"When Elephants Weep"

The authors propose that the attitude of scientists may have developed with the advent of laboratory studies on animals in the 1960s. Scientists needed to believe that animals were different from humans and did not have the same emotions, particularly in response to pain, so that they could justify often painful experiments which they carried out on animals (xx). This need to keep a distance between animals and man led to not only believing animals did not feel pain as we do, but also denied them higher emotions such as love, compassion, altruism, disappointment and nostalgia (xx).

Behaviorists, zoologists and ethologists shy away from the term, and try to explain away animals emotions as "instinctive behaviors", "survival tactics" and other such phrases to avoid being accused of anthropomorphism (xviii). Even the public relations direct

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t, feetfirst, on their backs and on their stomachs. Tiger cubs and leopards jump off branches into water over and over. In humans, parental attention to their offspring is considered due to love, but in animals it is often considered a survival mechanism, guaranteeing survival of the species. Crocodiles guard their eggs, and gently carry the young to the water in their mouths when they hatch without harming them. However, turtles lay their eggs in the sand and never return to the site (67). Mother wolf spiders tend their eggs and carry their young on their backs. The authors report of a trap-door spider who was placed in a jar of alcohol. After the scientist thought the spider was dead, he dropped in her 24 babies into the jar. The mother spider reached out her legs and drew the babies to her and held them until she died (67-68). Animals who live in groups often adopt the offspring of dead group members. Even rats show an endless capacity to adopt abandoned offspring (69). Many animals will risk death to defend their young. A cat who had never encountered water before, jumped into a swimming pool to save her kittens (71). Fatherly love has also been demonstrated among animals (71). On the other hand, Nubian
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Some common words found in the essay are:
Jane Goodall, Susan McCarthy, Sea World, San Diego, Masson McCarthy, observed animals, survival mechanism, elephants weep, animals emotions, , emotion joy, types emotions, species males, animal emotions, animals express, sea world, Doubleday Dell,
Approximate Word count = 1709
Approximate Pages = 7 (250 words per page)

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