In the Eye of the Beholder: Changing Social Perceptions of the Florida Manatee

Theresa L. Goedeke

Bangs (1895), a biologist with the Museum of Comparative Biology at Harvard University, lamented the rarity of manatees in Florida in the late 1800s. He blamed their scarceness on over-harvest, as well as increasing settlement and development in Florida. Bangs worried that "reduced to a mere remnant…it takes but small change in its surroundings to wipe it forever from the face of the earth" (p. 782). Although early naturalists like Bangs were concerned about Florida manatees early in American history, ignorance about their existence and habits in large part prevailed. Consequently, the species was the object of casual slaughter, despite passage of a state law prohibiting harvest in 1893 and subjecting those who feared or despised the manatee to harassment and torture.

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It’s a Dog’s Life: Elevating Status from Pet to “Fur Baby” at Yappy Hour

Jessica Greenebaum

Nonhuman animals always have played a significant role in people’s lives. Lately, the technological and market economy has anthropomorphized dogs to human-like behavior, particularly to status of family member or child. This qualitative study expands upon the current studies on consumption and animals and society by exploring how human-canine relationships are anthropomorphized at the family excursion to “Yappy Hour” at Fido’s Barkery. The type of person who attends Yappy Hour on a weekly basis has a unique and special type of connection with their dog that goes beyond most people’s relationships with dogs. Most of the dog lovers interviewed do not perceive their dogs as dogs; they are family members, best friends, and “fur babies.” These dog lovers also do not perceive themselves as dog owners; they see themselves as mothers and fathers. The social and market environment of Fido’s Barkery not only reinforces their relationship with their dog, it shapes community, friendships, and personal identity.

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Modification of the Pet Attitude Scale

Kathleen L. Munsell, Merle Canfield, Donald I. Templer , Kimberly Tangan, and Hiroko Arikawa

This study recruited 203 college students to help determine clarity and precision in the wording of four items in the Templer, Salter, Baldwin, Dickey, and Veleber (1981) Pet Attitude Scale (PAS). Half the college students received the original format, and half received the modified wording format. The correlation with total score did not differ for three of the pairs of items. For one of the items, the correlation was higher with the original wording. The 18-item Pet Attitude Scale--Modified retains the original wording for that item and uses the modified wording for the other three items.

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Not by Bread Alone: Symbolic Loss, Trauma, and Recovery in Elephant Communities

Isabel Gay A. Bradshaw

Like many humans in the wake of genocide and war, most wildlife today has sustained trauma. High rates of mortality, habitat destruction, and social breakdown precipitated by human actions are unprecedented in history. Elephants are one of many species dramatically affected by violence. Although elephant communities have processes, rituals, and social structures for responding to trauma--grieving, mourning, and socialization--the scale, nature, and magnitude of human violence have disrupted their ability to use these practices. Absent the cultural, carrier groups (murdered elephant matriarchs and elders) who traditionally lead and teach these healing practices, humans must assume the role. Trauma theory has brought attention to victims’ severe, sustained psychological damage. Looking through the lens of trauma theory provides a better understanding of how systematic violence has affected individuals and groups and how the pervasive nature of traumatic events affects human-nonhuman animal relationships. The framing of recent trauma theory compels conservationists to create new relationships--neither anthropocentric nor power-based--with nonhuman animals. The David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust, Kenya, shows how humans, taking on the role of interspecies witness, bring orphan elephants back to health and help re-build elephant communities shattered by genocide.

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