"I am an animal" - Nature Notes

[goinghome]

Daddy frog hopped by this evening to visit his progeny, now tadpoles, in my pond. Apparently the males tend to be more parental.

 

[goinghome]

The seal cull in Canada is happening at the same time as deer in national parks are culled, in Ireland at least. Humans have had such a huge impact on the landscape that nature's ways of regulation don't work well anymore.

To address this, measures have been devised tin some places o restore balance. For example, in Tanzania, authorities are forcibly turning 1.500 squared KM of land into game reserves, evicting maasai in the process -
https://www.hrw.org/news/2023/04/27/tanzania-maasai-forcibly-displaced-game-reserve

A different approach is being taken in a town in India whose inhabitants had engaged in frequent hunting as part of their livelihoods, but when they realised their activities were reducing species numbers to the point of endangerment, they got together and worked out how to conserve what was left, they banned hunting, and turned instead to ecotourism for incomes -
https://reasonstobecheerful.world/india-khonoma-sustainability-ecotourism/

Ideas for being an animal in death, and some 'fun guy' coffins - https://www.musingsmag.com/life-after-death-the-living-coffin/

And online classes for writing about animals - https://ashlandcreekpress.com/classes/

That's my animal bulletin finished for today. I'd love to hear your thoughts (maybe...)

 

[Lucifer Sam]

"I can't believe I saw that on a twelve-year-old's phone today, but life is full of surprises." Indeed it is, Christina van Beek. But even though a cat in a blender is shocking today while chicks in macerators are shrugged off as the price of getting eggs, that attitude is arbitrary:

Ritualistic Cat Torture Was Once a Form of Town Fun

If you’re fond of cats, you should probably stop right here and switch to looking at photos of kittens wearing tiny hoodies. Because in medieval times,...

www.atlasobscura.com

 

[goinghome]

"I can't believe I saw that on a twelve-year-old's phone today, but life is full of surprises." Indeed it is, Christina van Beek. But even though a cat in a blender is shocking today while chicks in macerators are shrugged off as the price of getting eggs, that attitude is arbitrary:

Ritualistic Cat Torture Was Once a Form of Town Fun

If you’re fond of cats, you should probably stop right here and switch to looking at photos of kittens wearing tiny hoodies. Because in medieval times,...

www.atlasobscura.com

Very caring and persuasive even if there's a long way to go.

Here's something nicer, I hope, about a responsible safari:
"...some animal species actively support each other. The wildebeest is warned of predators by the sudden movement of the ‘rival’ zebra species. Fascinatingly, the zebras mow down the long chaotic grass with their agile lips, leaving an even-cut lawn for the blocky wildebeest. There is symbiosis at every scale of life.

The totality is the complex interrelations between all of the species, the entire ecosystem. It includes an incredible variety of grasses, fungi, flowers, trees, insects, birds and animals large and small..." - https://theecologist.org/2023/may/08/my-woke-safari

 

[Vesper Nocturne]

I love baby elephants like crazy

 

[goinghome]

The Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) runs a farm in England designed to be as friendly to wildlife as possible, and it's opening to the public soon - https://www.rspb.org.uk/our-work/conservation/conservation-and-sustainability/farming/hope-farm/

Where: RSPB Hope Farm, Knapwell, Cambridgeshire.

When: Sunday 11 June 2023, 10am-4pm. Free Entry. Booking essential.

Visit Hope Farm as part of LEAF national Open Farm Sunday [ deducing that farms in other areas will also open under the same scheme ] and find out how we’re helping farmland wildlife thrive! There are activities for all ages, including: guided walks, tractor rides, meet the farm animals, arts and crafts, and bug hunting...

Here is one sort of little animal you might see there (from their website) ; )

Do also try to tread gently, as plants are conscious too - https://www.theguardian.com/environ...ts-this-is-extremely-fascinating-tree-stories

 

[Lucifer Sam]

Just a minor quibble, but that article isn’t quite “plants are conscious.” It’s “some Italian botanist thinks plants are conscious.” Consciousness can be variously defined to fit almost any thesis, but as plants lack brains and central nervous systems, they probably don’t suffer.

File under: somewhat more dismaying than trampled grass—Spain has approved the construction of a factory farm for octopi in the Canary Islands. (You cannot help but feel the Spanish are a sub-species). According to the article, “a few dozen people” showed up at a protest in Madrid yesterday. Octopi are sentient, sensitive, and intelligent, despite not being vertebrates. The farming conditions are apt to foment terror, filthy living conditions, and possibly cannibalism. Same mode of treatment, new kind of animal.

International protest against octopus farming led by Spanish Party for the Animals - Party for the Animals

This summer, the world’s first octopus factory farm is planned to be opened in Spain. A highly controversial first, since octopus farming has been denounced as unethical, a threat to wildlife and the environment, and incompatible with EU guidelines for sustainable aquaculture. Last weekend, the S...

www.partyfortheanimals.com

 

[nicky wire's legs]

Just a minor quibble, but that article isn’t quite “plants are conscious.” It’s “some Italian botanist thinks plants are conscious.” Consciousness can be variously defined to fit almost any thesis, but as plants lack brains and central nervous systems, they probably don’t suffer.

File under: somewhat more dismaying than trampled grass—Spain has approved the construction of a factory farm for octopi in the Canary Islands. (You cannot help but feel the Spanish are a sub-species). According to the article, “a few dozen people” showed up at a protest in Madrid yesterday. Octopi are sentient, sensitive, and intelligent, despite not being vertebrates. The farming conditions are apt to foment terror, filthy living conditions, and possibly cannibalism. Same mode of treatment, new kind of animal.

International protest against octopus farming led by Spanish Party for the Animals - Party for the Animals

This summer, the world’s first octopus factory farm is planned to be opened in Spain. A highly controversial first, since octopus farming has been denounced as unethical, a threat to wildlife and the environment, and incompatible with EU guidelines for sustainable aquaculture. Last weekend, the S...

www.partyfortheanimals.com

Also plants can't feel pain because they lack mobility. The reason we feel pain is to alert us to danger so that we can get away from it. If you cant get away from the source of pain, theres no point in feeling it. What a flaw in the universes design it would be if creatures were to feel pain without being able to do anything about it.

 

[ZOOM FROM GLOOM]

Ouch !!!

 

[goinghome]

A new species of deep-sea octopus has been discovered https://www.ria.ie/news/publications/new-deep-sea-octopus-species-found

The farm in Spain seems to be still going ahead - https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-64814781 (I giggled at your Moz quote adaptation, A.) The UK govt gave some legal protection to "Decapod crustaceans and cephalopod molluscs" in 2021, with not a peep of an update since - https://www.gov.uk/government/news/lobsters-octopus-and-crabs-recognised-as-sentient-beings

Big-tech promises solutions like lab meat, only to be found to be making things worse - https://www.futurity.org/lab-grown-meats-carbon-footprint-beef-2922222/

This is the problem with denying we are animals with an appropriate position and responsibility in the diverse web of creation, mostly ignored. Many indigenous people still practice an attitude to nature that involves stewardship, gratitude and cooperation, but instead of being honoured and imitated by the rest of the world, they are being killed for trying to protect nature. Stubborn is the status quo, although ordinary people are increasingly concerned.

When scientists are still devoting their highly-trained skills to studies such as establishing whether birds answer each other's calls, which a 3-year-old child could readily confirm for them, where on earth are we going?

Interesting you imply consciousness is signaled by being able to suffer, Aubrey. Consciousness has been called the 'hard problem' of science for a long time, meaning it is not yet understood, at least not by the scientific community to their satisfaction. Physicist Wolfgang Pauli wrote to CG Jung, wondering "should there not be enough room for all those oddities that ultimately rob the distinction between “physics” and “psyche” of all its meaning?" Someone who could accept phenomena that can't be counted or measured. According to Oliver Sachs, "to become conscious of being conscious… systems of memory must be related to representation of a self." Maybe consciousness could be plural, like intelligence; different types with distinctive qualities?

From just the description of an acclaimed 2020 study of idiots over centuries and places, it seems clear that deciding on scales of consciousness and the merits of one over the other has most definitely been exploited even between human beings. "It recasts the tale, not the one we tell ourselves that we moderns rescued people who our benighted predecessors had shut away, but of an era when people didn’t need ‘reintegrating’ or ‘including’, because they were just there." And, "hence the justifications of empire have strong associations with ideas about idiocy and imbecility." - https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/09687599.2021.1890947

Needless to say, similar superiority rationales has been deployed far more widely again to justify carelessness towards animals.

But maybe elevation of consciousness itself is the trouble? GENESIS 2:17 : "but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die.”

I'm just in one of those moods

I re-watched Phantom Thread recently, which is about a successful clothes designer' s affair with one of his models who, instead of being put in her place to suit his every whim when he starts distancing himself from her, concocts a mushroom potion to slip in his drink that puts him in a coma for a few days, which turns out to be a solution that both of them agree works. That's one way to manage pesky consciousness!

Nicky WL, if only immobility obviated pain!

"I'd like to be blotted out just before I become aware of the pain."

 

[Lucifer Sam]

Many indigenous people still practice an attitude to nature that involves stewardship, gratitude and cooperation, but instead of being honoured and imitated by the rest of the world, they are being killed for trying to protect nature. Stubborn is the status quo, although ordinary people are increasingly concerned.

To be fair to the rest of the world, they have it too good at this point to want to live like indigenous people. They may show concern about how things are going, but that sort of "greenie" concern usually ends whenever a radical lifestyle change is demanded. My prediction is that humanity will go on denaturing until the pendulum swings back with a vengeance, and nature reclaims what was hers. As a species we'll either be extinct, we'll be small pockets of populations eking out a miserable living in a hostile environment, much like we did 200,000 years ago.

Interesting you imply consciousness is signaled by being able to suffer, Aubrey. Consciousness has been called the 'hard problem' of science for a long time, meaning it is not yet understood, at least not by the scientific community to their satisfaction.

That's true, but the "hard problem of consciousness" is exclusive to humans. So far as we can tell, a chimpanzee probably doesn't think to itself, "why does it feel like I'm something that feels?" This, even though an adult chimpanzee is more intelligent than a human infant or a human imbecile, who also probably don't think that. Ultimately it's a human conceit. It's difficult to consider what consciousness would be like without sensory input. Such a consciousness may exist, but it would be meaningless to think about whether we owe it any moral consideration. If it neither suffers nor feels pleasure, it can have no preference either way. It would just be an OM.

I liked The Phantom Thread, too. I took my nephew with me when I saw it. He was about thirteen at the time. I have no idea what interested him about it, but his mother watched the trailer to check if it was suitable, and seeing it was about a dress designer, she asked him, "are you sure you want to see this?" in a solemn tone that was every ounce "are you sure you're not gay?"

 

[goinghome]

Those signifiers you share from that laser-sharp mind are gourmet fare for the brain : )

I chuckled at the mother's concern about Phantom Thread. While watching it, I noted a resemblance to Morrissey, especially in the discipline to art, while realising all I have to go on is the imputed public image.

Great point about consciousness being a human conceit. Philosopher David Bentley Hart agrees with you while disputing the emphasis in the fuss over AI - https://psyche.co/ideas/the-myth-of-machine-consciousness-makes-narcissus-of-us-all

How are your cats doing? Did the kittens make it? They must be getting big now.

I heard a cuckoo today, belting out his unmistakable call. He's leaving his packing late. By now, most of his buddies are already on the way to Africa, having come to Ireland for a couple of months to breed.

A stunning documentary on the distinctive geological region of The Burren straddling counties Clare and Galway, made a year or so ago, features a cuckoo about 21' 50" in, and is, surprisingly, for view online -


It shows how the cuckoo picks especially on meadow pipits to sneak into their nests eggs that hatch into vile gluttonous chicks!
Nature must still find a way, I suppose.

Have you ever seen a wild native American horse? Protection efforts may be underway.

 

[Lucifer Sam]

I chuckled at the mother's concern about Phantom Thread. While watching it, I noted a resemblance to Morrissey, especially in the discipline to art, while realising all I have to go on is the imputed public image.

Say, that's a good comparison. Morrissey is certainly an "impossible" artist like the dress-maker in the film, behind whose perfection is prickliness and an oddball personality. And back in the 80s I thought there was a kind of physical resemblance between Morrissey and Daniel Day-Lewis. Their noses could hardly be more different, but the similarities are in the brow, the facial structure, and the hairline.

How are your cats doing? Did the kittens make it? They must be getting big now.

I only have one cat, but she has several siblings in the feral cat colony near where I live. She's about a year old. I took her in as a juvenile last October after I found her mauled. She's FeLV-positive and is already showing some symptoms: her coat is falling out in clumps and her gums are swollen. The vet said the symptoms can be lived with for varying amounts of time, but once the virus itself hits, it's very aggressive. But you've reminded me, I have a can of kitten formula I intend to take down to the railroad tracks where the feral cat colony is, and see if I can hear any mewling from the bushes. It's that time of year. I'll report on this thread if there's any activity.

 

[Vesper Nocturne]

Yes i found out just last week that Daniel Day Lewis is heading toward 70 and my brain almost fell out of my head!

 

[Vesper Nocturne]

Oh, definitely we need many and copious kitty updates though!

 

[goinghome]

Say, that's a good comparison. Morrissey is certainly an "impossible" artist like the dress-maker in the film, behind whose perfection is prickliness and an oddball personality. And back in the 80s I thought there was a kind of physical resemblance between Morrissey and Daniel Day-Lewis. Their noses could hardly be more different, but the similarities are in the brow, the facial structure, and the hairline.

I only have one cat, but she has several siblings in the feral cat colony near where I live. She's about a year old. I took her in as a juvenile last October after I found her mauled. She's FeLV-positive and is already showing some symptoms: her coat is falling out in clumps and her gums are swollen. The vet said the symptoms can be lived with for varying amounts of time, but once the virus itself hits, it's very aggressive. But you've reminded me, I have a can of kitten formula I intend to take down to the railroad tracks where the feral cat colony is, and see if I can hear any mewling from the bushes. It's that time of year. I'll report on this thread if there's any activity.

Do I detect a hint of the flinty patriarch there? Are you drawn to oddballs, as this Irish saying refers to i.e. athnaíonn cíaróg ciaróg elle? It means, one beetle recognises another beetle i.e. its own kind. In other words, 'it takes one to know one', 'birds of a feather flock together' or 'like sees like'?!

Tune into this recent podcast from the 23 minute point which is all about the consciousness of animals - https://podtail.com/podcast/philosophize-this/episode-179-why-is-consciousness-something-worth-t/

A question explored is if consciousness has more sanctity than life does, and implications of that.


In his recent book, Listen to the Land Speak, Manchan Magan admits, “There’s also the danger the only people who have been spouting on about this in the past is New Age hippies,” says Magan.

“You’re trying to take some of the things they were right about, and steer clear of the more ‘out there’ stuff, and to try and blend it with what the archaeologists and historians are saying, and yet not be limited by the purely academic.”

and. “I think in the 21st century, there is a significant amount of people who are open to questioning that and thinking: wait, just because we can do things – just because we can change the direction of the Yangtze River or we can bring a quarter of the Shannon River over to Dublin – is it right?” - https://www.thejournal.ie/interview-manchan-magan-listen-to-the-land-speak-5891278-Oct2022/

The cat(s) landed on their feet with you anyway. FeLV? Feline leukemia virus, I just learned. Is that common in cats? One way or the other, suffering is a sure thing, isn't it? May your one domestic cat, and family of adopted feral felines all fare fine.

Speaking of cats, I miss 'cat on a train'. Have they left or did they morph again? Or like others, do they show up mainly when a tour's in motion?

Apparently, without music the world would really die - https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20230519-the-sound-recordings-used-to-coax-back-species

 

[Lucifer Sam]

The cat(s) landed on their feet with you anyway. FeLV? Feline leukemia virus, I just learned. Is that common in cats? One way or the other, suffering is a sure thing, isn't it? May your one domestic cat, and family of adopted feral felines all fare fine.

I think it's about five percent of cats. The veterinarian politely shamed me about letting her be an indoor/outdoor cat, because she could potentially infect another cat if they fight. He even mentioned that there's a "crazy cat lady" in town who's made her house a sanctuary for FeLV cats, since shelters put cats down if they test positive (they're deemed "not adoptable" due to their short life spans, and also their weak immune systems requiring more medical care). Maybe I took it the wrong way, but it almost sounded as if he was asking me if I wanted to give this woman my cat. There's just no way. My line of reasoning is that she'd be outdoors all the time if I hadn't taken her in, so if anything I'm reducing her chance of infecting another cat. He could've countered that she'd probably be dead if I hadn't gotten her injuries taken care of, but he didn't, and was good enough to let the conversation end. Because my next question would've been, "do you eat meat or dairy?" We can certainly talk about the amount of animal suffering we cause, Bub. He's a nice guy, though.

What I am worried about is that there are new people moving in piecemeal next door. They're not spending their nights there yet, and I don't know what I'll do if it turns out they have an outdoor cat. I'll have to be honest about my cat's status, because they'd certainly interact (I am "dog-faced in a duplex"). I guess I'll even offer to pay for their cat to be vaccinated against FeLV, if it isn't already.

Speaking of cats, I miss 'cat on a train'. Have they left or did they morph again? Or like others, do they show up mainly when a tour's in motion?

I don't think she's around, because I don't see anybody going "a-ha, o-ho!" on here. She has a unique style and she'd be detected if she took a new name. I hope she's doing well. I know the loss of her cat was particularly on hard on her, given the circumstances of its death. It's strange. The anti-death-penalty people are constantly telling us how the lethal injection process is probably not always a peaceful way to go, and then we turn around and assure ourselves that it's fine for our pets.

 

[Deleted member 29227]

'Extinct' butterfly species reappears in UK

Nature must still find a way...

 

[goinghome]

I think it's about five percent of cats. The veterinarian politely shamed me about letting her be an indoor/outdoor cat, because she could potentially infect another cat if they fight. He even mentioned that there's a "crazy cat lady" in town who's made her house a sanctuary for FeLV cats, since shelters put cats down if they test positive (they're deemed "not adoptable" due to their short life spans, and also their weak immune systems requiring more medical care). Maybe I took it the wrong way, but it almost sounded as if he was asking me if I wanted to give this woman my cat. There's just no way. My line of reasoning is that she'd be outdoors all the time if I hadn't taken her in, so if anything I'm reducing her chance of infecting another cat. He could've countered that she'd probably be dead if I hadn't gotten her injuries taken care of, but he didn't, and was good enough to let the conversation end. Because my next question would've been, "do you eat meat or dairy?" We can certainly talk about the amount of animal suffering we cause, Bub. He's a nice guy, though.

What I am worried about is that there are new people moving in piecemeal next door. They're not spending their nights there yet, and I don't know what I'll do if it turns out they have an outdoor cat. I'll have to be honest about my cat's status, because they'd certainly interact (I am "dog-faced in a duplex"). I guess I'll even offer to pay for their cat to be vaccinated against FeLV, if it isn't already.

I don't think she's around, because I don't see anybody going "a-ha, o-ho!" on here. She has a unique style and she'd be detected if she took a new name. I hope she's doing well. I know the loss of her cat was particularly on hard on her, given the circumstances of its death. It's strange. The anti-death-penalty people are constantly telling us how the lethal injection process is probably not always a peaceful way to go, and then we turn around and assure ourselves that it's fine for our pets.

'Dog-faced in a duplex' is an unusual quote. Like it! From what kind of people...

Is feline leukemia virus a mix of cancer and infectious disease? Is a vaccine known to work? For the cancer or virus part? Do you sometimes think veterinary medicine is more advanced? The practice of it anyway? Your new neighbours might not own a cat after all. How old is yours? How unfortunate for both of you that it would catch that relatively rare illness. Lord save us!

My neighbour died last year. She owned a cat who spent a lot of time near my pond. I used to worry it might injure a frog but actually I'm realising that since it was rehoused with someone else connected to the neighbour, my tadpole population is suffering and significantly down in numbers. I've seen robins and sparrows wading in there up to no good, beyond a dip, and rookeries nearby mean crows are circling in the airspace, surveying for possibly nefarious purposes. If I don't get a cat, I'll need to attach a net over the pond to stop birds decimating my little tadpole army (yes, army is the collective noun for frogs!) and breaking their good ole pop's heart.

Someone commented that it's a numbers' game with species such as frogs, but couldn't the same be said of the human race? Conditions may be propitious, or not. Someone else said the birds are only trying to survive too, which is quite true, and they'll be eating worms and snails anyway, nature partly being red in tooth and claw if also sustaining and integral to all life. Which only goes to show, intervention whether human or not always has repercussions. What difference does it make, is always a good question to ask before taking an action when concerned about biodiversity and ecosystems. Have you heard of Vaclac Smil? Despite him saying economic growth cannot continue and other sensible things, Bill Gates is apparently a big fan.

I reckon I'll have new neighbours soon too, but in my case I'll hope they bring a cat! The pond was a deal clincher for me and since arriving, I haven't grown otherwise attached to a huge extent, meaning I'm still in 'going home' mode. How about you? Are you bound to stay put, or have you leeway? Just in case? Freedom to move is a luxury far from everyone has. Hope it works out anyway, and the newcomers are approachable and reasonable. May dear c.o.a.t. and rare falcons be fine too.

Were you ever an active member of an animal rights organisation? What a boon you'd be, with your exceptional knowledge of the various issues, your passionate commitment, your cool firm assertiveness and your fluency! You might like it, if you had a little time to spare. I'm sure remote opportunities exist too. Although obviously with top cat care and sharing your views, you're already doing plenty to protect animals, of which you are one - et tu, bruté! Thank you : )

p.s. After trotting out that old cliche of nature being red in tooth and claw, I've just come across a book actually called Sweet in Tooth and Claw, addressing the nature- animal - human interface, misunderstandings, and bases for cooperation. Blurb and link below. Let's live in hope, and play whatever part we can.

"People in modern societies often have a harsh view of nature, believing that competition reigns supreme and that the flourishing of one individual or group must necessarily come at the expense of others. In Sweet in Tooth and Claw, Kristin Ohlson argues (gently!) that nature is instead shaped and knitted together by mutually beneficial relationships, many of which humans unwittingly disrupt as we build our homes, expand our cities, divert water, and grow food.

But when we change our guiding metaphor and view nature as predominantly cooperative --and ourselves as cooperators instead of disruptors--we can repair the damage we’ve done to the natural world and plant the seeds for mutual thriving.
Through interviews with biologists, ecologists, ranchers, farmers in the field, urban visionaries, and others, Ohlson’s deeply researched case studies and observations show example after example of how nature is mostly sweet, not ravenous.

The title Sweet in Tooth and Claw plays on Tennyson’s poem “In Memoriam A.H.H.,” in which he describes nature as “red in tooth and claw.” The book extends the concept of cooperation in nature from The Soil Will Save Us to the life-affirming connections among microbes, plants, fungi, insects, birds, and animals—including humans—in ecosystems around the globe. Ohlson tells stories of trees and mushrooms, beavers and cows, coffee and ants, bird poop and coral reefs. There are chapters on a wide variety of ecosystems and portraits of the people who learn from them: forests (the work of Suzanne Simard); scientists who study the interaction of bees and flowers in the Rocky Mountains; ranchers and biologists restoring wetlands in desertified northeastern Nevada; architects designing urban wetlands to protect major rivers, and more. Ohlson also recognizes older cultures that understood the necessary balance between nature's and human needs, and to which we must turn at this time of climate and environmental crisis.

“I’m convinced that if we can learn to respect, not ravage, the rest of nature, we’ll also become more generous and nurturing with each other,” she writes.

Sweet in Tooth and Claw is a rich and fascinating book full of amazing stories, complemented by full-color photography, and is sure to challenge the reader’s perspective on the natural world.
https://www.kristinohlson.com/books/sweet-in-tooth-and-claw

 

[Pav1ova]

Ahem... Some of my photos from a few years ago. Not a lot though because most of my photos are just plants.