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Penguin travels every year to visit man who rescued him (2016)

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Re: Penguin travels every year to visit man who rescued him (2016)

#21

This is the most heartwarming thing I've read in a long time! It's like a real-life Pixar short. I know I will come back to this article many times in the future. Thank you very much for sharing. "Dindim" is a slang for money in Brazil, but in a very cute way. "Money" is "dinheiro" in Portuguese so Dindim is like saying the first part of the word twice.

> It's like a real-life Pixar short.

You mean Lost & Found, by Oliver Jeffers?

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Lost-Found-DVD-Philip-Hunt/dp/B001C...

It predates this real life story, but has very strong echoes...

Re: Penguin travels every year to visit man who rescued him (2016)

#22
post #8

> It's technically illegal to have a wild animal as a pet in Brazil, as officials want to ensure vulnerable creatures don't get separated from their families and that they can be reintroduced into the wild after injury. Same where I am. I've wondered, though. What constitutes a pet? For example, I give peanuts to the wild squirrels around my house. This is not illegal where I live. It is illegal, however, to keep a w…

In Brazil, if you cage the animal you have clearly crossed the line. I don't think anybody was ever successfully persecuted by having a pet they didn't cage, but I do know there is no lack of attempts.

Re: Penguin travels every year to visit man who rescued him (2016)

#23
post #8

> It's technically illegal to have a wild animal as a pet in Brazil, as officials want to ensure vulnerable creatures don't get separated from their families and that they can be reintroduced into the wild after injury. Same where I am. I've wondered, though. What constitutes a pet? For example, I give peanuts to the wild squirrels around my house. This is not illegal where I live. It is illegal, however, to keep a w…

> I've wondered, though. What constitutes a pet? We don't need categories to be so rigid. I have some squirrels in the yard who recognise me and follow me around until I feed them. I call them 'yard pets'. Sometimes they come into the house when they are too excited, but I've never had trouble escorting them out. I don't particularly like the idea of laws getting in the way of my relationship with animals, even if th…

To get a bit pedantic you're on the path to domesticating those squirrels, most wildlife professionals wouldn't consider them wild any more.

My father worked for WI DNR for many years and it always irked him that people feeding the wildlife didn't think they were doing any harm when they were making the animals co-dependent on that food source.

Re: Penguin travels every year to visit man who rescued him (2016)

#24

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> I've wondered, though. What constitutes a pet? We don't need categories to be so rigid. I have some squirrels in the yard who recognise me and follow me around until I feed them. I call them 'yard pets'. Sometimes they come into the house when they are too excited, but I've never had trouble escorting them out. I don't particularly like the idea of laws getting in the way of my relationship with animals, even if th…

> We don't need categories to be so rigid. For the purposes of law we do. > I don't particularly like the idea of laws getting in the way of my relationship with animals, even if they are wild. And yet there is a case to be made for these laws to prevent animals from abuse, etc. These kinds of laws are usually well-served by having an attached definition of what constitutes a pet as it is used in the law. The more de…

For the purposes of law we do.

Law is a good servant and a bad master. Ultimately decisions are imposed by humans and unthinking obedience to the law is just as totalitarian as unthinking obedience to a leader. It's the unthinking obedience bit that's the problem.

Re: Penguin travels every year to visit man who rescued him (2016)

#25

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> We don't need categories to be so rigid. For the purposes of law we do. > I don't particularly like the idea of laws getting in the way of my relationship with animals, even if they are wild. And yet there is a case to be made for these laws to prevent animals from abuse, etc. These kinds of laws are usually well-served by having an attached definition of what constitutes a pet as it is used in the law. The more de…

> For the purposes of law we do No we don't. That's why we have judges

And judges never give out different sentences based race or affluence....

Re: Penguin travels every year to visit man who rescued him (2016)

#26
post #8

> It's technically illegal to have a wild animal as a pet in Brazil, as officials want to ensure vulnerable creatures don't get separated from their families and that they can be reintroduced into the wild after injury. Same where I am. I've wondered, though. What constitutes a pet? For example, I give peanuts to the wild squirrels around my house. This is not illegal where I live. It is illegal, however, to keep a w…

My dad did the same thing and knew he had to stop when he turned around in his kitchen and his friendly squirrel was standing there asking for a peanut.

Be careful because squirrels can really do damage if they get into your attic or house.

Re: Penguin travels every year to visit man who rescued him (2016)

#27
post #2

Animalus Anthropomorphicus, "the animal as seen through the human eyes." I think Dindim has found a source of free food. Although it's a win win because who doesn't want to be visited by a penguin.

I find the people quickest to go on about anthropomorphism tend to have the least experience with animals. When you think about it.'s quite the intellectual conceit to assume you fully understand the decision-making of another creature and that it is entirely dependent on food. Reminds me of certain economic ideologues who insist everyone, whether they know it or not, is motivated by money and self-advancement.

Re: Penguin travels every year to visit man who rescued him (2016)

#28

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> I've wondered, though. What constitutes a pet? We don't need categories to be so rigid. I have some squirrels in the yard who recognise me and follow me around until I feed them. I call them 'yard pets'. Sometimes they come into the house when they are too excited, but I've never had trouble escorting them out. I don't particularly like the idea of laws getting in the way of my relationship with animals, even if th…

To get a bit pedantic you're on the path to domesticating those squirrels, most wildlife professionals wouldn't consider them wild any more. My father worked for WI DNR for many years and it always irked him that people feeding the wildlife didn't think they were doing any harm when they were making the animals co-dependent on that food source.

Reposting from below.

Eastern grey squirrels were deliberately introduced into city parks for the enjoyment of people.[1]

Also wild animals are flexible enough in their behaviour to accommodate interactions with humans.

If you observe them carefully, you can see them switch from 'normal' behaviour to the behaviour they use when interacting with people.

It's kind of like when you speak two languages and can switch from one to the other in an instant.

[1] The Urbanization of the Eastern Gray Squirrel in the United States Etienne Benson J Am Hist (2013) 100 (3): 691-710.

Re: Penguin travels every year to visit man who rescued him (2016)

#29
post #17
post #14

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Is that confusing or damaging to the animal? Do they perceive the "stops existing" as dying? Should the handler remove the sock puppet out of view of the animal?

Not a biologist, but I've always found my dog interesting if I step on him by mistake. He barks and snaps at my shoes, trying to attack them. Stops if I take them off, and it doesn't alter his relationship with me in any way. It's like the shoe on me is a distinct animal from the shoe off me, and neither of them is related to me in any way.

Which kind of dog? Mine are curious when I get new shoes or clothes but seem to appreciate that this related to my fur deficiency.

Re: Penguin travels every year to visit man who rescued him (2016)

#30
post #3
post #2

Animalus Anthropomorphicus, "the animal as seen through the human eyes." I think Dindim has found a source of free food. Although it's a win win because who doesn't want to be visited by a penguin.

Very unlikely that any animal will swim hundreds or thousands of miles to a free food joint, there’s easier ways to eat. And there’s biologists on record saying that this imprinting does happen with handlers and they try to avoid it in research situations.

> swim hundreds or thousands of miles

Some penguins can fly: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9dfWzp7rYR4

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