₦airaland Forum

@all4naija, you wouldn't accept it if it hit you in the eye but I said that I am totally convinced. What you choose to believe is up to you but God doesn't lie.

I googled "Do animals think research" and got all these. The consensus is that animals think but they are still trying to determine the level of meta cognition. Some of them even think about thinking. Some believe that they think like autistic children who do not apply their senses in the "normal" way we do. Also, the Bible tells me in the story of Balaam (Numbers 22:21-35) that the donkey he was riding could think and sensed the presence of the angel before he did. God only opened her mouth. He also showed that He loves animals because he told Balaam that if she had not turned him away, He would have killed him but spared her(Vs. 32). I don't need anymore conviction than that.

http://www.livescience.com/5712-animals-thinking-research-suggests.html
http://www.news.harvard.edu/gazette/2002/03.14/01-thinking.html
http://cqresearcherblog..com/2010/10/do-animals-think.html
http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2002/dec/18/hunting.animalwelfare
http://discovermagazine.com/2005/may/what-do-animals-think
http://discovermagazine.com/2012/jul-aug/06-what-is-your-dog-thinking
http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/2008/03/animal-minds/virginia-morell-text

Animals teach their offspring how to hunt, gather food, respect their group hierarchy and communicate. Doesn't that require thinking?

I have raised close to 20 dogs in my life, have had a pet parrot, lived with a cat during youth service, kept pet rabbits, goldfish and turtles. I can categorically tell you that the two dogs I have at the moment have the intelligence of a 2-3yr old without the speech. They know when I go out and come in and all the corners of our building. They understand several words including sit, stand, come, up, fetch, stop it, move and bye-bye. If I shout bye-bye from anywhere within their hearing, they will run to me to ensure I don't leave them alone. They have toys they play with and share taking turns to do. They understand that they should respect each other when eating so if I put food in a bowl, one will eat first while the other waits. They know when anyone is in pain and will come to lick the person to comfort them. They also observe people's behaviors to distinguish if they are trustworthy of predatory before approaching them. There was a day I bought sugarcane when one of them was a 3month old puppy so I gave him a piece. He obviously loved it because in a few minutes, he came back to sit beside me looking at me to give him more. When I ignore him for a while, he did something that astonished me. He got up on his hind legs and used his left paw to tap my thigh twice. I gave him a piece and he left. When he finished it, he repeated the same behavior and kept doing it for about six times till there was no more sugar cane between us. This was something I never taught him and since I had him since about 6wks of age, no one else could have taught him.

The cat during my youth service knew when I was around and when I traveled, she would go else where. My parrot lived on the balcony and could see from the bus-stop from up there. As soon as he sighted me coming from school in my uni days, he would start repeating the words I had taught him, songs and my name. The goldfish and turtles recognized me and would raise their heads for me to stroke if I came near the tank and I'm the only one they did this for.

There are so many incidents that show me they think. The truth is that they may not have our level of intelligence but they have other types. Can you detect smell like a dog or swim like a dolphin. In short, I thank God, He didn't give them the most destructive of all human vices, the spirit of greed. They live in the moment though some may save food for a rainy day but apart from that they are just glad to be alive and carefree. You've got to admire that.