The rock hyrax surprises with syntax skills

[xchrom]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-17729868


The singing creatures are social and live in large groups

The rock hyrax is a surprisingly sophisticated communicator, a study published in a Royal Society journal suggests.

The small mammal is extremely vocal: males sing complex songs that can last for several minutes.

But now scientists have discovered that the order of the notes is significant, suggesting that the songs have syntax.

They also found that hyraxes from different regions had a different dialect when they warbled.

[Ian David]

1. Hyrax PWNS Tortoise

&feature=related

[Warren Stupidity]

2. At some point science and ethics converge and it will be time

for ethical enlightened humans to stop participating in the slaughter and consumption of animals that are 'high enough' on the continuum of conscious beings.

I'm thinking now is past that time. Would you eat your dog? Why not?

[Warpy]

4. How do you determine that?

Cows have been found to have a complex social order that is much more complicated than just "milling around in a herd."

Prairie dogs have a language that has been partially interpreted, able to differentiate species, sex, color of clothing, and whether a weapon is present when they call out warnings.

Cats and dogs communicate chemically with each other. We simply have no idea how rich that language can be, it just smells like pee to us.

Birds have been shown to use tools after analyzing problems. Some talking species have been observed putting words into different order to express themselves instead of repeating like feathered tape recorders.

All are self aware, my cat certainly is.

The question is where you are going to draw the line, if you are going to draw one, or whether you simply accept that this is the way our planet works: that most of us must consume other living creatures in order to survive.

[Warren Stupidity]

6. why not eat your neighbors?

[BlancheSplanchnik]

8. well, there's one solution to human overpopulation

[Warpy]

11. This is a poor neighborhood so they'd be tough and stringy.

Besides, I don't want to cost the state any Democratic votes. Yes, my 'hood is a Democratic stronghold.

However, carving up the rich and serving long pig to hungry people sounds like a worthy pursuit. I refer you to a dark British film called "Eat the Rich."

[AlecBGreen]

5. eat MY dog?

no, I have bonded with them and formed attachments. Other dogs? I have and would do so again. The meat is delicious.

[Warren Stupidity]

7. "meat is delicious" does not falsify "ethically impaired decision".

Look I am not saying you do not have a right to kill and eat higher order animals. You do have the legal right to do that. I am saying it is an ethically compromised choice.

[AlecBGreen]

17. then it seems we have a different ethic

Scientifically and spiritually I see nothing wrong with eating animals. Consider the pig I raise: If I were not going to eat it, it never would have been born or it would have been sold to someone who treated it far worse. On my farm it gets nothing but good food, fresh air, sunshine and the occasional belly rub. As someone once said when asked "How can you eat an animal you raised?!" the farmer replied: "My animals have a great life and then one bad day." I agree.

[BlancheSplanchnik]

9. your sigline declares you're religious....very godly, then....

no empathy for creatures you KNOW to have emotion, empathy and can feel pain?

I'm just struck by the inherent contradiction here

[AlecBGreen]

18. see my reply above

I choose to eat meat for a variety of reasons. I do not raise or hunt all my own meat but I am getting to that point. If I am going eat an animal, I want to know 1) how it was raised 2) what it ate and 3) how it died. I want to know this BECAUSE I have empathy for those creatures.

[BlancheSplanchnik]

19. "then it seems we have a different ethic"

I'd say so.


Actually, I'm not a vegetarian, for a variety of reasons. When cruelty-free meat, milk, eggs are available, I buy that--always. I consider the extra expense as a donation for a good cause.

However, I could not kill or condone killing to animals that I am emotionally to. And by extension, other members of their species.

I always thought Jesus's core teaching--for those who seek the core humanism implied by Jesus's behavior, rather than the punitive admonitions of the bible-- was building compassionate bonds of the heart

it seems we have a different ethic

[BlancheSplanchnik]

20. Other dogs.....

you mean other dogs belonging to other people?

Or other dogs, irresponsibly bred and left at shelters?

Or other dogs, irresponsibly bred and abandoned by their ignorant, irresponsible so-called caretakers?

[AlecBGreen]

21. dogs are raised for meat in other countries

thats where I had it and thats where I would eat it again. Not in America; its illegal.

[BlancheSplanchnik]

22. happened in a different country: insulates you nicely from the reality. (**PICS**)

http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/news/3535290/500-dogs-saved-from-slaughter.html[font size=5]
Local media said many of the dogs that were rescued still had collars with bells and name tags, indicating they had been stolen from their owners.[/font]
[font color=blue]what would Jesus do?[/font]


http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/news/3535290/500-dogs-saved-from-slaughter.html
500 dogs saved from slaughter

[font color=blue]what would Jesus do?[/font]

Video: Dogs saved from becoming dinnerSky News HUNDREDS of stolen dogs rescued by 200 brave animal lovers in China See VIDEO at ABOVE LINK

A man spots the truck and takes action to save the dogs from their sure destruction.
In fact, more than 200 HUNDRED people responded to his tweet and ended up blocking the truck with their own cars.
After blocking the truck for more than 15 hours, the truck company decide to release the dogs for $17,000 USD, most of which was donated by a pet products company and a pet charity organization.
Many of the animals were injured, dehydrated, and in pain from a virus with at least 68 hospitalized.
How?
He used Twitter to send out a message, asking anyone who can read this to STOP the truck. http://blog.pawshpal.com/2011/04/21/almost-600-dogs-saved-from-slaughter-in-china/

[font color=blue]what would Jesus do?[/font]



http://blog.pawshpal.com/2011/04/21/almost-600-dogs-saved-from-slaughter-in-china/


Many more articles if you google "China dogs saved&quot warning...google images--pictures)



http://english.cntv.cn/20120117/115522.shtml

[font color=blue]WHAT WOULD JESUS DO?[/font]

[intaglio]

12. A recent TED talk is relevant, I think

Frans de Waal: Moral behavior in animals

[WillParkinson]

15. I tried that argument at work...

Too many people are willing to rationalize their meat-eating to try and make them understand.

Well, OK, I was going to tell a story here, but think I'll just PM it instead.

[Warren Stupidity]

16. I think people do understand, thoughtful people anyway, but they get defensive

because the whole concept challenges their path in life and the choices they have made and are making. I have no idea how to effectively reach people on this issue.

[pscot]

3. Yeah, but can they diagram

a sentence?

[BlancheSplanchnik]

10. heeeee!

"Buffalo-origin bison that other Buffalo bison intimidate, themselves bully Buffalo bison." Translation: "Buffalo-origin bison that other Buffalo bison intimidate, themselves bully Buffalo bison."

[starroute]

13. Hyraxes are one of the closest living relatives of elephants

So they get brownie points for that right off.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rock_Hyrax

The closest living relatives to hyraxes are the modern day elephants and sirenians. ... The head of the rock hyrax is pointed, having a short neck with rounded ears. They have long black whiskers on their muzzles. The rock hyrax has a prominent pair of long, pointed tusk-like upper incisors which are reminiscent of the elephant, to which the hyrax is distantly related.


http://www.awf.org/content/wildlife/detail/hyrax

Hyrax vocalizations include twitters, growls, whistles and shrieks. One group will answer the contact calls of another group. The raucous nocturnal shriek of the tree hyrax is most impressive, starting as a squeak or whistle, then rising to a piglike squeal and finally to a child's scream. Hyraxes do most of their screaming as they ascend or descend trees during the night.

[saras]

14. If you sing, and have a name like hyrax, you really belong in Dr. Seuss...

...or somewhere else.

"Squeeze my lemon, 'til the juice runs down my leg..."

I mean, face it, whale songs were boring. I don't know if it's whale versions of Moby Dick (and I don't mean the Zep tune), or whale versions of new age music, but they just didn't cut it. There's got to be SOME animal that we can translate. And yes, I'm talking cultural appropriation. Big time.