Guest guest Posted December 3, 2004 Report Share Posted December 3, 2004 I don't know if this qualifies or not but I am very sensitive to animal behaviors and what they are feeling. I can read their body language very well but simply cannot in one species and one species only: Homo Sapiens. I also find it somewhat difficult to read and understand the expressions of the great apes and any monkey that does not have fur on it's face. I can tell an animal's mood, whether it sick or not, hungry or well- fed, contented, worried, etc. by how it walks and its facial expressions. The zookeepers in the zoo are usually amazed that I can tell what sort of mood an animal is in. They explain to me that because of the fur on many animal's faces, people see them as hard, if not impossible to read. Just big fluffballs with legs. I see it as just the opposite. Animals are very expressive in their movements, and particularly in the face. Looking at their eyes, how they move their " eyebrows " how they pull their gums around their muzzles, etc., these are all things that I can use to tell how they are feeling. The only time this ability has ever paid off is in successfully training pets, and bringing them to the doctor when they appeared ill to me, but to no one else, and thus caught things early. Tom > > Hi, > I was just thinking about sensory issues and how sometimes they can be uncomfortable, certain noises, smells that just smell too much and the dislike of certain tactile stimulas; but then I thought about some of the positive advantages too. > For example, I have a heigntened sense of hearing and can hear low level noises that nobody else seems to hear. On many occasions I have been able to detect and find problamatic areas before others have been aware of them. For instance, electrical and mechanical products, sounding slightly different from how they usually sound, which can give me advance warning that they are about to break down, or experience difficulties. I can hear things that have been left on from the low level hum and seek them out and switch them off, to save battery power (if they are battery operated). > Also a heigntened sense of smell, which my son has too. We both detected a gas leak that no-one else seemed to smell. I thought I was going nuts when no-one else could smell it, but it was fortunate that my son and I did, as there did turn out to be a leak. > These are just a couple of examples and I wondered if anyone else had positive experiences with their heightened senses? > > Kind Regards, > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted December 4, 2004 Report Share Posted December 4, 2004 llah, Some animals will fake body language. Several species of birds will fake injury to draw predators away from the nest. They will flop about on the ground to get the predator's attention and draw it away. Once it has moved far enough, the bird will fly away. Others will fly a short distance away and make a tremendous racket and flit about making themselves very obvious. They too will move away a little at a time trying to draw away the danger. There is an animal called the Opossum (technically the Virginia Opossum, but pronounced possum) that, well, plays possum. They will sometimes drop in their tracks and fake being dead. Most other animals will not touch them then. I have witnessed all three of these. The birds were kinds of sparrows from the area. The Opossum was caught in the dog yard when I turned on the light to run the dogs out for their nightly call of nature. They were both all over the Opossum sniffing and nosing it, but they never attacked it since it didn't move. I pulled them off of it since I knew what it was doing and it had fearsome teeth I didn't want to see it use on my dogs if it got tired of them. Once they were in I went back to look at it again. It was not unconsious and knew I was looking at it, I could see its eye watching me. While it didn't look threatening, there was no need tempting fate by touching it. When I went back inside I turned off the lights. Maybe 10 seconds later I turned them back on and the Opossum was already on top of the fence. They don't always play possum though. Several times I have run into them during the day and as long as you don't threaten them, they will usually go on about their business or climb a tree, either way keeping an eye on you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted December 4, 2004 Report Share Posted December 4, 2004 My cats have, what seems to me, some pretty obvoius body language, but I am surprised how few people seem to understand it. One of my two cats, Coco, is very high strung. When she mets someone for the first time she will arch her back, stand on the tips of her feet, put her ears back at an angle, bar her teeth and make a very angry sounding noise. And then people will ask, " does this mean she wants to be petted? " Actually I think my cats have a much more expressive body language that humans. Ilah > > > > Hi, > > > I was just thinking about sensory issues and how sometimes they can > be uncomfortable, certain noises, smells that just smell too much > and the dislike of certain tactile stimulas; but then I thought > about some of the positive advantages too. > > > For example, I have a heigntened sense of hearing and can hear low > level noises that nobody else seems to hear. On many occasions I > have been able to detect and find problamatic areas before others > have been aware of them. For instance, electrical and mechanical > products, sounding slightly different from how they usually sound, > which can give me advance warning that they are about to break down, > or experience difficulties. I can hear things that have been left on > from the low level hum and seek them out and switch them off, to > save battery power (if they are battery operated). > > > Also a heigntened sense of smell, which my son has too. We both > detected a gas leak that no-one else seemed to smell. I thought I > was going nuts when no-one else could smell it, but it was fortunate > that my son and I did, as there did turn out to be a leak. > > > These are just a couple of examples and I wondered if anyone else > had positive experiences with their heightened senses? > > > > Kind Regards, > > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted December 4, 2004 Report Share Posted December 4, 2004 Could it be because humans are the only animal that tries to disguise their real feelings? Could it be that humans are the only animals that tell their young that very strong emotional expressions (sometimes called outbursts) are not acceptable? Do animals ever fake things? (He looks hurt. I will go have a closer look. AAAAGH! It's a trap he was only pretending to be hurt.) Or is that just something that happens in the movies. Ilah > > > > Hi, > > > I was just thinking about sensory issues and how sometimes they can > be uncomfortable, certain noises, smells that just smell too much > and the dislike of certain tactile stimulas; but then I thought > about some of the positive advantages too. > > > For example, I have a heigntened sense of hearing and can hear low > level noises that nobody else seems to hear. On many occasions I > have been able to detect and find problamatic areas before others > have been aware of them. For instance, electrical and mechanical > products, sounding slightly different from how they usually sound, > which can give me advance warning that they are about to break down, > or experience difficulties. I can hear things that have been left on > from the low level hum and seek them out and switch them off, to > save battery power (if they are battery operated). > > > Also a heigntened sense of smell, which my son has too. We both > detected a gas leak that no-one else seemed to smell. I thought I > was going nuts when no-one else could smell it, but it was fortunate > that my son and I did, as there did turn out to be a leak. > > > These are just a couple of examples and I wondered if anyone else > had positive experiences with their heightened senses? > > > > Kind Regards, > > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted December 4, 2004 Report Share Posted December 4, 2004 This is amazing! Inger and I got off the phone just an hour ago now and were talking about this very subject. In between when I wrote my original post and when she and I talked, I had come to the conclusion that I have a problem reading primate body language and behavior because, like humans, other primates (the great apes especially) EXAGERRATE their facial expressions, and so you never know what's real. The fur on other animal's faces obscures such exagerration, or else those animals don't exaggerate their expressions. I had even used cats in my example when I discussed this with Inger. By the way, I would like to formally welcome you to the group. Your presence here is valued. Activity he tends to go up and down, and more so during this time of year I should think. Don't get disouraged if there isn't much going on...or if there is all kinds of stuff going on! Tom > Could it be because humans are the only animal that tries to disguise their real feelings? Could it be that humans are the only animals that tell their young that very strong emotional expressions (sometimes called outbursts) are not acceptable? > Do animals ever fake things? (He looks hurt. I will go have a closer look. AAAAGH! It's a trap he was only pretending to be hurt.) Or is that just something that happens in the movies. > > Ilah > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted December 4, 2004 Report Share Posted December 4, 2004 My mother's family was all very sensitive to weather changes. They would all get headaches when a storm was coming in. I used to be affected like that too when I was younger, but it is not so bad anymore. It was also easy to know when storms were coming in where I went to high school since it was in the foothills of the Appalacain mountains. Storms would roll over the mountains and would kick up a high wind as they approached. The winds were sometimes to high that you could lean backwards into them and they would hold you up. What always amazed me was how few people caught on that that kind of wind from the west meant that rain was on the way. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted December 4, 2004 Report Share Posted December 4, 2004 Hi , Yes, I’ve had similar experiences... knowing by the sound of something that it isn’t right... hearing the toilet running downstairs when I’m upstairs... the sound the water makes when coming from the faucet gauges temperature (if I’m paying attention to it – which helps because I don’t feel the water temperature right away on my skin, there is a delay). It also comes in handy when I’m not in the room with the kids, knowing by the sound of something 2 rooms away or from upstairs that they are into trouble, lol. Smells also very similar to what you’ve said, even something as simple as knowing the meat or milk is turning long before others can smell it. I’m also very sensitive to pressure changes, so I can tell when the weather is changing – actually can feel a weather front or low pressure system pass over me (I’ve tested this with weather maps and it is always correct). When the low passes, my entire body feels like a weight has been lifted and I can move more freely, and the pressure in my head is released... it is very strange, like I can breathe freely again too. A hurricane down in the Caribbean can have me in terrible pain (I’m in New York, but deep low pressure can be felt that far away – imagine the pain I was in this summer when there were several hurricanes about at the same time!), and as it moves closer the pain worsens. I can also usually tell when a window or door is opened or closed (in a well insulated building) just by the air pressure changes on my eardrums. In a car it is very painful to close a window, and depending on who is with me I usually ask for them to warn me in advance if they will be closing a window. Wendi Sensory issues Hi, I was just thinking about sensory issues and how sometimes they can be uncomfortable, certain noises, smells that just smell too much and the dislike of certain tactile stimulas; but then I thought about some of the positive advantages too. For example, I have a heigntened sense of hearing and can hear low level noises that nobody else seems to hear. On many occasions I have been able to detect and find problamatic areas before others have been aware of them. For instance, electrical and mechanical products, sounding slightly different from how they usually sound, which can give me advance warning that they are about to break down, or experience difficulties. I can hear things that have been left on from the low level hum and seek them out and switch them off, to save battery power (if they are battery operated). Also a heigntened sense of smell, which my son has too. We both detected a gas leak that no-one else seemed to smell. I thought I was going nuts when no-one else could smell it, but it was fortunate that my son and I did, as there did turn out to be a leak. These are just a couple of examples and I wondered if anyone else had positive experiences with their heightened senses? Kind Regards, FAM Secret Society is a community based on respect, friendship, support and acceptance. Everyone is valued. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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