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" Perhaps the most amazing practitioner of echolocation among humans is Daniel Kish, blind since he was one year old, who early in life discovered that making clicking noises helped him get around. Much of his brain must be reassigned to sound, because he uses his own clicks to navigate. He can ride a bicycle in traffic (hard to imagine), and he has founded World Access for the Blind to teach other blind people to use their own sonar—to summon, as it were, their inner dolphin. Sounds from his tongue clicks, he explains, “bounce off surfaces all around and return to my ears as faint echoes. My brain processes the echoes into dynamic images.… I construct a three-dimensional image of my surroundings for hundreds of feet in every direction. Up close, I can detect a pole an inch thick. At 15 feet, I recognize cars and bushes. Houses come into focus at 150 feet.” This is all so hard to imagine, people have wondered if he is telling the truth. But he’s not alone, and his claims appear to check out. He says, “Many students are surprised how quickly results come. I believe echolocation capacity is latent within us.… The neural hardware seems to be there; I’ve developed ways to activate it. Vision isn’t in the eyes; it’s in the mind.” So, is it possible that a dolphin such as a killer whale might actually see the echoes? "
― Carl Safina , Beyond Words: What Animals Think and Feel
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" Native hunters have sometimes had a more sensible, more spiritual, closer-to-truth view of wolves (and other predators, including lions and tigers). Recently, Native American groups have tried to block the opening of wolf hunts. When Wisconsin opened hunting for wolves in 2012, Mike Wiggins, chairman of the Bad River Ojibwe Tribe, responded, “Is nothing sacred anymore?” Ma’iingan, the wolf, is sacred to the Ojibwe. “Killing a wolf is like killing a brother,” said tribal member Essie Leoso. "
― Carl Safina , Beyond Words: What Animals Think and Feel
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" Does my dog love me, or does he just want a treat?” A professor who is an expert in climate change—not dogs—recently asked me that question. I’ve often asked it myself. Short answer: your dog really does love you. Part of the reason is: because you are kind. If you were abusive, your dog would fear you. And they might still love you, out of duty or need—not so different from many people trapped in abusive relationships. But to answer the question directly: what we know about dogs’ brains, their brain chemistry, and the changes to their brains caused by domestication tells us that yes, your dog loves you. A dog’s ability to feel love for humans comes partly from the love wolves have for wolves, partly from the genetic changes of their domesticated ancestry. In dogs, we’ve bred the people we wish we could be: loyal, hardworking, watchful, fiercely protective, intuitive, sensitive, affectionate, helpful to those in need. No matter how they originated, their feelings are real to them. Your dog genuinely loves you, as you, in your domesticated state, activating the deep, old parts of your brain, love your dog. "
― Carl Safina , Beyond Words: What Animals Think and Feel
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" Nie wiadomo, co myśli pies. Chyba że akurat wiadomo. Oboje wiecie, że zaraz pójdziecie na spacer albo wejdziecie do auta; oboje wiecie, że psu zaraz dostaną się resztki. Faktycznie przez większość czasu nie wiem, co zwierzak myśli. Przez większość czasu nie wiem też, co myśli moja żona, jak bardzo mnie kocha ani co by chciała na kolację. Może mi to powiedzieć albo pokazać. Miłość i kolacja to również psie sprawy, ale ich możliwość opowiadania o nich jest ograniczona. Zdolność okazywania odrobinę lepsza. Ale tak czy inaczej, myślą to, co myślą. Posiadamy jednak wspólną walutę, te kilka słów i gestów, zaufanie i uczucia, wystarczające do wspólnego życia. "
― Carl Safina , Beyond Words: What Animals Think and Feel
