There are two supreme predators on the planet with the most complex brains in nature: humans and orcas. In the twentieth century alone, one of these animals killed 200 million members of its own species, the other has killed none.

Jeffrey Masson
http://www.jeffreymasson.com/beasts/

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Prologue: Searching the Heart of the Other

“The Indian elephant is said sometimes to weep.”
CHARLES DARWIN​

Animals cry. At least, they vocalize pain or distress, and in many cases seem to call for help.

Most people believe, therefore, that animals can be unhappy and also that they have such primal feelings as happiness, anger, and fear. The ordinary layperson readily believes that his dog, her cat, their parrot or horse, feels.

They not only believe it but have constant evidence of it before their eyes. All of us have extraordinary stories of animals we know well.

But there is a tremendous gap between the commonsense viewpoint and that of official science on this subject. By dint of rigorous training and great efforts of the mind, most modern scientists—especially those who study the behavior of animals—have succeeded in becoming almost blind to these matters.

When Elephants Weep
The Emotional Lives of Animals
http://www.jeffreymasson.com/books/when-elephants-weep.html

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Opinion: Killing Thousands of Flying Foxes Only Hurts the Environment

A plan to cull bats on the Indian Ocean island of Mauritius could make flooding there even worse and cause other problems, two scientists argue.
By Paul A. Racey and Rodrigo A. Medellín,

National Geographic

PUBLISHED November 11, 2015
http://news.nationalgeographic.com/...us-flying-foxes-animals-science-conservation/

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