Posted by: rsr
Subject tags: psychology, human behavior, animals
on
Jan 6, 2009
On more occasions than I can enumerate, I have been asked the question: Why do you like those darn reptiles? Not wanting to appear irresolute, for many years I tried to answer the question in a way that presented an air of purpose. I might reply that their behavior is complex and fascinating, or that I wondered what it might be like to experience the world as a snake does, what with the challenges of lacking certain appendages. As a biologist with a special interest in and experience with reptiles, I could get pretty specific about why I find those otherworldly vertebrates interesting, but are those reasons, however erudite, really why I am especially attracted to reptiles?
Why not birds? I find them quite agreeable, even fascinating. Indeed, as a young man I spent countless hours watching birds and I even built up a “life list” of over 300 species. Why not mammals? I like them too, though I find them rather messy and stinky. Still, there is something about a wild wolverine or a mongoose that piques my curiosity, and I am pretty fond of bats and wild cats, too. How about fishes? I have quite a lot of experience with that branch of the Vertebrata, too. As an undergraduate, I worked in a fish systematics lab for 3 ½ years, and since that time my research has included fish behavior. And what about invertebrates and plants? I really like those organisms, too.
