Villified Animals Worth Admiring in Off Topic

ID:274601
 
May 24 2002, 11:04 am
With the "vermin" thread still running, I thought it would be fun to mention some of my favorite animals that often get a bad rap.

THE COYOTE: Not much of a threat to us, or as is commonly believed, livestock, the coyote is one of the most cunning creatures, especially for its size. The shrinking of its natural habitat and depredation by nervous ranchers has done nothing to shrink coyote population, except in the areas they originally populated. This clever and adaptable canine is now found throughout the continental U.S., with good inroads into Mexico (if it wasn't there already) and Canada. Coyotes are capable of pushing out their smaller relatives, the fox, and filling the void left behind when their larger but less resourceful cousins, wolves, are eliminated from a region.

THE CROW: Crows are gregarious and friendly, and are arguably the most intelligent of the corvids (this honor is often handed to ravens, but ravens, being less sociable, do not have as sophisticated a communication system.) Like many blackbirds, crows can learn to imitate human speech and a variety of other sounds (one crow I know not only speaks, it also mumbles to itself and then laughs maniacally. I think it was donated to the zoo by an evil genius.) They also catch on quick... many crows have no fear of humans but run at the sight of a gun. Blackbirds as a whole are stereotyped as scavengers and thieves, but crows are very friendly, and, if they're feeling chummy, may try to perch on your shoulder or head. Many unfortunate tame or suburban crows have been shot when their approach to a new person was misinterpreted as an attack.

THE SHARK: I went to an IMAX theater one time when they were showing a triple feature on undersea life. One was about coral reefs, one was about dolphins, one was about sharks. The dolphin movie showed a scene of a group of dolphins herding a vast school of fish sunward, where they could be trapped and enclosed from all sides for convenient dining. It played light-hearted tropical music during this scene and commented on the intelligence of the strategy and the dolphins' playfulness, and how the dolphins took turns swimming through the compacted ball of fish while the others herded because caring means sharing. The shark movie showed an almost identical scene, with the sharks displaying identical behavior. It played ominous "Jaws" type music and commented on the sharks' ruthless efficiency and how certainly the fish were doomed. This was allegedly one of those "poor misunderstood sharks" movies, too. I wonder, if a shark leaped out of the water and caught a squeaky ball in its mouth, would the film maker have noted how savagely the shark attacked the ball? A dolphin finding buried prey using echolocation is fascinating and impressive, a shark doing the same thing using electrolocation is chilling and cold-blooded. Not that I'm trying to diminish dolphins here, but let's give credit where credit is due.
#1 May 24 2002, 11:10 am
Not that I'm trying to diminish dolphins here

Why not? You could breed a variety of tiny mini-dolphins small enough to keep in an average-sized aquarium! You'd be rich, and wouldn't have to spend nearly as much on advertising and PR as you would if you tried the same thing with sharks.
#2 May 24 2002, 12:11 pm
How do you know that crows catch on quick? My childhood education taught me that crows have already been, done, seen about everything. They even saw an elephant fly.
#3 May 24 2002, 12:52 pm
In response to ACWraith (#2)
Yes, but they only had to see it once.
#4 May 24 2002, 4:11 pm
Lesbian Assassin wrote:
With the "vermin" thread still running, I thought it would be fun to mention some of my favorite animals that often get a bad rap.

THE COYOTE: Not much of a threat to us, or as is commonly believed, livestock, the coyote is one of the most cunning creatures, especially for its size. The shrinking of its natural habitat and depredation by nervous ranchers has done nothing to shrink coyote population, except in the areas they originally populated. This clever and adaptable canine is now found throughout the continental U.S., with good inroads into Mexico (if it wasn't there already) and Canada. Coyotes are capable of pushing out their smaller relatives, the fox, and filling the void left behind when their larger but less resourceful cousins, wolves, are eliminated from a region.

Well, I still regard them as a pest, since they nearly killed Sabre (my mom's cat -- my own cat is "Perdy") -- they had them pinned under our bird bath in the yard. Mom yelled at them and they ran off.

Never have I seen Sabre so scared or overwhelmed before. That cat normally takes on groups of raccoons and actually makes them run.


Coyotes are a severe problem in Vancouver and the surrounding areas, but they're crafty little buggers, and even if we did extradict them they'd just come back. =P


THE CROW: Crows are gregarious and friendly, and are arguably the most intelligent of the corvids (this honor is often handed to ravens, but ravens, being less sociable, do not have as sophisticated a communication system.) Like many blackbirds, crows can learn to imitate human speech and a variety of other sounds (one crow I know not only speaks, it also mumbles to itself and then laughs maniacally. I think it was donated to the zoo by an evil genius.) They also catch on quick... many crows have no fear of humans but run at the sight of a gun. Blackbirds as a whole are stereotyped as scavengers and thieves, but crows are very friendly, and, if they're feeling chummy, may try to perch on your shoulder or head. Many unfortunate tame or suburban crows have been shot when their approach to a new person was misinterpreted as an attack.

Yep. They do, however, fit the scavenger stereotype quite well. Never have I seen a garbage day in my life where there hasn't been at least one bag ripped open and trash spilled everywhere. It's the owner's own fault for not putting it in a can, of course, but that doesn't mean the crows aren't any less scavenger-ish.


My grandma "talks" to the crows -- she's getting into the senility bracket quite readily. She caws at them when they caw.

She also scatters bread on the lawn for them. Then my Jack Russell Terrier (named Fox) runs out the door yapping is fat little butt off at them, and they all take flight. Once he's back inside, they come back.


THE SHARK: I went to an IMAX theater one time when they were showing a triple feature on undersea life. One was about coral reefs, one was about dolphins, one was about sharks. The dolphin movie showed a scene of a group of dolphins herding a vast school of fish sunward, where they could be trapped and enclosed from all sides for convenient dining. It played light-hearted tropical music during this scene and commented on the intelligence of the strategy and the dolphins' playfulness, and how the dolphins took turns swimming through the compacted ball of fish while the others herded because caring means sharing. The shark movie showed an almost identical scene, with the sharks displaying identical behavior. It played ominous "Jaws" type music and commented on the sharks' ruthless efficiency and how certainly the fish were doomed. This was allegedly one of those "poor misunderstood sharks" movies, too. I wonder, if a shark leaped out of the water and caught a squeaky ball in its mouth, would the film maker have noted how savagely the shark attacked the ball? A dolphin finding buried prey using echolocation is fascinating and impressive, a shark doing the same thing using electrolocation is chilling and cold-blooded. Not that I'm trying to diminish dolphins here, but let's give credit where credit is due.

Yeah, I find nothing wrong with sharks. I wouldn't want to scrape my arm or cut my finger when around one or touching one, though. That's a recipe for disaster. =)

Mix 1 million billion gallons of water with 1 pint of blood. Mix in sharks, stir well. Serves 1.
#5 May 25 2002, 6:05 am
Lesbian Assassin wrote:
THE CROW:

Ravens are definately less sociable, but i hjave got a story for you guys. I used to live in a town called High Level, which is pretty far north, and ravens are the town mascot. We called H.L. "raven haven" because there were so many.

Anyway, due to the extreme northosity of the town, in winter the ravens would sit on top of the street lights to keep warm. Because of the fact that the lights were controlled with sensors, they would turn off during the day. The ravens figured out the timing, and would swoop under the light to trigger them.

They are smart little buggers. They know how to undo buttons and latches, and would distract dogs so that others could steal dog food.


Anyway, I too think highly of the Corvids.