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~The greatest of a nation and its moral progress can be judged by the way its animals are treated~
Mahatma Gandhi
Warning: The scenes are disturbing
While concerns are shown over how animals are treated in conventional factory farms,"free range" chickens, turkeys, pigs, and cows may be treated less inhumanly though they are still not exactly cruelty free.
Do animals have emotions? If animals can talk like us and tell us how they feel, would we treat them differently?
Dogs, cats, horses and many other species experience many forms of emotions we think only primates have.
A dog's emotion is revealed in its face, eyes, ears, tail movement and body language. They have their way of communicating with us, for example, they wag their tail when they feel or see our presence, stretch their front legs out in front of them and lower their bodies when they want to play. Dogs can feel and express the same emotions as we do: love, hate, joy, sorrow, grief, anxiety, jealousy, remorse and even more subtle ones such as distrust and resignation. Worried frowns, angry glares, adoring gazes, suspicious squints and questioning looks are also possible. Watch this: Angel dog saves boy
A cat meow, purr and expose its belly when it is at ease in the company of a familiar person. It "smiles" with its eyes and with its tail. Slow blinking eyes, head butt and rub noses is a sign of affection.
My mom once had a cat Tommy Pete Pott2 who, whenever the phone rings, would run looking for her, meow continuously even scratching her bedroom door when it is shut. Tommy would then guide her downstairs to where the phone is located and then sit beside her as she chats.
Meanwhile Lulu, Mom's dog, would start to bark if she spends too long chatting over the phone. It is interesting to observe this display of love and intense jealousy or possessiveness if you will.
Expressions
Most animals use various unique means to communicate by body language, sound and smell. They also have an extraordinary sense that can feel the coming of natural disasters. I decided to do further research and learnt some very interesting expressions of emotions in animals.
The history of mankind is carried on the back of the horse
Horses display how they are feeling through the face, ears, neck, tail and even body position tells you a lot about the horses. They can be vocal for example, they generally greet you with a friendly 'hello' by a nicker, a softer neigh done through the nostrils. On the other hand, snorting which is blowing air through their nostrils producing a vibrating low, long sound shows that they are scared or wary of something and their ears would be pointing forward. When in distress, annoyance or angry, they tail-swish, squeals a high-pitched sound simultaneously their ears laid flat back, the lips will tighten in the corners and you will see the whites of their eyes. When relaxed, their ears droop to the side or lower lip hanging down. To get your attention, for example, a hungry horse would bang on its stall.
Little blue birds fly away in melody
Most birds communicate aurally using notes so that their presence is heard by their own species. Like us, they enjoy chattering with each other. They use various vocalization to scare off predators, to attract mate or to defend one's territory.
Among the many species, the parrots (African Grey parrots the most intelligent of all parrots) are known for its ability to communicate with humans. A pet bird would click her tongue against her beak to ask to be petted or picked up. It would also tail flip when it is happy to see you.
To Bee or Not to Bee
Bees perform a dance ritual to tell the other bees where the nectar is. Bees are famous for their pattern-recognition abilities, which scientists believe evolved in order to discriminate among flowers. As social insects, they can also tell apart their hivemates. But the new study shows that they can recognize human faces better than some humans can, with one-ten thousandth of the brain cells.
"If the bee disappeared off the surface of the globe then man would only have four years of life left. No more bees, no more pollination, no more plants, no more animals, no more man."
Albert Einstein
Holy cows
Cows, the mothers of all creatures, benefit humans with milk, yougurt, cheese, cream and butter. Research has shown that cows enjoy soothing sounds. Slow music relaxes and improves milk yields.
Cow burbs - contributing to global warming?
Cows are responsible for nearly three-quarters of total methane emissions, with most of the gases coming from burps which are 20 times more potent than carbon dioxide.
Experts has found that the slow digestive system of cows makes them a key producer of methane, a potent greenhouse gas. Scientists are now carrying out trials of new diets designed to improve cows' digestion and hopefully reduce global warming. Feeding cows with clover and alfalfa instead of grain has shown to reduce methane emissions by 25 percent.
Nature's great masterpiece, an elephant - the only harmless great thing
Elephants are the largest animals on the planet. Research shows that there are only 600,000 of elephants left in the wild. They show affection by entwining their trunks.
Apes
Chimpanzees greet each other by touching hands. They clean dirt and parasites off each other's fur to provide comfort and display their affection. They are also capable of many human "actions". When taught by humans, they are able to display a lot of emotions.
Marine Animals
Marine animals use sounds to communicate with one another so that they can stay together as a group, defend territories, scare off predators and attract mates.
Whales leap out of the water repeatedly to send messages to other whales.
Dolphins click and whistle. Dolphins are known to have saved many humans from drowning and shark attacks.
Silence is golden in an animal world
Animals in the woods communicate with each other through silence when predators are near. They understand the code of silence and take heed.
Grief
There is some evidence that some animals form tears when in physical or emotional distress just like humans. Grief has also been observed in many wild species following the death of a mate, parent or offspring. For example a mother cat whose kittens are taken away from her will search for her kittens for many days, crying out continuously.
I found this picture on the Internet. It speaks a thousand words.
There is much argument as to whether animals experience emotions or are merely showing behavioural changes in response to their environment. In any case, it is interesting to observe how animals perceive the world.
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