PECKING ORDER?

"The wolf also shall dwell with the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the kid; and the calf and the young lion and the fatling together; and a little child shall lead them." - Isaiah 11:6


The Biblical reference obviously refers to the millennial reign of Christ on earth. Which I certainly believe will occur...but we ain't in that just yet.

There is an article in the UK Telegraph that caught my interest, but I'm just now getting to it.

Prof Marc Bekoff, an ecologist at University of Colorado, Boulder, believes that morals are "hard-wired" into the brains of all mammals and provide the "social glue" that allow often aggressive and competitive animals to live together in groups.

It seems that this professor has written a book, backed up by a good bit of research, that suggests that humans are not the only mammals with a sense of morality. He puts forth examples of apes helping each other out, and wolves, bats, whales, dogs, etc. that seem to be good evidence that animals might be closer to humans that we have thought up to now.

Now, let me get this started by saying that I love animals. And The Mrs. ...well, she really loves animals! She's got "Animal Planet" on speed remote. There are some animals I don't care for at all, but on balance, I'd call myself an animal lover...or at least an animal tolerator (is that a word?). And, I will also say that I'm sure this ecologist dude has WAY more experience observing animals than I do...so I'm not speaking as even an imaginary expert.

Over the years I have observed some communal living by animals...with their own kind, and with others. There are a thousand videos out there on the world wide computer of dog & cat friends, lion & dog buddies, the elephant & the dog, and that WOW yet sad video from Brazil (I think) where one dog ventures out into high-speed traffic and drags his fallen pal off the highway.

I will not discount this fellow's research, or say that it has no merit. I know that dogs feel loneliness when their Master is away...and fear certain characteristics in humans. I'm not sure if it is because of centuries of domestication, or would exist otherwise. I don't know if I would call what I've seen "morality," but we're talking semantics, and when you start that you always fall off a cliff.

The article raises more questions in my mind than it answers. It is good food for chewing on. We all have our own experiences with animals...domesticated & wild. Just thought I'd throw y'all a bone to chew on.