REALITY CHECK: Study finds more than 100,000 species traded globally, twice as previously thought
REALITY CHECK: Study finds more than 100,000 species traded globally, twice as previously thought
The wildlife trade study identified 107,356 species that are either in use or traded globally – far higher than a previous estimate of about 50,000. Alice Hughes, a professor at the University of Melbourne and lead author of the study stated: “At the moment, we are completely underestimating what modern trade looks like, and it poses a major risk to species”. The study comes as the Center for Biological Diversity, filed a petition asking the US Fish and Wildlife Service to list the Javan slit-faced bat under the Endangered Species Act, warning that consumers are buying the bat for decor, placing […]
PURRR: Why do we find almost every cat beautiful, but relatively few humans?
PURRR: Why do we find almost every cat beautiful, but relatively few humans?
We find almost every cat to be beautiful. But when it comes to other human beings, beauty is more the exception than the rule. When we admire a cat, we admire its proportions, coloring, movements, and general appearance. But when we look at another human being, our judgment is complicated by sexual desire, or the absence of it. Cats may be entirely without aesthetic judgment and respond merely to mating signals. Our feline friends have no conception of beauty, and certainly no ambition to be beautiful. Perhaps we should learn to look at people as we do at cats. They simply go […]
ANIMALISM: Our animal nature is not something to rise above, but to honor
ANIMALISM: Our animal nature is not something to rise above, but to honor
Some humans struggle to accept the fact that we are animals. Throughout history, many cultures and religions have expressed ambivalence and even hostility to the animal side of our nature. Some argue that we humans are mental and spiritual beings, in a way that animals can’t aspire to. But even our spiritual nature harks back to our animal nature. Two essential aspects of spirituality are presence and mental quietness. Animals live completely in the present and do not appear to experience the incessant mental activity that afflicts us. So, in a sense, spirituality also aligns with our animal nature. STEVE TAYLOR: […]
