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Discussion » Questions » Animals (Wild) » What are some very important differences between human beings and animals that you should know about?

What are some very important differences between human beings and animals that you should know about?

Posted - March 10, 2020

Responses


  • 11107
    Well when a cat swishes it's tail it means that they are not happy but when a human swishes it's tail it means something completely different. Cheers!
      March 10, 2020 6:21 PM MDT
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  • 7404
    Very important and good to know. Cheers :) 
      March 10, 2020 6:27 PM MDT
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  • 53509

    (it’s its tail)
      March 10, 2020 10:59 PM MDT
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  • 11107
    Da blaw blaw?
      March 11, 2020 8:22 AM MDT
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  • 11107
    When adult monkeys throw their feces it is done as a  defence mechanism but when adult humans throw their feces it is so they can make a weird video and post it on the web. Cheers!
      March 10, 2020 6:41 PM MDT
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  • 7404
    Lol, I’ll pass on that YouTube video. 
      March 10, 2020 7:24 PM MDT
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  • 5391
    Also, the sanity of adult monkeys is not in question in such an instance. 
      March 10, 2020 7:42 PM MDT
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  • 14795
    What happens when it hits a Fan....If I was that Fan at a concert or other other such gatherings ,I wouldn't be best pleased....:( 
      March 11, 2020 1:47 AM MDT
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  • 16777
    Language. Animals do communicate, but only H. Sapiens has what could properly be called  "languages".
      March 10, 2020 6:47 PM MDT
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  • 7404
    Good, thank you. 
      March 10, 2020 7:24 PM MDT
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  • 5391
    Humans alone have opposable thumbs, superstitions, agriculture, writing, government, logic and reasoning faculties, commerce and trade, and mass communication over time and great distances; we alone can use fire, and make things of metal, domesticate other species, recount the past, contemplate the future, consider the universe, use countless tools and weapons of our own design, build machines and skyscrapers, create art and music, compete in sport; and we alone have lived in and traveled to every place and environment on the planet, any of which we can manipulate to our advantage, and which we alone also possess the power to destroy.

    Humans are also the only earthly species ever to be cognizant of its own fate, and capable of its own destruction. This post was edited by Don Barzini at March 11, 2020 8:27 AM MDT
      March 10, 2020 7:36 PM MDT
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  • 7404
    Great list, thank you :) 
      March 10, 2020 7:38 PM MDT
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  • 14795
    What about Lemmings ? 
      March 11, 2020 1:48 AM MDT
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  • 5391
    No, I don’t count the Religious Right Wing... This post was edited by Don Barzini at March 11, 2020 10:47 AM MDT
      March 11, 2020 5:09 AM MDT
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  • 16777
    Ants domesticate aphids, all primates have opposable thumbs. Cetaceans are exquisite musicians, as are nightingales.
      March 11, 2020 2:00 AM MDT
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  • 4624
    I agree with most of your examples, but disagree with some.

    The species of "primates with fully opposable thumbs include the Great apes (humans, chimpanzees, gorillas, and orangutans) and Old World monkeys (those native to Asia and Africa) such as baboons and Colobus monkeys. A fourth group of monkeys have comparatively long opposable thumbs." - https://untamedscience.com/order/primates/

    Ants farm fungi in their nests as a source of food.

    Symbiotic relationships could be regarded as form of trade.

    Some species of termites build skyscrapers (relative to the insects' size) with deep basements.
    Amitermes meridionalis builds mounds  up to 4 m (13 ft) tall, 2.5 m (8 ft 2 in) wide and 1 m (3 ft 3 in) deep.
    Soldiers are 4 - 6 mm (0.16 - 0.24 in) long, workers smaller. Each mound houses over a million individuals.
    Proportionate to their size, the termites' feat is far greater than the skyscrapers of humans. Despite the extremes of the arid climate, the internal temperature remains the same all year round without the use of electricity for air-conditioning.

    Flickr - brewbooks - Magnetic Termite mound - Litchfield National Park.jpg Mound of the magnetic termite

    Some birds use fire. In Australia, “firehawk” is a generic term for either a Black Kite (Milvus migrans), Whistling Kite (Haliastur sphenurus), or Brown Falcon (Falco berigora). Aborigines knew that these species of birds would pick up burning sticks from their cool grass fires (traditional management of grazing areas for wallabies, kangaroos and other marsupials), carry the burning sticks to new areas, and drop them there to start new fires.The new fires enabled the birds to easily catch prey as it ran away. Aboriginal lore incorporates this observation into their teaching stories.
    National Parks Rangers and zoologists have been out on the cool-burns with Aborigines to observe and film the behaviour. It was found that the birds knew what they were doing.
    Researchers from Australia, Pennsylvania State University, and the University of Arizona, through extensive interviews and ethnographic study have now documented anecdotes about the fire-spreading behavior of these birds in the Journal of Ethnobiology.


    This post was edited by inky at March 11, 2020 10:47 AM MDT
      March 11, 2020 3:55 AM MDT
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  • 5391

    Hoo rah. I like making people think, so I stuck some things in there strategically for the sake of debate. While you and the others are absolutely correct in singling out this or that ability (proves that we’re paying attention), when read as a complete resume’, we alone can claim all or any combination on these qualities. The research you present is terrific. Kudos.

    Some particulars in my points:
    We alone farm more than one species of plant and only we raise other animals for food. 

    Our skyscrapers are built of multiple, non-local materials.

    We compose music, and generate our own fire. 

    This post was edited by Don Barzini at March 11, 2020 8:17 PM MDT
      March 11, 2020 4:54 AM MDT
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  • 4624
    All these points accepted.

    But I think there's another factor worth pointing out.

    Quite often humans get their ideas from nature.
    The invention of Velcro was triggered by observing how hairy leaves stick to things.
    Mudwasps build their nests from clay. People in dry climates build their houses from mudbrick and pisé-de-terre.

    Or we may invent things, and later discover that nature has made use of the same forces for ages -
    Some eels can stun their prey with an electric charge. We've only recently invented tasers.
    Deep marine life is often phosphorescent. How long did we take to invent phosphorescent paints and fabrics?
    The deep-sea anglerfish uses light as a lure. Its created by bioluminescent bacteria that live inside the angler. It drifts through the water, flashing its beacon. Waiting for another fish to take the bait.

    Angler Fish luring its prey Scary Ocean, Scary Fish, Ocean Life Tattoos, Deep Sea Creatures, Angler Fish, Underwater Creatures, Oceans Of The World, Deep Sea Fishing, Sea Monsters

    Mudwasps build their nests from clay. People in dry climates build their houses from mudbrick and pisé-de-terre.

    While it's true that humans are the most resourceful, adaptable and creative, we also have a tendency to be arrogant about ourselves as a species.
    I think it's worthwhile never to take the natural world for granted.
      March 11, 2020 8:29 PM MDT
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  • 5391

    Absolutely. The natural world presents boundless resources for our ideas and advantage. Though much has been lost before we could fully understand the value of preserving the earth’s bounty. 
    Would that our knowledge had evolved at a much earlier point in our history, instead of wasting the potential of hundreds of generations in petty conflicts over power, money, xenophobia, and enforced superstitions. Not to mention the uncountable resources squandered. 

    What poor stewards we have been, and generally still are. 

      March 11, 2020 9:03 PM MDT
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  • 11107
    This is a real scientific difference - every human ever born and every human that will be born was/will be born with natural traces of THC in their system but there is no other animal or creature on earth (that scientist no of) that was born or will be born with natural traces of THC in their system. Cheers! 
      March 10, 2020 7:42 PM MDT
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  • 4624
    Didn't know that! :)
      March 11, 2020 3:25 AM MDT
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  • 11107
    Ya I find it very interesting. A Rasta will tell you that Jah (God) gave ganja to man as a gift. When I first heard that I thought - ya right go smoke another one. But now that I heard about the natural THC that humans have in their system I wonder if there is something to it and if the gift was given when humans were first created. Cheers! 
      March 11, 2020 5:36 PM MDT
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  • 5391
    Maybe consider that our distant ancestors were herbivores, and Mari-j is a weed that grows free on every inhabitable continent ... just sayin’. 
      March 11, 2020 8:35 PM MDT
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  • 11107

    Ya I have wondered about things like that too. Cheers!

      March 11, 2020 8:53 PM MDT
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