Actually Humans act very much like other mammals. "Playing" is part of the
system and it is used to learn skills. All mammals have a cortex and depend
to some degree or another on learning. Mammals nurture their young, care
for other's young, will kill under various circumstances, have wide variance
in personality and behavior, etc.. I believe it was Jane Goodall that
observed a young chimp making friends with a monkey (different species).
Another chimp in the troop with a rather unpleasant personality then killed
the "friend" and ate it. We humans do not have a monopoly on either our
best or our worse personality traits.

What greatly disturbs me is that we are wiping out habitat at the rate the
land mass of a small city every single day. We push wildlife out of their
homes and then complain when they seek refuge in "our" territory. I may
bitch when the kingfisher swoops down and eats my favorite comet but I
appreciate its right to do so. That doesn't mean that I don't build my pond
in a manner (steep sides and deep) to keep the raccoons from tearing it
apart or that I don't wave the heron perching in the tree away after
enjoying its beauty.
DK


"Hank Pagel" wrote in message
...
I have come to the conclusion that raccoons are picking up bad habits
from humans.
This is the third time this year that I have found a
disemboweled bull frog on my deck when I came out in the morning. I
would not mind as much if they were eaten, that's nature. But to kill
for the hell of it, that's human nature.
Plants are trashed, rocks moved but no fish harmed. They are
not even frightened.(still hand feeding)
Well! The trap is set again. This will be #4 this year. I
think I will just leave it set all year.