Journal 14:

After reading, “What the Crows Knows” by Ross Andersen, it opened my eyes to the sensitivity of animals. I personally am an animal lover and wish more people respected animals the same way as humans. I enjoyed learning about Jainism, the religion in which people believe that violence should be forbidden against not only humans but animals too. I agreed with all of the points made about how animals experience consciousness and emotions. I have had two dogs and cats before in my lifetime and they have all been extremely smart. They are well aware of their surroundings and have a great understanding of the people around them. I believe that they had consciousness along with any other animal. Furthermore, it was interesting to hear about the birds and some of the complex behaviors that they are capable of. For example, Anderson described how crows in Japan drop nuts down into traffic and have cars break open their food for them. I found this fascinating, and believe more people should take into regard the intelligence of animals. Another aspect of the text that I found interesting was Anderson’s hike up mount Girnar. Mount Girnar is sacred mountain that holds religious ceremonies at the top of it. I would love to go and hike mount Girnar and experience this ritual. The ceremony was described as empowering and I wish that everyone could go and realize the importance of animals and the love they have for us. Animals are willing to show humans unconditional love and more people need to take the time to appreciate them.