My apologies for such a late reply to these comments but on returning from my holiday (the one I mentioned in a recent post) just over a week ago, I sucumbed to a flu-like virus. Just what I needed. I’d fully intended to have a fresh post up for you last Thursday as usual, but things never go as smoothly as you’d like, do they?

Lewie - those fin boats make me want to hurl too. I just can’t believe people can treat other creatures with such utter disdain. Horrendous! Yes, you’re right about cuddliness. In fact a charity was recently established just for ‘ugly’ species because they don’t get the same support as tigers and dolphins and what have you. I’ll have to dig out the link.

Thank you, Mike. What a wonderful world it would be if you could develop such senses - as a species, not the odd individual. And such empathy for other species would surely have knock-on benefits for our own. Thanks for sharing.

Not caring and apathy, Denise. They’re the scourge of the modern world that do most of the harm, I think. Thanks for contributing.

tchris, of course, you’re completely right. What would the world be without Art. But then, if Man didn’t exist, who’d miss that Art? Personally, I like guitar music, Monet, and action movies - life would be dreadfully boring without such creations, but life would go on without them. Unfortunately that can’t be said for many of the species that we encounter. If only we could reign in our destructive tendencies.

I’ve quite jealous there, Glenda. I scuba dive but have never seen a shark in the wild. I know Ania would have a heart attack immediately, but I hope my fear would be tinged with curiosity and awe - okay, am I an ideal sucker for a shark snack or what?! Thanks for sharing a lovely little story, Glenda.

Thanks everyone,
Steve

The videos of the shark finning boats make me sick. The sheer volume of sharks that are slaughtered is staggering. Could you imagine if fishermen were doing this to Dolphins (porpoises)? I think the world would be taking more action to stop it if sharks were a bit cuddlier.

Thanks for the informative blog post!

Our species has traded, through evolution, much direct awareness of the vital cognitions we share with others. However, we can return to ourselves through just using our own senses, discovering the real bases of communication.

This is a magnificent article, and I hope it leads each of us readers to ourselves awaken and recognize that other beings are awake, and not automatons.

Ciao,
Enzo Ferrari

OK, I just had to say that… I don’t know *how* to make this change either, maybe someone out there does?

Humans scare me alot more than sharks ever will.

Thanks for your kind words. I’m glad you found the post an interesting read and liked how I teased out the answer. Baddies and loud noises? Yep, that’s one reason. Plus, as I and many people commenting on here have said before - general apathy. As Brennan and Jillyanne have pointed out recently - all it takes for evil to triumph is for good people to do nothing. Should be one of the first sentences school kids learn to write! Raising awarenss is one way of dealing with apathy, as is making you voice heard, as I talked about recently. Let’s hope it works, huh?

Have a great weekend,
Steve

Instead we’re killing the planet. And for what? Well, what better example could there be than to make a soup that has no taste!? Absolutely unbelievable. Doesn’t that just say everything!

Thanks for your kind words, too, Mapa. I’m pleased you like my blog.

Thanks for commenting. Have a great weekend,
Steve