And 'sadistic behavior'? C'mon. That's a little on the strong side, isn't it? I don't know Kevin, but I certainly am not getting the vibe that he's a sadistic person, and I think you owe him an apology, to be honest.

But anyway, you jumped to conclusions and did not read my post or did not understand it. I was only making references that STRUCTURAL ASPECTS OF AN ORGANISM'S microhabitat can be used to teach you SOMETHING about the organism (e.g. climbing abilities, etc). I said nothing nor did I allude to anything concerning that snake's hunting behavior.

And that keeping animals, IN GENERAL, can teach you about natural phenomena in an indirect way (e.g. you can learn about natural selection by observing artificial selection, just as Darwin did).

You need to go back and actually read what I posted. Better yet, I'll just paste it here:


Good attitude to have, Kevin. Just like we don't really learn "natural behaviors" of a Green Tree Python by keeping it in a cage -- since too many factors are removed, we can surely attempt to get a better glimpse by reproducing some of the structural aspects of their natural microhabitats -- i.e. by using branches for coiling on instead of a bare floor. Nothing wrong with keeping animals to learn natural phenomena and to ignite a passion for learning biology and natural history.

You CAN learn about natural behaviors by keeping animals in captivity. Point in case, I have two Bredl's Pythons. I keep them in cages exactly like my Subocs, Baird's, Bajas, and Grey-Bands. Like most Morelia, they hunt from perches at night in the wild and snag small mammals that pass by. How do you think they use their hidebox and waterbowl (the only structures in their cage)? They hide in them sometimes, but in the afternoon and especially at night they coil tightly over their small 2-inch ceramic bowls or their hideboxes, coils draped tightly over the sides, and their heads are angled towards the ground, motionless, and slightly extended -- the Morelia hunting posture. Seeing this behavior firsthand can teach people about their natural behaviors. I already made the case that a MILLION natural factors are left out of captive situations -- that's not what is being argued here. I argue that you can learn and gain an appreciation for nature by keeping captives.

DR

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