Throw a rock into a pack of dogs, the one that yelps the loudest is usually the one that got hit.
American society is very like a fish society. . . . Among certain species of fish, the only thing which determines order of dominance is length of time in the fishbowl. The oldest resident picks on the newest resident, and if the newest resident is removed to a new bowl, he, as oldest resident, will pick on the newcomers.
My dear, I'm a cat. Everything I see is mine.
Beasts of like kind will spare those of kindred spots.
A lion's work hours are only when he's hungry; once he's satisfied, the predator and prey live peacefully together.
Alligators and crocodiles are some of the most aggressive creatures on the planet - they'll take down a boat if you come up to their nest.
We admire predators - panthers, lions, tigers, even wolves. Maybe to be naturally thoughtful and hesitant to use violence is to be somehow second rate. To be in the middle of the social food chain. Especially if you're a man. This society thinks real men are violent.
Why did it happen? The big dog got fed. And when the big dog was fed, the little dog even got some meat in there, too. Big dog owns the domain, but the little dog can go wherever he wants.
Let dogs delight to bark and bite, for God hath made them so.
Isn't it possible, he wondered, for one person to love another without trying to own each other? Or is that buried so deep in our genes that we can never get it out? Territoriality. My wife. My friend. My lover. My outrageous and annoying computer personality who's about to be shut off at the behest of a half-crazy girl with OCD on a planet that I never heard of and how will I live without [her] when she's gone?
Why do birds sing in the morning? It's the triumphant shout: 'We got through another night!'
The lion is most handsome when looking for food.
We're smart enough to know we need to live in groups to survive, but we're still animals and we needs lots of room. In the case of the male of the species we also probably need that-guy-over-there's space. And his wife and cow, too.
The red squirrel is more common and less dignified than the gray, and oftener guilty of petty larceny about the barns and grain-fields.
I'm very proud of my area around the plate. I don't want anyone messing with my dirt.
The cat is the only non-gregarious domestic animal. It is retained by its extra-ordinary adhesion to the comforts of the house in which it is reared.
We are territorial, power-hungry and even more brutal than chimpanzees.
Each organism, no matter how simple or complex, has around it a sacred bubble of space, a bit of mobile territoriality which only a few other organisms are allowed to penetrate and then only for short periods of time.
A wolfe will never make war against another wolfe.
Well, wolves will pretty rarely hunt. You're vulnerable if you're on your own or injured. But for lone wolves, get up high, show them that you're not injured, face 'em off, be authoritarian with it, and look 'em in the eye.
I roam around a lot in my territory, but what I learn at one end inflects and opens up my understanding at the other.
Nope. That´s my line. This is my boyfriend´s house, which makes that my line,exclusively.Where is he?" Nora (p. 287)
The dogs with the loudest bark are the ones that are most afraid.
Dante said, “I tried talking Nora into a ride, but she keeps blowing me off.” “That’s because she has a hard-A boyfriend. He must have been homeschooled, because he missed all those valuable lessons we learned in kindergarten, like sharing. He finds out you took Nora for a ride, he’ll wrap this shiny new Porsche around the nearest tree.
A dominant wolf's desire to protect was a strong instinct- Samuel was very dominant. Give him an inch, and he's take over the world- my life, if I let him. Mercy
