Name an animal (or several) you like and mention why you like it. No wrong answers!
I love Australian Magpies. They’re smart, cheeky and have a lovely singing voice. I have a family that I’ve watched change over the years, they have babies, some die, some leave and some come back. They visit nearly every day.
My father rescued a baby magpie from a dog and it visited him for years. It would sit on his shoulder while he did yard work.
I’ll just leave this here
Crows. They’re incredibly intelligent and seem to have settled on using that intelligence almost solely to be little mischief gremlins. They’re the only kind of bird that seems to understand that my cat can’t get to them through the window. I watch them work in pairs to steal food from seagulls - one goes in for an obvious attempt, all the seagulls chase it off, the other grabs a bite while the gulls are distracted, and then they swap roles. I’ve even seen one actively dipping chips (fries) into a pot of ketchup. In winter you can very occasionally spot them playing in the snow. They’ll intentionally slide down a snowy car windshield or roof, then fly back up to the top to do it again.
I volunteered at a greyhound rescue shelter for a little while, there was a rook (very close relative to crows, distinguishable by their paler beaks). He had been hit by a car years beforehand and the owners of the shelter found him at the side of the road. They took him to a vet, who had to amputate one of his wings, so obviously he couldn’t live wild any more.he was instead having a comfy life hanging out at the shelter. Totally unafraid of the humans or the dogs. When I sat down to have my lunch next to him he would yell at me to share a biscuit with him.
Crows are so badass. They mess with shitty species like seagulls and blue jays while leaving alone other animals and birds. I once watched a group of crows chase away a blue jay that was harassing a squirrel who was trying to eat some treats it was given by a neighbor. The crows didn’t even take the squirrels treats either. Just chased the jay out and then stood around on fences and trees while the squirrel came out of hiding again to eat. Just incredible!
Tortoises.
Live for a hundred+ years, and they just kinda vibe on land and do things at their own pace. They’re the turtles who don’t need water. And when you present them with food, they go to town and are single-minded. I can relate to all of that.
Tigers. Because tigers. You don’t need a reason, just look at them.
Chickens. Mine in particular, but that’s given me an affection for others. They’re about as dumb as bricks, particularly the roosters, but they manage to be endearing anyway. My hen cuddles with me ffs, how can you not like a critter that cuddles?
The rooster, not so much cuddly. But that pea brained dipshit fought off a coyote, a pit bull, a raccoon, and a possum (though, tbh, the possum wasn’t fighting, it was just in the wrong place at the wrong time). My dude put his ass on the line literally to protect his flock of two. Lost tail feathers and neck feathers to the pit bull, but ran the damn thing off before I could get a clear shot. Same with the coyote, I come running and grab a rifle, but by the time I hit the yard, that coyote was scrambling to get under the fence and away from a furious rooster that was going so hard at the coyote’s ass he broke a spur off.
How can you not like a bird that damn crazy and tough? He can hump my shoe all he wants. And he does. Daily. And I still like the bugger :)
I’m also inordinately fond of dogs. For all the usual reasons. As much as I love my birds, if I could still take proper care of a dog, I’d have one. I just can’t, and I love them enough to not have one I can’t do right by. That ain’t the way it works, or it shouldn’t be.
Hell, I could keep on listing. There really isn’t an animal I don’t like, and there’s a ton I specifically like a lot.
Armadillo, my spirit animal, the embodiment of “please leave me alone”. And depend on mood, Porcupine, the embodiment of “PLEASE DON’T TALK TO ME”.
