Do animals have emotions like human beings? Are the animals closer to human beings than it is commonly believed? The two videos attempt to understand the similarities between animals and human beings. Frans Lanting depicts a human side of the animals in his photos and images. Using the photographs, Frans creates a deeper understanding of the creatures. From the video, he says that he is often asked why he does not capture human beings in his images. Frans responds by outlining that the animals themselves are a form of human beings meaning that there is a person in each creature (Lanting “Photos that give voice to the animal kingdom”). This essay attempts to understand the emotional and companionship aspects in animals.
According to the video on “Why Dogs Laugh and Chimpanzees Cry”, animals have strong emotions such as fear, happiness, aggression, and a sense of companionship. The creatures utilize the feelings to sustain their survival. Fear enables the animals to evade danger, aggression helps the creatures to protect themselves, happiness is expressed in the sounds they make, and a sense of companionship maintains the continuity of the species. The convincing argument provided by the video validates the emotional kinship of human beings and animals (Burdtungler “Why Dogs Smile and Chimpanzees Cry”).
The creatures also care for one another and develop friendship bonds based on the examples of the wolves, meerkats, and primates. The piece on maternal compassion and love is fascinating. The example of the birth of a calf amongst the elephants portrays the patience and love involved when the mother watches the calf trying to walk. The dogs also show compassion and tremendous sacrifice when they rescue lost children (Burdtungler “Why Dogs Smile and Chimpanzees Cry”). The two videos are informative and interesting to watch. They also assist in developing a different and better perspective regarding how people should treat animals.
Works Cited
Burdtungler. Why Dogs Smile and Chimpanzees Cry, 2009. Web. <http://videosift.com/pets/video/Why-Dogs-Smile-and-Chimpanzees-Cry>
Lanting, Frans. Photos that give voice to the animal kingdom, 2014. Web. <https://blackboard.pace.edu/webapps/blackboard/content/listContent.jsp?course_id=_15 2265_1&content_id=_2928621_1>
