I’d like to share some interesting facts about various members of the Animal Kingdom. I wonder how many readers are familiar with the following:
1. A human’s blood pressure goes down when petting a dog (good reason to go out and adopt one).
2. Sea otters hold hands while sleeping.
3. Cows have best friends.
4. Pigeons can be trained to detect cancer.
5. About 70% of us sign our dogs’ names on holiday cards (guilty).
6. Rats will laugh when tickled.
7. Cats meow as a way to communicate with people.
8. Dolphins use distinct whistles to identify individuals among their pods.
9. Pigs are among the most intelligent mammals on the planet and have the cognitive capabilities similar to young children.
10. Elephants have social orders led by a matriarch and grieve the deaths of family members.
11. When your cat sticks his/her butt in your face, it is a gesture of friendship (readers, please do not attempt this friendly gesture upon another).
12. Studies have shown that dogs are among a small group of animals that demonstrate unselfish kindness towards others without expecting a reward.
13. Chickens can make over 200 distinct noises for communicating.
14. Parrots and macaws are highly social and require consistent interaction and affection from their caretakers in order to thrive.
15. Chimpanzees are the most social of all apes and live in communities of between 15 and 120 individuals. According to The Center for Great Apes, the number one threat is the bush meat trade that results in 6,000 chimpanzees per year being killed and eaten by humans.
Other threats to extinction include habitat destruction for logging and mining, as well as poaching for the exotic pet trade. When poached, mothers are killed, and if a baby survives the mother’s fall from the tree, the baby is taken by poachers.
At the end of the day, I think what we all have in common is the desire to live free from harm and to be able to remain among our social orders. It’s a shame that humans have denied that to so many species, but there is hope we can change mindsets.
