Animal Memory

[DukeP]

Hope it wasn't a Camel Toad that detested you so..

Hehehe. Nope. It was a particular huge and old toad, that I used to demonstrate the synaptic responses of its kind.
It hated a type of liquorice, but when I dragged it in front of it, it fired its attack instincts. So I could sort of corner the beast (it weighed about 11 kilograms) with this piece of liquorice, making it catch it with its tongue and then imidiately spit it out again.

Very nice experiment, that worked every time. No wonder the toad hated me.

~~DukeP~~

[Tjalfe]

Hehehe. Nope. It was a particular huge and old toad, that I used to demonstrate the synaptic responses of its kind.
It hated a type of liquorice, but when I dragged it in front of it, it fired its attack instincts. So I could sort of corner the beast (it weighed about 11 kilograms) with this piece of liquorice, making it catch it with its tongue and then imidiately spit it out again.

Very nice experiment, that worked every time. No wonder the toad hated me.

~~DukeP~~

What in the world kind of toad reaches 11 kilograms?? .. i googled for largest toads and found only up to 3.3kilograms

[DukeP]

Cane Toad, Bufo marinus Bufonidae.

Its a sad tale, actually. The frog was confiscated in customs, and sent to the university. Since it was considered an official employe, someone had to find work for it. So it became a stable exercise for freshmen, who tested it in various ways, most involving food.

As a result, it grew. Much.

We never new how old it was, but it lived in its pen in the basement for 16 years. It was often visited by students, who always brought it food, of one kind or another (often living). Hence it grew some more.

Eventually it became somewhat famous, since many believed it to be the worlds largest toad.

Fame was its downfall, tho. Someone sneaked into the campus and stole it. One morning, as a professor came to fetch it for some class or other, it was gone.

The crime was never solved, although legend has it that it simply packed up its belongings and migrated to mexico, where it from that time and forward made a living by chasing down and eating chihuahuas.


~~DukeP~~

[Dr Mordrid]

Well...sure, but the "natural" part suggests to me you're saying that one is born with something like this...however I'd suggest it's more in the area of learning/training (yes, yourself, not the animal )

Then explain why it's been so since I was little, and I didn't get my first pet until age 5/6?

IMO just as some humans evolved with the ability to stay awake late into the night in order to be the camp guardians others could have developed with traits that made them better with animals. A useful skill when we became primarily farmers instead of hunter/gatherers.

Dr. Mordrid

[Nowhere]

Getting your first pet marks the first time when you had got in contact with other living beeing?

[KvHagedorn]

I've always been a "dog/animal person"; I like them and it seems to translate (scent, body language etc.) in that I can approach critters that others cannot. Sometimes I don't even have to approch them....they just come up and make "friends".

Our middle son is very annoyed by the fact that his dog Zero (a Jack Russell terrier) likes me better than it does him

Anyone else accept the concept of a "dog/animal person"; one that seems to have a natural and mutual affinity for 'em?

Dr. Mordrid

Thought you hated cats.. what do you do when a cat tries to make friends?

[Dr Mordrid]

Depends on my relationship with the owner

Dr. Mordrid

[Dr Mordrid]

Getting your first pet marks the first time when you had got in contact with other living beeing?

No pets of my own 'til then. With those of others though it was as it was later; instant affinity.

Not so with game/food species though. They were dinner

Dr. Mordrid

[KvHagedorn]

I've never understood why people would hate cats.. unless you got a psycho one that clawed you. There are good eggs and bad eggs with both dogs and cats and I don't generally hate either, but I can say that most cats have a more appealing way of getting attention.. the in-your-face-can't-say-no-slobber-slobber method of dogs can be annoying. Most dogs are more subservient, too, which annoys me somewhat.. just like subservient people annoy me. Some people tend to feel that cats think they are superior to "their" humans, but I don't. It's all a part of their little game, and when they realize you know what their act is all about and you like them anyhow they will be your friend for life.

[Dr Mordrid]

I hate cats because I have a violent allergy to them....one that's unresolved by treatments like bathing the cat with special shampoos etc. Cats and raw carrots are my Kryptonite.

Cook either and I'm fine. Cook them together and it makes a nice stew

Dr. Mordrid

[Jon P. Inghram]

I've tamed a cat that was either feral or had been abused by people: the thing was so jittery at first if you even showed your face at a window it'd run away.

[Brian Ellis]

I like dogs, but am not keen on cats. I detest my neighbour's cats (15 of the buggers) that odoriferously spray OUR garden (not his), that dig up where I have sown some seeds, that leave terrible things to stand in (complete with parasites), that caterwaul day and night and that often send our dog wild with frustration. I don't wish them any harm, but if there were a lightning form of bird flu that instantaneously killed off next door's cats, I would be the first to rejoice.

[GT98]

I like dogs, but am not keen on cats. I detest my neighbour's cats (15 of the buggers) that odoriferously spray OUR garden (not his), that dig up where I have sown some seeds, that leave terrible things to stand in (complete with parasites), that caterwaul day and night and that often send our dog wild with frustration. I don't wish them any harm, but if there were a lightning form of bird flu that instantaneously killed off next door's cats, I would be the first to rejoice.

I'd have to agree with you..I hate irresposible cat owners myself..but they are often like irresposible dog owners also. Blame the owner, not the cat.

[KvHagedorn]

I'd have to agree with you..I hate irresposible cat owners myself..but they are often like irresposible dog owners also. Blame the owner, not the cat.

Bingo! Cats make more noise fighting and screwing, but they are not any real threat to anyone. Way back when I walked a paper route and now when I exercise in the early morning, I had to carry rocks to fend off groups of dogs. Dogs in a pack will track you and wait for an opportunity to be actively agressive. A lot of dog owners are totally clueless as to what a menace their sweet dogs can be when left to roam the neighborhood. That's why dogs can't legally roam free, but cats can.