Zoology

      20 Comments on Zoology
koala on branch, photo from Unsplash!
photo via Unsplash!

Do you have a favorite animal?

I actually find it difficult to answer this question.

There are animals I find fascinating but that I don’t particularly like (alligators, anyone?) and there are animals I’ve had as pets but have found to be gigantic pains in the ass (dogs and cats); there are animals I enjoy seeing while out in nature but that I don’t particularly like when they chomp away at the food I’m trying to grow (deer, much?) and fancy flyers who make for fabulous photos but who drive me crazy when they try to steal my dinner or move into my attic (the bird is the word!).

Imaginary animals… Well, I kinda think unicorns are probably horny pricks. Heh.

Exotics? Not so much my style.

I am a Pisces. Which makes all non-water animals seem a bit fishy.

And my spirit animal is, in all probability, a bear.

THAT SAID…

My favorite animal *might* be a koala bear.

They are soft, grumpy, cuddly curmudgeons. The sleepy-smile look they give from love-me eyes that peer from between fuzzy ears makes them seem approachable but what it actually means is “leave me the fuck alone!” They prefer their own company. They are champion sleepers.

And they live hundreds of thousands of miles away from me. *laugh*

So yeah.

I’m thinking “koala bear” is my answer to that question.

At least for the moment.

You?

This is my final post for this year’s A-to-Z Challenge. While ‘zoology’ is, technically, the study and classification of different types of animals, I figured ‘classifying our favorites’ was a close-enough fit and would be a fitting ending for my Twenty(-six) Questions theme.

🙂

Thank you for joining me in this month-long Question{able} Post fest.

We will now return to our regularly scheduled programming.

© Mrs Fever – Temperature’s Rising

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20 thoughts on “Zoology”

  1. Linda Curry

    Hat is a hard one. I won’t choose koalas because you have taken them for yourself. I’ll say quokka, also known as the short-tailed scrub wallaby. It is about the size of a cat and mainly lives on Rottnest Island, off Perth. It is an endangered species but about 10,000 live on the island. In 1696 William Vlamingh named the island Rottnest as he thought the quokkas were rats.

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    1. Mrs Fever Post author

      Oh, fun!

      I saw wallaby when I visited Australia but hadn’t heard of quokka. (And now I have a Q word for possible future A-to-Z use! *laugh*)

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  2. barbara

    My favorite pets are cats, and tigers are my favorite wild animal. I’ve always known the tiger is my spirit animal, and even according to the Chinese calendar I was born under the sign of the tiger.
    I’ve enjoyed reading your A to Z posts this year! Great job, and congratulations for getting through the whole alphabet! 🙂

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  3. Deborah Weber

    “Soft, grumpy, cuddly curmudgeons” – what a perfect description for the always-adorable koala! I, alas, simply cannot choose a single animal. I’m an equal opportunity lover of elephants, whales, and black panthers/jaguars. I’m not quite sure where I’d have to live in order to have equal access to them all, but in my dreams they have no problems hanging out together.

    I’ve quite enjoyed your “question-able” series, and offer congratulations on a challenge well met.

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    1. Mrs Fever Post author

      I used to collect elephants, and having seen whales up close and personal in the waters around me house, I share your affinity for the those giants of the deep. 🙂

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  4. KDPierre

    Like you, the question begs a qualifier, including one you left out: favorite animal on the menu.

    The sheer diversity of the animal kingdom, despite our best efforts to kill them all off, is mindboggling. To pick one favorite would be like trying to pick a favorite drink or food or color, or whatever. I’ve never been too good at picking favorites from large pools of possibility. (Picking a favorite holiday is easy because there are only a handful to start with…and they are all very different.)

    So I’m just going to say “no, I don’t have a favorite animal” and leave it at that.

    (PS, hearing talk of “spirit animals’ made me grin. Our perceptions of various animals from a strictly human perspective enables us to imbue these creatures with traits we relate to, but how accurate is any of that? We say: “dogs are faithful” (unless they turn and bite you) , “bears are maternally protective” (like no other mammals are?) or worse “owls are wise” (can they do a crossword puzzle?) ? Certainly animals have traits that are natural to their respective species, but how much of all that pertains to us? But I get it. It’s a fun exercise. So, to cast off my crusty shell for a bit, let me claim a spirit animal too. Would the bleached skull of a horned cow out in the desert count? If not how about the rattlesnake living inside? 😉 )

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    1. Mrs Fever Post author

      I am part Kituwah and have a friend who is Mohawk. We have discussed spirit animals a bit in terms of how they become identifiers within those cultures. There are characteristics we imbue… To a degree, yes. It is also about relationships to surroundings though and inter-relationships. The bear and the bat are brothers, for example. They share a cave. How they socialize (or don’t), their methods of attack and retreat, how they rest/revitalize and when, etc… Those things are different, but complementary.

      So when I say my spirit animal is a bear, that’s the context from which that statement comes. 🙂

      As for “favorite animal to eat,” I’m not sure how I’d answer that. I’m a pescatarian (and was a strict veggie before that) so my options are somewhat limited. I once read an article about factory-produced wafer cookies, though, which discussed the percentage of insect parts that make their way into mass-produced baked goods. It hasn’t stopped me from buying cookies but it does make me wonder if “ants” must therefore be my favorite animal to eat. 😉

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  5. Pauleen

    I can’t live without a cat in my home…have loved them all my life. So it’s probably unsurprising that I also love the Big Cats especially tigers, leopards or cheetah. But it was the lion cubs who won my heart in Africa…so sassy. Giraffe are my other favourites.

    Congratulations on completing an intriguing series for A to Z 2022.

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  7. KDaddy23

    I’ve always liked cats, from the domesticated ones to the big ones and if you’ve never heard a tiger purr, well, you should – it is scary cool!

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  8. Lion

    (Obviously) my spirit animal is the lion. I met a few in Africa and they are scary fun. Recent research reveals that their family lives are very different from our traditional “king of beasts” view of them. Check it out. I am allergic to cats and that colors my interest and tolerance of them. I’ve had dogs my entire adult life. They can be frustrating at times, but they are wonderful company. We have a golden retriever puppy who is almost one . We got her when she was only seven weeks old.

    I’m not a fan of “prompts.” If they help you find things to write about, that’s fine. I prefer a less artificial structure.

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  9. Archana

    Dogs and Cats are definitely off my list! I am not sure I really have a favourite animal. Never given it much thought. ummm.. Peacocks are very pretty and majestic and I see them almost daily on my walks. So maybe that bird is among my likes! Congratulations on completing the challenge!!
    Archana recently posted…ReflectionsMy Profile

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  10. Joy Weese Moll

    My favorite animal is the giraffe. For my birthday my senior year in high school, I told my parents that I wanted to see a giraffe because I hadn’t seen one since I was six and I thought that I should go off to college with a more recent memory.

    That led to a trip to the zoo, accompanied by another family with daughters of the right age to be completely charmed with the notion that this trip to the zoo had a specific purpose. The girls bought me a giraffe figurine for my birthday. And that began a collection. I never bought one for myself, but I have many because it was always convenient thing for anyone who didn’t know what to get me.

    Congratulations on completing the A to Z challenge!
    Joy Weese Moll recently posted…All Creatures Great and Small #TVReview #BriFriMy Profile

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    1. Mrs Fever Post author

      Oh, I love that!

      I’m reminded of Agatha Christie’s The Man In The Brown Suit, when the heroine makes creative use of the wooden carved giraffe she bought in her pursuit/travels. 😉

      Thank you for sharing.

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