life of mammals

[adi chicago]

is amaizing how the evolution worked.only two mammals are still laying eggs .do you know wich ones and why?

[Tufelhunden]

If I remember correctly, the platypus and the anteater. Why they retained this trait is beside me. I couldn't imagine the survival edge this has. What is really interesting is why the kangaroo has a pouch.

[adi chicago]

ornithoryncus is one .the other lives in australia as well.

[Lindox]

I have a feeling what we DON'T know about the mammals that share the Earth with us will fill 1000 times more books then what we DO know.

I watched an update on Shirley and Jenny..two female elephants from Sumatra that ended up here in circus life. Amazing what these huge mammals remember and how very intense their emotions really are. Something for so long we said animals other then humans don't even experience.

http://www.pbs.org/wnet/nature/bestofnature/update.html

I don't know if we as a species have retained enough natural or instinctual insights to be stewards of all other animals on Earth.

It seems now that even the highest of intellects have forgotten how to use their heads in conjunction with their inborn instincts.

[adi chicago]

In 1994, a second case report involving the injection of platypus venom into the human hand surfaced when a 29-year-old female naturalist was spurred (Fig. 4) while studying the animal in New South Wales. Two spurs entered the victim’s left hand. The young woman complained of intense pain and swelling of the hand and forearm, which developed over some hours. She was treated at the hospital with elevation, analgesics (pain relievers) and intravenous penicillin and flucloxacillin (antibiotics) for 24 hours. Doctors also administered Flagyl (an antibiotic) in addition to the previous antibiotics for 6 more days. This combined treatment caused a gradual subsistence in pain. However, increased pain and swelling returned to the patient after she stopped the antibiotic treatment. The recurring pain resulted from increased activity of the hand and arm. This pain settled after reinstitution of the above antibiotics, splintage, and elevation. The antibiotics were ceased after 48 hours and all symptoms disappeared after two weeks (Tonkin and Negrine).what a strange combination [venom ,eggs ,milk and fur].

[Juke_spin]

I have a feeling what we DON'T know about the mammals that share the Earth with us will fill 1000 times more books then what we DO know.

I watched an update on Shirley and Jenny..two female elephants from Sumatra that ended up here in circus life. Amazing what these huge mammals remember and how very intense their emotions really are. Something for so long we said animals other then humans don't even experience.

http://www.pbs.org/wnet/nature/bestofnature/update.html

I don't know if we as a species have retained enough natural or instinctual insights to be stewards of all other animals on Earth.

It seems now that even the highest of intellects have forgotten how to use their heads in conjunction with their inborn instincts.
Just a thoughtful look at how law allows and we treat out "livestock" animals will supply a humbling negative to the question.

Once again (for the umpteenth time on the site): a pig is just as loyal and intelligent as a dog and has a sense of smell that allows it to detect a root in the earth but while our pets have numerous sanctions, legal and otherwise, to safeguard them, the pig lives in one of three levels of little crates, one on top of the other with the feces of the two upper rows falling into the crates and "lives" of the two lower, so that we can purchase its flesh cheaply at the market...and feed the scraps to our dogs.:o:(

[Lindox]

Just a thoughtful look at how law allows and we treat out "livestock" animals will supply a humbling negative to the question.

Once again (for the umpteenth time on the site): a pig is just as loyal and intelligent as a dog and has a sense of smell that allows it to detect a root in the earth but while our pets have numerous sanctions, legal and otherwise, to safeguard them, the pig lives in one of three levels of little crates, one on top of the other with the feces of the two upper rows falling into the crates and "lives" of the two lower, so that we can purchase its flesh cheaply at the market...and feed the scraps to our dogs.:o:(

Your right Juke.
I though am a carnivore. Would I like to be a herbivore..maybe. But I am not.

I do realize though that ALL carnivores will exist quite peacefully with their prey when they are NOT hungry. Even the lion can lay around near the gazelle while the gazelle grazes. All calm and peaceful..until the lion NEEDS to eat. That goes on all thru nature.

I realize the intelligence of the pig..but their loyalty to humans hasn't been developed as it was with dogs due to it being the dogs/wolves that are our fellow carvivores thus the lasting, devoted friendship.

Sniffing out truffles is cool. But sniffing out people buried in an avalanche or in a destroyed building..or just in the wild is something way past truffles..and it's not trifle either.

Dogs also LOVE sharing our bounty..they pretend we are the greatest hunters alive..but don't even try to take away a bird or rat they have just caught.

So we are not genuine carnivores we just eat like we are. And dogs know that. So do our cats.

And they use it to their advantage. Pigs don't.

[Juke_spin]

Lindox, we're omnivores but with our vaunted intelligence and aspirations of sensitive and caring perception, must we relegate our livestock animals to brutally insensitive living conditions so that their flesh can be brought to market at the most competative prices? If such insensitivity of treatment were extended to us by a more intelligent alien race, how mistreated would we feel and how loud would be our complaits?

The example of stewardship we set here on Terra is nothing less than deplorable. Enlightment, education and law are the indicated remedies.

[Lindox]

Lindox, we're omnivores but with our vaunted intelligence and aspirations of sensitive and caring perception, must we relegate our livestock animals to brutally insensitive living conditions so that their flesh can be brought of market at the most competative prices? If such insensitivity of treatment were extended to us by a more intelligent alien race, how mistreated would we feel and how loud would be our complaits?

The example of stewardship we set here on Terra is nothing less than deplorable. Enlightment, education and law are the indicated remedies.

I agree with this in it's entirety. WE can do much better by our living food sources..much better.

And also our pet animals. A million healthy animals being put to sleep every year is deplorable when birth control is available and CHEAP to boot.