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Post by The Curmudgeon on Mar 11, 2008 23:14:24 GMT 2
You know, I'm trying hard to write this question in a style that doesn't make me sound 10 years old. But damn it, I can't do it. So this is what it is - a thread about, sigh, your favourite animal. Now, I would say my favourite everyday animal would be a cat. As we've mentioned before, cats are 100 different kinds of awesome. So what's your favourite exotic animal? I think mine would either be  or  Both are breathtakingly beautiful, fierce and noble looking animals. Whenever there's a documentary on either polar bears or tigers, I always find myself unable to switch off. They're fascinating to watch. So, what's YOUR favourite animal? And remember, this may be the only thread in the entire Fortress of Solitude where the use of the phrase "awwwwwwww" is allowed. |
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Post by Benjamin Haines on Mar 12, 2008 5:51:28 GMT 2
Documentaries about animals interacting in the wild always draw me in after a few seconds of watching. To me the ones that are the most interesting to watch are crocodiles, chimpanzees, and penguins. Crocodiles are endlessly mesmerizing to watch; the haunting tenacity with which they hunt, the unpredictable ways that they interact with one another, and the stark contrast of the tenderness with which they nurture their young.  Whenever animals show signs of intelligence it always intrigues me, so chimpanzees have always been of particular interest to me. I remember watching a special on the Discovery Channel several years ago about two chimps named Keeli and Ivy who were raised in captivity and studied through intimate observation. They taught them how to read some basic words like "banana", "orange", and "grape" by associating them with the items directly. It got to the point where they could sit either of them in front of a touch-screen monitor with nine different fruit names arranged in tic-tac-toe pattern, show them a picture of a fruit, and then the chimp would touch the correct word for it, every time. But that wasn't all. The scientists noticed that whenever they brought a particular fruit into the animal's area, one chimp would see the fruit and then let out a certain call, and then the other chimps would return the call and come out to see the fruit. The thing is, the chimps seemed to have a different call for every fruit. To test it out, they put one of the two trained chimps in front of the monitor with the fruit names and then played a recording of the call that the chimps always made whenever they saw grapes. And sure enough, the chimp immediately responded by touching the word "grape" on the monitor. It showed that chimps actually are capable of developing primitive vocalized language. How cool is that?  Penguins are just amazing for the sheer magnitude of the ritualistic, year-round lengths they go to annually to propagate their species, and all purely out of instinct. I would highly recommend that everybody see the 2005 documentary film March of the Penguins. Absolutely fascinating, and narrated by Morgan Freeman no less.  |
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Post by trashcanman on Mar 15, 2008 11:47:37 GMT 2
For me, primal fear = fascination. Behold!  Like Wu-Tang Clan, Great White Shark ain't nuttin' to fuck wit'!!  I believe I can flyyyyyy!  Fuck you, adorable marine mammals! 'nuff said! |
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Post by The Curmudgeon on Mar 15, 2008 16:54:51 GMT 2
That jumping shark pic can't be real.... can it?
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Post by Benjamin Haines on Mar 15, 2008 18:46:08 GMT 2
That jumping shark pic can't be real.... can it? Very real. You should catch a doc about sharks sometime. You'd be amazed what they can do. |
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Post by trashcanman on Mar 16, 2008 10:55:27 GMT 2
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Post by The Curmudgeon on Mar 16, 2008 11:01:36 GMT 2
Amazing. Absolutely amazing. I don't think there could be anything more truly terrifying than THAT jumping out the water towards you.
Why didn't they put this trait into one of the sharks from Jaws? I would have thought that would be a given. "OK, we're in the helicopter and we're taking off. There's no way he can get us n..........."
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Post by trashcanman on Mar 16, 2008 22:33:04 GMT 2
No. Instead, they opted to do that ridiculous boat-ramming finale in "Jaws: The Revenge".
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Post by The Curmudgeon on Mar 17, 2008 15:49:03 GMT 2
And the roaring shark. How could you forget the roaring shark?
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Post by trashcanman on Mar 18, 2008 10:02:58 GMT 2
God damn that roaring shark. Okay, here's some sweet polar bear stuff. There used to be this show where they would have virtual animal fights where a bunch of zoologists would debate who would win if two animals fought and then create a CG fight based on the decision. One episode was Polar Bear vs. Walrus and I thought "well, how silly is that!". The walrus won. Seriously. So here's what I have to say about that: (note: this link is not for the queasy) youtube.com/watch?v=fR9be__ePOA I wish to God I could find a video of this documentary I saw where a polar bear killed a freakin' narwhal and drug it out of the water. Badass! |
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Isis
Walking Meatloaf
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Post by Isis on May 17, 2008 12:24:34 GMT 2
For me, primal fear = fascination. Behold! Like Wu-Tang Clan, Great White Shark ain't nuttin' to fuck wit'!! I believe I can flyyyyyy! fuck you, adorable marine mammals! 'nuff said! feck it i have quoted you rather than put my own pics up!!! it has to be sharks....amazing creatures i love watching shark week on discovery...... my other favourite animal is my dog!!! here is a pic of him, he is a savage beast, honest.......  |
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Post by The Curmudgeon on May 17, 2008 13:21:46 GMT 2
He looks like a shark is coming straight for him.
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Isis
Walking Meatloaf
Posts: 80
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Post by Isis on May 17, 2008 14:06:50 GMT 2
He looks like a shark is coming straight for him. its does doesnt it......good job we dont get many great whites in Torbay then isnt it ;D |
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Post by The Curmudgeon on May 17, 2008 15:44:38 GMT 2
As much as I love dogs, I really do think I prefer cats. I just think there's something more loveable about them.
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Isis
Walking Meatloaf
Posts: 80
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Post by Isis on May 17, 2008 15:57:10 GMT 2
As much as I love dogs, I really do think I prefer cats. I just think there's something more loveable about them. I was always a cat person, have always had cats, the last one Cleo, she was such a dirty stop out, the slut, always out whoring, came home knocked up twice, but the kittens were lovely and I managed to find good homes for them all..... here is one of the kitties - Bageera, he was a funny little chap, i wanted to keep him.....  but now, i love my dog, he was my late partners dog and he is like a baby - and the most pampered pooch in town, i never thought I would become a dog person, but i have and I get hours of entertainment out of him, he is so stupid! |
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