41–50 of 91 posts
Zoos are really quite cruel.
Most zoos nowadays are important research centers. Besides that, they have an important educational component that surely contributes politically for conservation efforts.
I’ve encountered a couple of these Sunfish (“Mola mola”) in the wild off the coast of Southern California. They’re absolutely incredible to see in person and massive! While it seemed to enjoy our presence we made sure not to get too close or they might mistake your boat for a rock and try to flop on board, which is the only way they’ve ever killed a human. I’ve read they move to warmer waters as they age and the ones…
Also, they famously carry a huge number of parasites. This just seems normal for the species, similar to how sloth fur supports a variety of organisms.
There was a poem written about the phenomenon:
Big fleas have little fleas
upon their backs to bite 'em
And little fleas have lesser fleas
and so ad infinitum
Zoos are really quite cruel.
Zoos are a lesser evil argument, locally they are not the best for the animals but they provide globally long-term benefits for humans and nature as well.
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Also, they famously carry a huge number of parasites. This just seems normal for the species, similar to how sloth fur supports a variety of organisms.
It's normal for all species, humans included. We generally aren't carrying large loads of parasites, but that's not because not doing so is normal. It's because we put tremendous effort into getting rid of them. This is one of the theories for why human body temperature seems to have lowered since the measurement was standardized at 37 C. There was a poem written about the phenomenon: Big fleas have little fleas upon…
Earlier quoted context omitted.
Also, they famously carry a huge number of parasites. This just seems normal for the species, similar to how sloth fur supports a variety of organisms.
It's normal for all species, humans included. We generally aren't carrying large loads of parasites, but that's not because not doing so is normal. It's because we put tremendous effort into getting rid of them. This is one of the theories for why human body temperature seems to have lowered since the measurement was standardized at 37 C. There was a poem written about the phenomenon: Big fleas have little fleas upon…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Siphonaptera_(poem)
But he lifted the genius part of it from Jonathan Swift.
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I was commenting to my wife the other day... it seems to me that there are very few wild animals that just die from being too old. Not an expert, but it seems to me that most animals in the wild live until they are brutally ripped apart and eaten alive by another animal, and it's only a matter of time -- very rarely reaching an age old enough to just die.
The interesting thing is predator and prey both die when they get too slow. Not sure which side has a worse ending there! Then there's disease or even a simple scratch getting infected. The world's a brutal place, probably all worlds. Because the very nature of evolution means species that exploit the most thrive the most. The obvious exception of things like a solar feeding plant isn't even an exception. The great o…
Even a slight injury to a predator can mean a slow death by starvation.
That's why videogame predators are so ridiculous. They keep coming after you, even when half their ass is blown away. A real predator will bugger off, as soon as it figures out that there might be a cost to attacking you. That's a big reason that many herbivore defenses seem kind of ridiculous, but work. They just need to make the predator nervous. Unless the predator is starving, it's likely to seek prey elsewhere.
There's also tremendous competition between predators.
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I’m not sure if it applies with all birds, but many seem to become fixated on humans. This can happen if you care for very young, sick or injured birds. My wife cares for various sad cases and if she isn’t careful they stay with with us. We have 4 pigeons at the moment, with various issues. I call them our rehoming pigeons. Do you want a pigeon?
Funny enough, my late father was a veterinarian and we had a pigeon that we raised from a chick (we weren't sure what this thoroughly ugly bird was and it turned out it was a pigeon). It was very tame and lived in a hutch on the back porch, and would watch for us to come back from the electric pole out the front. Unfortunately its knowledge of cats was limited to our extremely lazy ones and one day it disappeared; we…
one year, he disappeared, which added a lot of sadness to my life. that summer, he reappeared and walked up a hill to greet me, with his mate and ducklings in tow. his mate had had a shattered (and repaired) beak, and was easy to pick out, and he spent time walking between us with "quack quack quack", back and forth, as if to introduce us. they stayed around at least until I moved a year or so later. by far the most profound experience I've had with a "wild" animal, a memorable experience that I will continue to cherish.
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Zoos are a lesser evil argument, locally they are not the best for the animals but they provide globally long-term benefits for humans and nature as well.
The implication here is that it would be impossible to fund conservation without zoos. As a counter argument: we could just do it. Increase taxes by the amount people spend in zoos and spend that on conservation. The only argument in favour of the zoo over that other approach is that people want to look at animals in cages.
Why do you think we could do that?
I say we could just increase taxes by $5,000 per person per year and spend it on breeding and releasing mosquitoes in Los Angeles.