Anybody who still thinks our fellow animals are of lesser intelligence should take a look at this:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=_2rJoIhgWmw


The clever crow is using a little ring he found as a snowboard and is having the time of his life sledding down the rooftop.  And what's more, when he tries it on another part of the roof, and it doesn't work, he goes back to the snowier part of the roof.


Absolutely marvelous!     
 

Hmm... are you sure the crow isn't just trying to eat something?

We use a lot of ring-shaped bird food, over here - and crows are known to just hijack them.

static.zoonar.de/img/www_repository3/15/...

Could it be one of those?

I'm a bit reluctant to anthropomorphise here, cuteness being just too tempting.

Jan 18, 2012 -- 3:55AM, CharikIeia wrote:

Hmm... are you sure the crow isn't just trying to eat something?

No. The crow was playing. No anthropomorphizing needed. Many animals play. I've watched wild otters slide down a snow bank. I've watched hawks repeatedly and purposely fly into a strong updraft to be blasted straight up. I've watched sea gulls repeatedly and purposely ride the rapids in a small creek on the beach. This crow was just a bit smarter and used a sled. Corvids are known to make and use tools.

The problem is not anthropomorphizing, but the opposite; believing that humans are the only animals that can think - or have fun.

Erey -

I take your point, but I have to say that I honestly don't think that other animals are necessarily of lesser intelligence than humans.  And I say this because, since we really cannot communicate with them, we don't know just how they think.  Also, for all we know, they might possess a type of intelligence that we wouldn't understand even if we could ask them about it.

I'm thinking of whales, for instance, that send messages to each other in their own language.  How could we possibly know what those messages are all about?  And what about the octopus?  They are known to be very bright and have figured out solutions to puzzles.

And I have to say that my cats have communicated with me in totally mysterious ways.  Who knows what's going on in a cat's mind when she snuggles up to me, looks at my face, and meows?

So what if we ascribe human attributes to other animals?  For all we know, those creatures do possess what we might think of as human attributes.  I don't think there is anything wrong with anthropomorphising.