When Animals Attack

There was a really well written article in GQ this month about animal attacks. I would paraphrase it for you, but Stevereads has basically synop-sized it for you. Totally worth checking out.

The animals are changing. We used to learn that the ability to use tools was the unique dominion of humans. Then we learned that chimps go fishing for ants. In David Attenborough's 'Life of Mammals' you can also see semi-domesticated chimps using manufactured tools - like a saw to cut wood.

As it turns out the definition was revised to allow that while certain animals can use tools, no other animal uses tools to hunt. Over the past 20 years, that too has slipped away. Chimps are now hunting using spears - and it seems that a younger generation is picking the skills up from one individual. This was the same deal with the nut-cracking technique in "Life of Mammals." If you don't learn it young, you can never master it. Kind of like a French accent.

One of the scariest things that's started happening according to this GQ article is the bird attacks. I find it seriously frightening. I guess I've always been a little scared of birds, but seriously - pigeons are everywhere in NYC. If this doesn't scare you...