Animal Wisdom: Connecting People and Animals

A blog encouraging deeper relations between people and animals.

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Warm-Blooded Ones: Friendship and Nourishment

Warm-blooded Ones live on the land, fly in the air, and swim in the sea. What makes these animals unique is that they have a constant body temperature. This enables them to live in cold, hot, and temperate areas. Warm-blooded Ones also give birth to live young (except for the platypus and echidna, who lay eggs). However, all Warm-blooded Ones nourish their children with milk. Their other defining characteristic is that they have hair; even whales sport one or two hairs.

Of all the animal groups, most people feel the closest to the Warm-blooded Ones. People have a natural kinship with these animals, since as humans, we are fellow mammals. Warm-blooded Ones live invited in people’s homes as companions and members of the family. They are raised by people for food, clothing, and shelter. People have been nourished by their friendship with Warm-blooded Ones for ages.

Because people feel such a kinship, they often focus on particular Warm-blooded Ones. Usually domesticated animals and their wild relatives are preferred. Witness how many people claim the wolf as their major or only animal teacher, followed by the dog. The same goes for cats and their wild relatives.

Meanwhile, ancient clan totems include the dolphin. Regarding these sea mammals to be ancestors, ancient peoples viewed their lives as being intertwined. Many people today have a close affinity to these animals. They derive their strength and knowledge from these particular animal teachers.

Remember that not all members of a particular group or family are alike. For example, all squirrels have bushy tails, but not all are as social as the prairie dog, who lives in towns. The grey squirrel prefers the company of a few friends, while the cape ground squirrel lives in single-sex groups. Therefore, learn about each individual species for that they have to teach as well as the general grouping such as “squirrel.”

Warm-blooded Ones encompass many groups of animals that few people think about. There is such a great range of mammals to explore and learn from. Some like the quokka of Australia are relatively unknown outside of Australia. Others such as the sloth or the domestic pig seem unexciting to people. They are simply not as charismatic as the wolf or the horse.

Then there is the naked mole rat, who is just too weird to be even considered as a mammal, but is. This hairless mammal lives in underground tunnels in an insect-like society. There is a queen naked mole rat, drones, and workers. However, even the naked mole rat offers, in their own way, friendship and nourishment. Something about a pink naked mole rat with buck teeth can be endearing. People can even find friendship and nourishment from these peculiar mammals.

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Virginia Carper, a Roman Polytheist, lives in the Washington D.C. area with her family. She navigates life with a traumatic brain injury which gives her a different view on life. An avid naturalist since childhood, she has a blog called “Nature’s Observations.” Having experienced the animals directly, she teaches on-line classes about the spiritual and natural aspect of animals. She has published articles on her brain injury, Roman polytheism, and working with extinct animals. In addition her writings on animals (including dragons and other mythic creatures) can be purchased her book site, Animal Teachers.  

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