Through my eyes

You know that beautiful saying; "If you want loyalty, get yourself a dog" I love it and use it whenever I can. We have moved so far from the issue of loyalty in our lives, most people don't mean what they say and certainly cannot be taken a their word. I guess, "Lets shake on it," also lost its charm along with, "I'm as good as my word."

Animals are such incredible creatures and the recent program on Koko the talking Gorilla had me balling my eyes out. I felt such deep compassion for this caged animal. I mean, there was this intelligent sentient being, who knew around 2000 words and even took a 'selfie', which landed on the cover of National Geographic Magazine, and Koko lived in her cage like a circus freak.

After watching the BBC documentary, I was reminded how totally phenomenal animals are and how little understanding we have about their intellect and their EQ, and how little time we spend on protecting our wildlife and preserving the animal kingdom.

This week yet another rhino poacher was slain in our game park. This year the death toll on the rhino population reached 300 casualties, but believe it or not its 20% down on last years carnage. The sad rumour that China has lifted the ban on Rhino horn and Tiger bones is very disheartening.

I am lamenting here but we have moved so far from compassion and tolerance toward our fellow earth dwellers. In the last two centuries we have forgotten how important animals are to our existence. We used to live alongside our domestic animals, sharing not just the sleeping quarters with our animals but everything we grew and foraged.

In the small village we return to in Poland, one of my neighbours, who still keeps animals, once told me that he prefers sleeping in the barn with his horses and sheep. When I questioned him further; he shook his shoulders and said, "I can't explain to you what it is about sleeping in the barn, I just sleep better there."

Debating the intelligence of animals can be as unsatisfying as arguing over free will. Which animals What do you mean by intelligence

The reality is intelligence is a complex concept, difficult to define and hard not to base around our own abilities.

Measuring intelligence is even more difficult. With humans we can communicate and write an IQ test. But the lack of language makes it extra tricky to measure intelligence in animals.

This week we should all remind ourselves that we are animals living in a world with other animals. All species are of course different from one another, but we're really not so dissimilar. What we once thought was restricted to humans is showing up not only in animals like us, but also in organisms much different from us.

From our closest relatives, like other primates and mammals, to animals far removed from us on the evolutionary tree, like birds and insects, all biological organisms have some level of intelligence, it is the presence of consciousness or soul. To be successful, we all need to solve the problems we face in life.

Finding out how we solve these problems will take clever problem solving of our own, and perhaps along with it, a change in perspective.

Show love and respect to all, no matter how far down the class / evolutionary ladder they are from. #AllLifeMatters