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Peace Chimps Known for Intimacy and Tolerance

Published August 25, 2011 in Love For Earthlings, What's New |
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No, they are not hippies wearing tie-dye and peace symbols, but bonobo chimps, aka pygmy chimps, could be mistaken for them. They are believed not to engage in violence like their larger cousins do, and researchers have concluded it is because their social culture is so focused on intimate relations.

A researcher who has studied them said there is not a single documented case of a bonobo killing another bonobo, whether in the wild or captivity. They appear to focus their energy on group cohesion and physical touching, rather than aggression and domination.

“Whenever things get tense in the bonobo world, they’ll usually have some kind of sociosexual activity and this seems to really help everybody get along. But another one of the ways that they sort of have this peaceful society is they’re naturally more tolerant. They share more, and if one of them gets upset, it’s not just sex but they can also hug and comfort one another,”  said anthropologist Brian Hare. (Source: National Science Foundation)

Females in bonobo society are treated more respectfully and they also are well-bonded with one another, two conditions researchers have said that mean males do not have to compete with one another as much. Instead they participate in a similar manner sharing intimacy and partners. Also a male’s rank in the social hierarchy may be determined by the rank of his mother, rather than by defeating or intimidating other males. It is thought they use physical intimacy not only of social bonding, but also to reduce stress.

Author Vanessa Woods said, “They’re different because they’ve managed to live in a society virtually without violence. How do they do that? Humans, for all of our intelligence and all our technology, we haven’t managed to live without war, and so I think that’s something very important that bonobos can teach us.” (Source: National Science Foundation)

Tragically, bonobo chimps can be found in the wild only in the Congo, where humans have been at war for years. The human war’s impact has put the bonobos in jeopardy, to the point they are an endangered species. There may only be 29,000 to 50,000 left due to habitat loss and hunting for the bush meat trade. Due to the human violence it has been very difficult to study them, so none of the estimates are considered particularly credible.

(The number of human lives lost in the Congo conflicts has been estimated to be 3.9 million since 1998.)

Adapted from an article by Jake R.


Donna Karan Asked to Stop Using Rabbit Fur

Published August 24, 2011 in Love For Earthlings, What's New |
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B.K.S. Iyengar, the founder of Iyengar yoga, has written a letter asking fashion designer Donna Karan to stop using rabbit fur in her clothing. The ninety-two year old Iyengar said in the letter, “As a yoga practitioner, may I request you, on behalf of myself and my friends from People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) India, to take a stand against using the fur of animals that is removed by the cruelest killing methods.” (Source: Jakartaglobe.com)

PETA’s style of communication about Karan’s use of rabbit fur has been a little more aggressive than Iyengar’s. At a New York City protest, they reportedly blasted the sounds of screaming bunnies at people walking by–they also have an online petition to stop her. Rabbits apparently are mostly silent, except when they are scared they may scream. It is not at all likely to be a pleasant sound. Her Fall 2010 line used rabbit fur–you can see an example of a Donna Karan rabbit fur coat on her website. One version is nearly $5,000. Change.org said Karan’s rabbits are from China where they are treated brutally.

Sometimes they are kept in cages so small, they suffer spine injuries. This is just one example, the others are too grisly to mention here. WSPA has stated over 900 million rabbits are killed each year for their fur. Since there are plenty of reasonable alternatives to rabbit fur for clothing, none of these deaths are necessary. If you want to help rabbits, never buy any clothing made with rabbit fur. Doing so only keeps the companies who use rabbit fur believing it is a good way to make money, and continue killing an enormous number of rabbits for no good reason. It isn’t like Karan needs the money from selling rabbit fur clothing. One estimate said she is worth over two hundred million dollars.

Adapted from an article by Jake R.