Carnivore Minds by G A Bradshaw ****

For years, no… centuries, scientists were cautioned not to anthropomorphize animals. All animal emotions or personalities were assumed to be projections by the observer. In Carnivore Minds by G A Bradshaw, the author presents both neuroscience research and field observations to overturn this assumption. The result is compelling and eye-opening.

“The main purpose of this book has been to close the chapter on speculation about whether or not animals can feel, think, and suffer, and to move our own species into action—to compel scientists and non-scientists alike to openly accept that we are kin with the finned, feathered, furred, and scaled.”

In addition to discussions of vertebrate neuroanatomy, psychology, and sociology, the book includes many interesting facts.

“[Chilean sea bass do] not require hemoglobin, because southern polar waters are highly oxygenated: [they] absorb oxygen directly through their skin”

In avian respiration, the air flow through their “lungs” is one directional (similar to gills) which is more efficient than mammalian lungs.

Sharks experience tonic immobility (are temporarily paralyzed) when turned upside down. Orcas take advantage of this when they hunt great white sharks.

This book has chapters on white sharks, grizzly bears, orcas, crocodiles, rattlesnakes, pumas, and coyotes. All with anecdotes of very human maternal and communal behavior. After hundreds of pages of anthropomorphizing, the following is not surprising: 

“The carnivore myth is growing thin, and the public shows a weariness for killing. Hunting has lost its appeal.”

The author not only opposes hunting but also zoos, circuses, animal testing, development, raising animals for any reason, animal control, …

Since this was published by a university press, I feel free to ask, what does “no more than at least" mean?

A word of warning: once the floodgates of anthropomorphizing are opened, the result is profoundly disturbing. If animals love their families and have a social structure with morals and cultures, the implications can be deeply upsetting.

Check out https://amazon.com/shop/influencer-20171115075 for book recommendations.