January 07 Commentary Available
Pandas, Manatees, and Companion Animals: Peas Caught in a Human Pod
One of the things I love about teaching animal behavior is seeing how fundamental concepts that apply to wild animals play out in the human-companion animal realm. For example, as part of my animal behavior course, students must prepare a written report and do an oral presentation on an endangered species. As I read these reports and listened to these presentations, the same reason for a species’ dire condition was cited time and time again: human encroachment and habitat destruction. With each repetition, I couldn’t help but see similarities between this and the way we relate to companion animals. That led to the obvious question: Would these lead to endangerment in those species, too?
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