INTERCONNECTEDNESS BETWEEN HUMANS AND ANIMALS

 Consider the genetic similarities between animals and humans. Aeoxyribonucleic acid, otherwise known as DNA, is a molecule that carries the genetic instructions for the development, functioning, and reproduction of all living organisms. Animals and humans share nearly identical DNA genetic instructions. For example, the DNA of humans and dolphins are 99 percent identical. Humans and chimpanzees, gorillas and orangutans are 98 percent identical. Humans and pigs, 98 percent. Humans and mice, 97 percent. Humans and cats, 90 percent. Humans and dogs, 84 percent. Humans and cows, 80 percent. Humans and chickens, 75 percent. Humans and fish, 70 percent. Even a tiny worm and fruit fly shares 60 percent of their DNA with humans.

  Consider the physical bodies of humans and animals. Animals may be classified as meat eaters, known as carnivores, which include lions, tigers, bears, dogs, and cats, and vegetarians, known as herbivores, which include horses, cows, pigs, deer, sheep, and elephants. The physical structure of the human body is almost identical to herbivores. Humans and herbivores have intestines that are many times the length of their bodies, unlike carnivores whose intestines are the same length as their bodies. Humans and herbivores sweat through their external skin, unlike carnivores who sweat through their mouths. Humans and herbivores have jaws and teeth that can move sideways, unlike carnivores that have locked jaws that only move up and down. Humans have thirty-two teeth consisting of thirty flat teeth, known as molars and incisors, but only two sharp teeth, known as canines. Herbivores also have way more flat teeth than sharp teeth, unlike carnivores that have way more sharp teeth than flat teeth, and their sharp teeth are much longer than humans. Finally, newborn human babies, unlike adults, cannot eat meat, such as steak, pork, and lamb, until they’re approximately six months old, because they’re not born with a sufficient amount of hydrochloric acid to digest meat.    

   Consider the physical superiority of some animals over humans. Many fish, such as carp, can live over 200 years.  Cheetahs can run 60 mph. Eagles and hawks, besides having the miraculous ability to fly, can see up to 8 times better than humans. Dogs can hear sounds at a much higher frequency, and up to 4 times farther away, than humans. Bloodhounds’ sense of smell is 100 million times more sensitive than humans. Sharks feel magnetic fields. Turtles sense electricity. Bees see ultra-violet radiation. Elephants sense a lack of salt in their bodies in the same way humans feel thirsty. Woolly spider monkeys eat certain plants for birth control. Parrots eat specific clays to cure poison.

     Consider the intellectual superiority of some animals over humans. Chimpanzees remember images and numbers better humans. Cats have short-term memories at least 10 times longer than humans. Elephants have better memories of their childhood experiences than humans. Crows remember shapes better than humans and can unlock doors and find hidden objects based on a single observation, outperforming many humans. Pigeons easily outdo humans with both visual searching and geometric recognition. Bees actually know the exact time of day. Ants can quickly and accurately estimate enormous numbers of enemy ants. For thousands of years, humans have recorded dolphins guiding sailors lost at sea, and through rough water, and rescuing humans from sharks.

     Consider the emotions of animals that are similar to humans. Anyone who owns a house pet, such as a dog or cat, knows their pet experiences desire, excitement, happiness, affection, sadness, fear, embarrassment, and many other emotions. Dolphin mothers display emotional grief when their infants die. Chimpanzees and gorillas comfort each other after enemy attacks, and also enjoy laughter. They often laugh at humorous situations, such as when another clumsy chimp or ape embarrasses itself,  or when  they tickle and tease one another. Apes will adopt other orphaned apes, and they display jealousy of parental attention between siblings. Dogs and cats routinely cuddle with their owner when the owner displays sadness or cries. Dogs will wait days outside a hospital for their owner and lay for hours at the gravesite of their deceased owner. Bored octopuses exhibit depression. Reptiles display curiosity. Scientists have even discovered rats smiling in their cages, and mice making facial grimaces when exposed to pain.

     Consider the verbal language skills of animals. Chimpanzees, whales, dolphins, squid, and birds use distinct verbal words to identify family members, objects, and actions. Chimpanzees communicate with one another by using their hands and fingers to form over 100 sign words. In fact, an anthropologist taught a female chimpanzee named ‘Washoe’ over 350 American sign language words. Washoe often combined these words to form new words and sentences. Washoe could even relate emotional ideas to novel situations. When her human instructor explained a long absence from Washoe by signing, ‘My baby died,’ Washoe looked down for a moment before signing, ‘cry,’ and then touched her instructor’s cheek.      

  Consider the self-awareness of animals. Many animals, just like  humans, have a physical awareness of themselves. How do we know? Many animals pass the so-called ‘mirror test.’ Such animals react positively and negatively upon seeing their image in a mirror, including apes, monkeys, elephants, pandas, orcas, dolphins, sea lions, manta rays, magpies, and even ants. In one experiment, scientists placed a physical marking upon a magpie bird’s head, and after looking into the mirror, the magpie reached for its head with its foot to remove the mark. In comparison, human children do not pass this mirror test until the age of 18 months old.

 Consider the cultural similarities between humans and animals. For centuries, anthropologists believed that only humans use ‘tools.’ We now know that many animals use tools, such as apes, monkeys, elephants, crows, ravens, dolphins, and even octopuses. Chimpanzees use stones as hammers and anvils, make spears from tree branches to hunt and kill prey, insert sticks into ant holes to retrieve a meal, and wash potatoes in waterways. Gorillas use walking sticks. Ravens make their own toys. Seagulls use bait to catch fish. Dolphins use seashells to catch fish. Octopuses use coconut shells as shelter.

  All of the forgoing comparisons between humans and animals remind me of what Henry David Thoreau once said, ‘I  have no doubt that it is a part of the destiny of the human race, in its gradual improvement, to leave off eating animals, as surely as savage tribes have left off eating each other when they came in contact with the more civilized.’  

  All of the forgoing comparisons between humans and animals also remind me of an incredible event experienced by one of my best friends. He and his family lived in Monterey, California. They often enjoyed snow skiing trips at Lake Tahoe, over 300 miles away from their home. For such trip, they brought along their pet dog named ‘Barney,’ a miniature black poodle. While the family was skiing, Barney somehow escaped from their Lake Tahoe cabin. The family searched everywhere, but to no avail. Barney had vanished. The family eventually drove home without Barney. Two years later, my friend heard scratching noises at the front door of his family’s Monterey home. When he opened the door, a miniature black poodle with filthy and entangled long hair leaped into his arms. He turned the poodle over onto its back and could not believe what he saw. There it was, in all its splendor and glory, the scar on its belly from a prior surgery while living with its family in Monterey. It was Barney!”