animal wisdom
An animal that can change itself to match its surroundings, just by contracting its skin? That can weigh as many stone as a man and stretch the length of a carriage, and yet fold its body through a crevice? Whose brain is wrapped about its throat—a brain no larger than a pea—but who is clever enough to play actual games? An animal with this much
... See moreEsi Edugyan • Washington Black
Mimicry - Wikipedia
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The body of an octopus is remarkable enough. The common octopus, O. vulgaris, has eight armlike appendages, three hearts pumping blue blood, an ink-based defense mechanism, and highly developed jet propulsion. An octopus can change size, shape, texture, and color at will, and all at the same time if necessary.
Anil Seth • Being You: A New Science of Consciousness
To have fur, to detect fast movements, to be afraid, to breathe underwater, to see in the dark, to carry precious stones, to be aerial, to make silver trails, to drink from the lake, to care for your offspring, to live in song, to play, to create micro crevices on the ground, to know death, to move with the moon, to cure with herbs, to be... See more
But goats are generalists: the world is their meadow. Leave them on an island—they will not spend all their energy on refusal and regret but will experiment until they find something new to eat, life sufficient condiment for the scraggliest fare. Put them in a barn with frocks and cigars and political pamphlets and toy blocks and banjos and yo-yos
... See moreAmy Leach • Things That Are: Essays
The whale, like all things that are mighty, wears a false brow to the common world.
Herman Melville • Moby Dick: or, the White Whale
Eyespot (mimicry)
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