For any those who doubt animals have feelings

wild flower · #1 (**permalink**) 30-07-2009, 06:51 PM

wild flower · #2 (**permalink**) 30-07-2009, 06:54 PM

Apologies I got a bit trigger happy for a second and posted my mail before I meant to! The story above was sent to me today. It is very moving and did make me cry.

Jason Green · #3 (**permalink**) 30-07-2009, 07:04 PM

Very sad, but thanks for posting...

Mickyo · #4 (**permalink**) 31-07-2009, 08:08 PM

Very sad indeed. Brought a tear to my eyes also.

Mickyo

ellen h · #5 (**permalink**) 31-07-2009, 08:43 PM

Very moving pictures,brought a lump to my throat

ellen

Kayleigh · #6 (**permalink**) 31-07-2009, 09:04 PM

awww bless him....of course they know.
Horses grieve for lost ones so all animals know about death.

BloomingMarvellous · #7 (**permalink**) 31-07-2009, 09:32 PM

And I was Born yesterday.

Doggle Avaddit · #8 (**permalink**) 31-07-2009, 09:43 PM

I'm sorry, I don't buy that at all.

What is it exactly? It is a series of 6 photos, montaged together with a moving soundtrack, with captions "telling" you what the bird is feeling and why.

A picture of a bird feeding another is apparently, in this case, done with "love and compassion".

Apparently the next photo shows the male bird "shocked to find her dead". Er, how exactly can we conclude from this photo that the bird was shocked?
He then, from the exact same photo evidence, is said to be trying to move her off the road. Well, thats an awful lot of presumption going on from one photo.

Next photo: "upon realising his sweetheart is dead and will never come back to him again, he cries in anguish"
I'm pretty much speechless at that interpretation.

Next, "He stands beside her, grieved by her death".
Again, the author is telling you that beyond all doubt, this bird is not only grieving, but is also capable of crying and feeling anguish. And all from two photographs. Amazing.

Next, "he stands beside her with sadness and sorrow". Again trying to tell us a photo is evidence showing the bird is having human emotions.

What a load of tosh.

Kayleigh · #9 (**permalink**) 31-07-2009, 10:43 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Doggle Avaddit

I'm sorry, I don't buy that at all.

What is it exactly? It is a series of 6 photos, montaged together with a moving soundtrack, with captions "telling" you what the bird is feeling and why.

A picture of a bird feeding another is apparently, in this case, done with "love and compassion".

Apparently the next photo shows the male bird "shocked to find her dead". Er, how exactly can we conclude from this photo that the bird was shocked?
He then, from the exact same photo evidence, is said to be trying to move her off the road. Well, thats an awful lot of presumption going on from one photo.

Next photo: "upon realising his sweetheart is dead and will never come back to him again, he cries in anguish"
I'm pretty much speechless at that interpretation.

Next, "He stands beside her, grieved by her death".
Again, the author is telling you that beyond all doubt, this bird is not only grieving, but is also capable of crying and feeling anguish. And all from two photographs. Amazing.

Next, "he stands beside her with sadness and sorrow". Again trying to tell us a photo is evidence showing the bird is having human emotions.

What a load of tosh.

It may tosh but Horses have been known to grieve.

Doggle Avaddit · #10 (**permalink**) 31-07-2009, 11:07 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kayleigh

It may tosh but Horses have been known to grieve.

I'm not saying ALL animals are incapable of some sort of emotion, I was commenting on the video highlighted in this thread, which was about Swallows.

I understand that Elephants, for example, show a huge amount of stress over the loss of a calf - this could be similar to the grief we might feel, or an elephant equivalent, who knows. I dont doubt that horses are also highly developed.
I doubt an Ant would be capable of feeling grief over a lost family member, and I suspect a Swallow would be far closer to the Ant experience than the Elephant/human/horse one. There will not be a clearly defined line where you can say this animal feels emotional pain, and this one does not.

What I object to in this video is the author trying to tell us that Swallows experience the same emotions that we do. In my mind that is preposterous and scientifically impossible, and I doubt you would find any scientist that would even begin to think otherwise.