I really am an ailurophile!

Can't help it - I'm watching "Big Cat Diaries" and, as usual, I'm rooting
for the cat and not the poor gazelle! ;

--
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CatNipped
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"CatNipped" wrote in message
...
Can't help it - I'm watching "Big Cat Diaries" and, as usual, I'm rooting
for the cat and not the poor gazelle! ;

--
Hugs,

CatNipped
See all our masters at: http://www.PossiblePlaces.com/CatNipped

See the RPCA FAQ site, by Mark Edwards, at:
http://www.professional-geek.com/rpcablog/

When my son was about 4 or 5, we went to the movies. There was a short that
showed some big cat, I forget what kind, chasing an antelope. My son
shouted out, "Get him!"

Joy

"Joy" wrote in message
. ..
"CatNipped" wrote in message
...
Can't help it - I'm watching "Big Cat Diaries" and, as usual, I'm rooting
for the cat and not the poor gazelle! ;

--
Hugs,

CatNipped
See all our masters at: http://www.PossiblePlaces.com/CatNipped

See the RPCA FAQ site, by Mark Edwards, at:
http://www.professional-geek.com/rpcablog/

When my son was about 4 or 5, we went to the movies. There was a short
that showed some big cat, I forget what kind, chasing an antelope. My son
shouted out, "Get him!"

Joy

LOL! Yeah, I worry about the cats being hungry and having to go to bed
without dinner. ;

--
Hugs,

CatNipped
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See the RPCA FAQ site, by Mark Edwards, at:
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Joy wrote:

"CatNipped" wrote in message

Can't help it - I'm watching "Big Cat Diaries" and, as usual, I'm rooting
for the cat and not the poor gazelle! ;

When my son was about 4 or 5, we went to the movies. There was a short that
showed some big cat, I forget what kind, chasing an antelope. My son
shouted out, "Get him!"

I have to admit that, as much as I love cats, and as beautiful as I think
leopards, cheetahs, lionesses, etc, are, I do actually feel bad for the
gazelle. I mean, the cat's gotta eat, and during a chase, the hunter is
running for its life as much as the prey is. Still, I can't help but
imagine what those teeth and claws must feel like to the animal that's
dying. Some humans have been on the receiving end themselves and lived to
tell the tale - it sounds terrifying. I'm sure it's no less so for the
prey animals, which have as much survival instinct as we do. shudder

Not to get all righteous about it - I eat meat, too. But when I do, I
often feel bad for the animal it once was. Not willing to give it up,
though.

I didn't know Big Cat Diaries was still on! Haven't seen that one in a
while.

Joyce

--
A clean house is a sign of a broken computer.

The one thing I admire about the big cats is that, whenever possible, they
quickly kill their prey before "snacking down". On the other hand, I
*DESPISE* hyenas who will start with a leg and continue to eat as its prey
takes hours to die. OTOH, house cats *do* "play with their food" before
eating it - and actually very often don't even eat what they kill. Does
anyone know of an evolutionary reason why they may do this (i.e. it adds
something to the flesh before it's eaten)?

--
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CatNipped
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See the RPCA FAQ site, by Mark Edwards, at:
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wrote in message
...
Joy wrote:

"CatNipped" wrote in message

Can't help it - I'm watching "Big Cat Diaries" and, as usual, I'm
rooting
for the cat and not the poor gazelle! ;

When my son was about 4 or 5, we went to the movies. There was a short
that
showed some big cat, I forget what kind, chasing an antelope. My son
shouted out, "Get him!"

I have to admit that, as much as I love cats, and as beautiful as I think
leopards, cheetahs, lionesses, etc, are, I do actually feel bad for the
gazelle. I mean, the cat's gotta eat, and during a chase, the hunter is
running for its life as much as the prey is. Still, I can't help but
imagine what those teeth and claws must feel like to the animal that's
dying. Some humans have been on the receiving end themselves and lived to
tell the tale - it sounds terrifying. I'm sure it's no less so for the
prey animals, which have as much survival instinct as we do. shudder

Not to get all righteous about it - I eat meat, too. But when I do, I
often feel bad for the animal it once was. Not willing to give it up,
though.

I didn't know Big Cat Diaries was still on! Haven't seen that one in a
while.

Joyce

--
A clean house is a sign of a broken computer.

On Nov 18, 8:38*pm, "CatNipped" wrote:
The one thing I admire about the big cats is that, whenever possible, they
quickly kill their prey before "snacking down". *On the other hand, I
*DESPISE* hyenas who will start with a leg and continue to eat as its prey
takes hours to die. *OTOH, house cats *do* "play with their food" before
eating it - and actually very often don't even eat what they kill. *Does
anyone know of an evolutionary reason why they may do this (i.e. it adds
something to the flesh before it's eaten)?

Hyenas eat on the run like that largely because of lions. Lions take a
lot of hyena kills and it is important to get some food down before
the heavyweights arrive. Hyenas do take kills from lions fairly often
also but lions can count on eating what they bring down most of the
time. African Wild Dogs have a terrible reputation for eating before
killing and it's largely for the same reason. They can't defend a kill
against most other predators. If a predator kills something small it
will usually die quickly whatever the killer's intentions but
generally only the top tier predator has any leisure about eating.
Leopards have a different solution for the lion problem (also a hyena
and wild dog problem because those can take a leopard's kill too) they
take the kill up a tree.

I always root for the Cape Buffalo myself.

--
Will in New Haven

Jack Campin - bogus address wrote:

We don't have a TV, so I only see bits of it when in pubs,
visiting friends, or on holiday. The only exposure I've
had to this sort of programme was when we were on holiday
in Bosnia this year and the rather posh place we were
staying in (in fact, the poshest place I've ever stayed
in) had a gigantic TV with some of these as options. They
seemed a better bet than most of the alternatives, so we
watched a few. I think they were all American.

I was pretty sickened. These programme-makers seem incapable
of making a programme that isn't about killing things. When
it wasn't fat-cat tourist sport fishermen with more money
than compassion turning the sea into blood, it was carefully
selected footage designed to give the impression that the
whole natural world had the mindset of American militarists.
You never saw a single shot of creatures simply experiencing
pleasure. They could have filmed hippos wallowing, mother
ferrets breastfeeding, gannets courting, centipedes laying
their eggs, slugs choosing the tastiest bits of leaf. But
all we got, for hours, was fangs and pain.

This is not science. It is not reportage. It's raw ideology,
and a revolting one that encodes horrifying intentions towards
human beings.

Thank you. I feel the same way. I don't know which, if any, other
countries do the same, but I do know that American nature shows on
commercial TV stations are exactly as you describe. And I think
your analysis is spot-on, too.

Besides being ideology, it's also entertainment, which tells you
something about what people find entertaining.

Actually, not *all* American nature shows are that bad. One of my
favorites was a segment about cats and tigers mating (er... not *with
each other* - there was one pair of each!). The scenes of the housecats
were intercut with footage of two tigers doing the same. It was edited
so that you could see each phase of the mating session, from seduction,
copulation, the female turning around and whacking the male in the face
at the final moment, to afterwards where the male is lying there looking
proud of himself and the female is squirming around in the grass, ready
for the next bout. It was amazing - the tigers and the housecats did
exactly the same things in every stage of mating.

Anyway, I digress.

Another thing that annoys me about a lot of American shows is how
!!!LOUD!!! they are. This includes nature shows. Why does everything
have to be so hyped up, why do narrators have to yell, why does the
musical score have to be so annoying? (Why does there have to be a
musical score at all?) Of course, this stressful style of television
programming isn't limited to the USA - let's not forget Steve Irwin,
king of noisy narration.

Once in a while I'll see a quiet and peaceful show, with a soft-spoken
narrator, about animals doing ordinary things which may or may not
include killing. I find this extremely relaxing. When this happens
it's almost always a Canadian show.

Joyce

--
If an animal does something, they call it instinct. If we do exactly
the same thing for the same reason, they call it intelligence.
-- Will Cuppy

Will in New Haven wrote:

Hyenas eat on the run like that largely because of lions. Lions take a
lot of hyena kills and it is important to get some food down before
the heavyweights arrive. Hyenas do take kills from lions fairly often
also but lions can count on eating what they bring down most of the
time. African Wild Dogs have a terrible reputation for eating before
killing and it's largely for the same reason. They can't defend a kill
against most other predators. If a predator kills something small it
will usually die quickly whatever the killer's intentions but
generally only the top tier predator has any leisure about eating.
Leopards have a different solution for the lion problem (also a hyena
and wild dog problem because those can take a leopard's kill too) they
take the kill up a tree.

The cheetah gets a really raw deal in this sense. They burn up so much
energy in the chase, and they usually lose most of the kill because they
absolutely can't afford an injury in a fight, so they walk away when
challenged. Speed is their primary skill in hunting. I really fear for
the future of this species.

Joyce


--
If an animal does something, they call it instinct. If we do exactly
the same thing for the same reason, they call it intelligence.
-- Will Cuppy

Sorry, I'm so incredibly sorry I started this thread - I'm bowing out and
hoping this will be forgotten. I just can't deal with this right now.

--
Hugs,

CatNipped
See all our masters at: http://www.PossiblePlaces.com/CatNipped

See the RPCA FAQ site, by Mark Edwards, at:
http://www.professional-geek.com/rpcablog/

"CatNipped" wrote in message
...
Can't help it - I'm watching "Big Cat Diaries" and, as usual, I'm rooting
for the cat and not the poor gazelle! ;

--
Hugs,

CatNipped
See all our masters at: http://www.PossiblePlaces.com/CatNipped

See the RPCA FAQ site, by Mark Edwards, at:
http://www.professional-geek.com/rpcablog/

"CatNipped" wrote in message
...
Sorry, I'm so incredibly sorry I started this thread - I'm bowing out and
hoping this will be forgotten. I just can't deal with this right now.

--
Hugs,

CatNipped
See all our masters at: http://www.PossiblePlaces.com/CatNipped

See the RPCA FAQ site, by Mark Edwards, at:
http://www.professional-geek.com/rpcablog/

"CatNipped" wrote in message
...
Can't help it - I'm watching "Big Cat Diaries" and, as usual, I'm rooting
for the cat and not the poor gazelle! ;

--
Hugs,

CatNipped
See all our masters at: http://www.PossiblePlaces.com/CatNipped

See the RPCA FAQ site, by Mark Edwards, at:
http://www.professional-geek.com/rpcablog/

Why on earth are you sorry? We're all having a good time. We love big cats
as much as we love housecats And yes, we feel sorry for the antelope.
But we have to root for the cat. Everyone has to eat.

Jill