to get established. Hopefully a few more people read our conversation, also contact the site, and then we can have a lot of support. As I said, I posted the lizard link on the Ann Coulter page and got some nice responses. Lizards are much more fun than AC. One poster offered her porch as a breeding site, which would be much more comfortable than the island. I know they were interested in a local breeding program (which is preferable for the lizards), but maybe they should take her up on it ;)! Perhaps she’d come out and serve iced tea to the conservationists periodically… Thinking of the ring-tailed lemurs…maybe your whole family just has an attraction to animals with black and white coloration. Obviously they come in different colors. Sort of reminded me of ice cream for a minute there, almost wrote flavors. You mention zoos, but the best way to test the lemur-love hypothesis would be Madagascar. Next on the list for you guys? ;). I saw fp on another thread and I believe I’ll ask him about the poetry. I read a bit about haiku but that was a while ago. I’m glad to know that you all originally shared your thoughts on things less divisive and less ephemeral than politics. I enjoyed the lit quotes thread. Prufrock and Douglas Adams—yes! I used to be more into astronomy but that has gone by the wayside. I think I used to know a lot more things—and I don’t anymore. Gotta work on that! I had not heard of your daughter’s Emily Dickinson poem before, but it seems fitting for someone who loves both nature and astronomy. Such images and metaphor! That has got to be one of Emily’s best, and as I said I’d never heard it before. I have a book of her that I dip into occasionally. I’m mix and match when it comes to my poetry selections, but I’ll always have the door open for Emily. Thank Hines for replying all the way from Antarctica for me! To everyone—if you would like to see a weekly animal thread, please contact the site as well. Joan had some suggestions about how to do it and also, it wouldn’t just have to be about exotic animals. We could discuss your beloved dogs and pets too! Thanks! I’ll start on an email to them right now. We’ll see how it goes, hopefully we’re persuasive enough, but thanks for taking the plunge—like a penguin! Liz

By Blue Lizard on 01/11/2009 12:04 am

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Liz … Yea! though I like anoles!!! First! to the animals. We would have gone to Madagascar many many years ago, taken her also, if they were not the major breeding ground for the largest cockroaches. I found out just in time that I would have been writing a book callede “Sleeping with Cockroaches” - that is, if I wasn’t in a mental institution immediately. Obviously, that had to be crossed off —- and I hate to sound fussy, as for 40 years I went to hot places. That phase passed though - but not before I got to just about everyone in the world I wanted to go to that had romantic settings and brown skin - and now I only consider cool to very cold. I was way ahead of the game as it turned out. Word came out, and if you notice now, you pull into Madagascar on a ship, sleep on a ship and go in on day trips. There is method to their madness, obviously. But I am passed the lemur “have to” stage. Liz - ard, love that … I immediately went ahead and wrote and usually they DO write you — and they want maximum numbers and they are going up - so I think they will be wise enough to try new ideas or revive the astronomy site for the brilliant few, like FP and Hines, who flourish in the heavens. I touted animals so shall we continue doing so until they give these things a try. I suggested TRAVEL also - just so you know - as questions can be phrased so it would elicit stories and prefererences and open our worlds (naturally). And so we will wait to see if we receive GOLD CROWNS from the management! Anyhow, Good Morning! Joan

By joan larsen on 01/11/2009 8:12 am

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I was taking down the Christmas tree most of the day, subsequently c logging my vacuum cleaner and then snuck away to the pleasure of animals. Yes, now I remember the infamous Madagascar hissing cockaroaches. Good thing you passed that up—although “Sleeping with Cockaroachs” would a good book title. I see the logic in going to a cold climate. Not only is it perhaps more comfortable…you can put the layers on, but there’s only so much you can take off, but more intriguing in the sense that rainforests manage to be biodiverse because of their advantage in rain and temperature. The adaptations needed for a harsher climate are worth a look in themselves. Although air-conditioning—god, what would we do without air conditioning? Talk about an adaptation. Nor do giant bugs tend to abound in snow, am I right? Wait….let me check that…geez! Not giant cockaroaches, but apparentlysome arctic insects survive because their bodies contain what scientists can antifreeze protein, or AFP. Some larvae can apparently survive in snow when the temp is 80 below. WOW. Though I still wouldn’t worry about arctic insect attacks. I sent off my email to WoW late last night. Glad to know they usually respond—middle of the week sometime you think, or later. That was an excellent idea to focus on travel as well, because of course, how do you get these animal experiences? I also focused on the idea that when domestic animals were featured, there are millions of people out there who love to talk about their pets, and they could come to this site and continue the conversation, plus check out the other offerings, in case they’re also closet politcos or art or book lovers. I’d love to get back into learning more about astronomy. With my sort-of literary bent I used to lovelearning about the history and mythology behind the constellations, and then of course delving into the science. I’d probably just read the “stars” like fp and Hines for awhile, though….okay, that was bad. Can’t wait to see if this takes off! And now to your post about animals and pleasure. I’m going to reply to it separately, otherwise you’ll be reading a mile of type. You may anyway!

By Blue Lizard on 01/11/2009 11:15 pm

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If you’d like to read about the arctic insects, I found something on http://www.polar.ch2m.com/Files/PDFs/Newsletter05_16_04.pdf. Just glanced at it about the insects, but you might enjoy the other stuff too. Man, can you imagine these bugs?

By Blue Lizard on 01/11/2009 11:24 pm

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Jonathan Balcombe’s “Pleasurable Kingdom” is great fun to read, he’s pulled his favorite anecdotes and scientific experiments about animals having fun and experiencing pleasure from quite a wide range of sources – everything from his own cats to scientifically done tests on rat tickling. Yes, scientific research has shown that rats like to be tickled even more than petted, running four times as fast to be tickled over mere petting. I don’t know how the scientists got funding for this. Maybe the grant proposal was for a better mousetrap – one that tickles. Experiments have shown that rats will press bars and do whatever it takes for a session of belly tickles, giggling hysterically at frequencies we can’t hear, captured by special sound equipment. But Balcombe has a more serious point to make. When we reduce animals to mere automatons, driven to do whatever they’re programmed for, we miss out on the joy of understanding how deeply bonded we are with all living creatures. It delights me to know that hippos enjoy the grooming and pedicures of fish that groom their bristles, lick their toes, and clean wounds on their flesh, so relaxed by these pleasures they even fall asleep. Balcombe makes the case that pleasure is a driving force in evolution and survival – things that feel good are the very actions that help an animal survive. When animals are cold, they don’t seek warmth out of a robotic imperative but because it feels good, just like us. I know you’re saying “Duh, tell me something I didn’t know”, but there’s still a lot of resistance, due to the legacy of behaviorist B.F. Skinner. Even those who would be willing to concede animals might feel joy tend to think animals lead miserable lives in a dog eat dog world of parasites, fear, starvation, thirst and disease. This also makes it easier for us to kill them and put them out of their misery. But before the few minutes a gazelle struggles in a lion’s paws, there are years of tasty grasses and sprinting happily across the savannah. Even the wonderful movie “Winged Migration” portrays ducks and geese in a very serious, exhausting journey with endless predators to avoid, rather than an exciting journey and the thrills of flight. Balcombe gives so many examples of animals enjoying food, sex, scratching, grooming, touching, and playing that surely even B. F. Skinner would have to concede animals are having a rip-roaring time. Balcombe goes even further and wonders if animals might even enjoy life more keenly than we do. I mean think about it, when was the last time you jumped four feet in the air and screamed in excitement when someone asked you to go for a walk? Or have you ever sat down, rolled over and drooled in anticipation of a treat? Or consider birds. Colors are even more vibrant in the UV range, which we can’t see, but birds can. Naturalist Norman Berrill wrote that “To be a bird is to be alive more intensely than any other living creature, man included. Birds have hotter blood, brigher colors, stronger emotions… they live in a world that is always the present, mostly full of joy”. Some even seem to have a sense of humor. At the Yerkes research center in Atlanta, a chimp called Georgia liked to fill her mouth up with water and wait for a good chance to spray it on unsuspecting visitors. Then she and the rests of the chimps shrieked and laughed at the prank. We’ve all heard how bonobo’s “make love not war”, but they aren’t the only species living the Playboy or gay lifestyle in the animal kingdom, as the chapter on the sex lives of animals reveals. Perhaps we don’t think of animals as being smart enough to seek pleasure. Take sheep. Dullards all, placidly grazing on the hill, but in one flock, a sheep figured out she could roll over a cattle guard, and the others, watching, copied her and raided the gardens in town. Great white sharks have been able to learn some visual tasks many times faster than cats, and eavesdrop on dolphin echolocations to find food. They remember where and when to find food thousands of miles apart. The most compelling argument for animals experiencing the world in much of the way that we do is when they play. Elephants trunk wrestle, seals body surf, and most baby animals delight in chasing each other. If we could know the unique joys of each living creature, the gourmet delight they find in eating their favorite foods and finding their true love, perhaps we’d do more to keep them from winking into extinction, and limit our own numbers to leave a little room for the buffalo to roam where the deer and the antelope play.

By joan larsen on 01/11/2009 4:17 pm

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There are so many things to discover about each animal that I think if we went through them all not only would people be astounded, there’s so many things we’d never do again. Do you know how many vegetarians there would be? It is kind of a willful lack of understanding we humans have about animals. I got this image of the rats rolling over in glee and have to giggle myself. Thinking about what you said about robotic impulses—science is sooften taught in terms of stimulus/response. How do we know if something’s alive? Poke it, shine a light at it, etc. They discuss cold-blooded reptiles like my lizards—oh, if they don’t sit out in the sun, their body temperature drops and they die. Well, does the lizard have a little thermometor that it reads and when it drops below a certain point, it immediately begins to freak out? No, the lizard realizes it’s more comfortable in the sun so it sits out there. The basis for this might be deep and evolutionary, but the lizard does not regard it as such. Humans are the same way. Why do we eat cookies in the winter? Because the carbohydrates boost our energy and our brain transmitters and thus, our happiness. But I gurantee you that I don’t think about why I’m eating the cookie—I want the cookie, it makes me happy, and I am at peace with the world (perhaps we should think about why we eat cookies). In the same book that I read about the cookies (it was Genome, by Matt Ridley, mostly about genetics if you like that, but some talk about animals as well) I also read about sea slugs who could remember receiving mild electric shock. A sea slug? It’s difficult to think about ascribing animals emotions because it also flies in the face of the idea that we’re the intelligent ones around here. Not so. We learn from animals and their adaptations, and I’m sure that’s what the first human had to do. The other thing about us is that we believe we’re intelligent because of our culture and language. We say this gives us a medium for sharing ideas and learning, whereas animals rely on instinct, etc. First of all, other animals have cultures—wolves, elephants, dolphins, whales…and all of them, we have realized, have some form of communication beyond scents and scratches in trees. This sounds a bit crazy, but I always wonder when I hear animals vocalize what they are saying. Pleasure? Danger? Temperature reading? Vocalizing can be dangerous—a lot of prey animals such as rabbits don’t vocalize, which leads me to believe it’s done more by either predators who can risk being heard (they just don’t eat, not get eaten) or large animals with few natural enemies. Only a human would dare take down a bellowing elephant or whale. The exception would be small birds, who are rather noisy but yet could get eaten by a hawk…well, maybe this theory only works in mammals. Anyway, another thing you made me think of is that we humans have dulled our senses because we only interact with other humans. A wild animal in their habitat has to deal with other animals who also share that habitat, aware of their habitats and unique worldview, but we humans think that our neighbors are the Johnsons next door, or maybe even the Asians on the next continent over. We have enough trouble trying to live with and understand other humans…now imagine throwing animals into that! And imagine what they with their equally important emotions could be introducing us to…especially if they spend their days having a comparative blast. Bet they do, no cell phones! It’s amazing to me that when there are so many other animals with better senses of hearing, sight, smell, etc, that we managed to survive and proliferate out of the early world. Kind of embarrasing, actually… and what I also wonder is if animals enjoy play so much, and if they benefit from it as well as having fun, what more does it say about us humans that we seem deliberately determined to deprive ourselves and our children of fun and relaxation? Your sentence about the gazelle—see, that we could do well to remember. Even if we only get metaphorically eaten by a lion when we have our own problems. A friend of mine and I are always planning to go off to Scotland and raise sheep, so I especially appreciated the sheep anecdote. We’ll take them seriously. And I also met a primate with the same sense of humor as Georgia. First time I saw the orangs at close quarters we were warned by the keeper that the mother likes to spit at people. The keeper was telling us about them, they were staring at us, and just as she was about through her spiel the guy standing next to recoiled. Orang water/spit all over his new sweatshirt. I got a little but he got the full blast. It WAS kind of funny…primates especially seem to have good senses of humor. Don’t know about the sea slugs! I’ll have to read Balcombe, too! Thanks for another great, thought-provoking animal post!

By Blue Lizard on 01/11/2009 11:18 pm

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Liz - Haven’t thought about this forever, but at the Como Zoo in St. Paul, they had a many-sided enclosure for - and I want to say gorillas, but it could have been chimps (gorillas I think). YOu could walk around it but it was too small. So to amuse themselves, the gorillas would cup their hand behind them, poop big time and then throw it at the visitors. Now tHAT is thinking!!! After all, they were made to live in this enclosure for life, have no privacy as you could walk entirely around, and they had no other object to throw at the peeping toms. Each time we went, they did this — and what better form of retribution when people did not understand that they wanted privacy as humans did. I could comment on your comments all night but that would not be advisable … but you had my mind going. And now we will see what the “management” says about our wonderful ideas. It is so wonderful that we met!!!! Good night, Liz!

By joan larsen on 01/12/2009 12:25 am