(no subject)

[mamculuna]

In spite of the fact that I've posted in the past using icons of possums, llamas, donkeys, cats, sea turtles, moose and probably others, and in spite of the fact that I love them all, the dolphin's the one I truly identify with. Because they are at home in the salt water, because they leap into the sun and air, because they have a language that's so very different from human language, because they have such graceful lines and such silly faces--I wish I were a dolphin.

Which animal is really you, and why?

Comments

[mrissa.livejournal.com]

I always come out as a lioness on the quizzes for these things, but I think I am a good deal more of a wolf. Not the "lone" variety, either. The pack kind for sure. The kind that plays in the snow with its pack, I think, plays and hunts with the same pack.

[mamculuna.livejournal.com]

Wolves-I really love them, with their wise pale eyes. Esp. since I read the Farley Mowat book about their home life.

[usedtobeljs]

This is an excellent question, and I have absolutely no idea how to answer it. ;-)

Hurrah for your dolphins, though!

[ann1962]

I used to joke that the giraffe was the one that I identified with, but not really. I don't know either. Gorillas and other large primates are the ones I could watch for hours and hours.

The absolute strength of the dolphin is what surprised me about it. We were in the water at Fort Meyers Beach in FL about 15 or 20 ft from shore, not far. And I saw a dolphin swim past us about 6 ft away at a huge rate of speed. I could have touched it almost. I could see the sun shining off of its rippling muscles, the iridescence of the shine was so beautiful. So now when I think of dolphins I think of that moment and that dolphin's incredible strength.

[mamculuna.livejournal.com]

There's probably an animal out there wondering which human it is...

[cactuswatcher.livejournal.com]

I actually saw my first dolphins in SC in Charleston harbor on the way to see Fort Sumter in about 1967. The dolphins, submarines and the Fort made the boat ride very memorable.

[mamculuna.livejournal.com]

Yes, they are amazingly muscular. Some of them here have learned to push fish up onto mud banks and wriggle themselves up after them (and they teach this to other dolphins--it's moving down the coast). Not as graceful as the leap, but very impressively powerful.

[c-mantix.livejournal.com]

Above all things, I don't like to be owned. So, naturally, I'm a cat.

[nobody-.livejournal.com]

I love dolphins too--it's their intelligence and curiosity, as well as their playfulness, that is so fascinating.

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And to answer your question, I guess the animal I identify with the most is the crow--aloof, adaptable, and intelligent.

[mamculuna.livejournal.com]

Ooh, wonderful video! I've heard about that but never seen it! And beautiful shots of them riding the wave in. Thanks for that.

I understand about crows, too--they're amazing birds. I watch them at the beach, outdoing the seagulls every time. Adaptable and intelligent, indeed.

[atpolittlebit.livejournal.com]

I would be an eagle, and soar over the open water.

[wisewoman.livejournal.com]

A bear. I was a bear. I am a bear. I will be a bear.

:o)

[mamculuna.livejournal.com]

I love eagles too, very much. One flew right over my head last time I was at the beach. So majestic.

[mamculuna.livejournal.com]

And a wonderful Wise bear, at that! A golden bear?

[nobody-.livejournal.com]

I think that Planet Earth should be required viewing for all Earth inhabitants! Great documentary. They also captured some wonderful footage of rare river dolphins.

Something that stands out to me about crows is their close relationship with humans. So many species have taken a blow as a result of human activities, but a few species such as crows and coyotes have flourished. Crow behavior is so interesting not just because of their natural intelligence, but also in how they've figured out novel ways to benefit from human activity that are nothing short of brilliant. This is a great example:

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I find crows inspiring because of how their success and behavior shows nature in a different light than the romantic one in which we sometimes perceive it, in which we feel that the Earth judges us for our misdeeds, our pollution and garbage. Our degradation of the environment certainly does have consequences, but nature itself is so indifferent; food chains and animal interrelationships can build off of anything (that's another inspiring thing about the Planet Earth documentary, how it shows how little it often takes for an entire ecosystem and animal community to develop). A crow doesn't give a damn about the unethical nature of the McDonald's corporation; all that matters to a crow is that french fries are good grub. I find this to be an inspiring metaphor for a way of approaching life in which one engages with the environment by finding creative ways to work with it, rather than judging and fighting it. I don't mean to say I don't think we should be socially conscious, but rather that we don't have to see anything we encounter as "garbage."

[wisewoman.livejournal.com]

It does look golden, doesn't it? That is Ursus Kermodeii, the Kermode's Bear, or Spirit Bear. It is usually much whiter-looking. It's actually a white version of a normal Black Bear, and very rare. It is not albino, having normal eye coloring and sight, and breeding true Kermodeii. It occurs only in two places in north-western BC; on the very remote Queen Charlotte Islands, and on the mainland, around Terrace and Smithers. It's become almost a provincial emblem, along with the Orca.

If you are going to be a bear, you should be a very distinctive bear, I think.

;o)