# When are animals \> humans?

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-are-animals-humans/379169>\
**Category:** Great Debates\
**Created:** [November 5, 2006, 8:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-are-animals-humans/379169 "2006-11-05T08:40:01Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 11\
**Page:** 2

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**Author:** ![Operation\_Ripper](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/34f0e0/32.png) [@Operation\_Ripper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Operation_Ripper)\
**Post date:** [November 6, 2006, 3:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-are-animals-humans/379169/21 "2006-11-06T03:29:46Z")

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[QUOTE=Ensign Edison]  
But they don’t “firmly believe” it has killed 300 people.  
[/QUOTE]

In the doc they present it that way.

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**Author:** ![Ensign\_Edison](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7ab992/32.png) [@Ensign\_Edison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ensign_Edison)\
**Post date:** [November 6, 2006, 3:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-are-animals-humans/379169/22 "2006-11-06T03:31:41Z")

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And no, your interpretation was not correct, because that was new information I introduced. But yes: some animals are more worth saving than some humans. I would save my friend’s dog Kazzie before I would save Zombie Hitler, for example. Why not? What of it? You seem to think that merely announcing this fact is enough to get a person lynched. I’ve been very clear that in general, and in a random case, of course human life comes first. I just don’t think every single human life is automatically worth more than every single non-human life, especially if the human is more dangerous than the non-human.

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**Author:** ![Ensign\_Edison](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7ab992/32.png) [@Ensign\_Edison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ensign_Edison)\
**Post date:** [November 6, 2006, 3:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-are-animals-humans/379169/23 "2006-11-06T03:32:49Z")

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[QUOTE=Operation Ripper]  
In the doc they present it that way.  
[/QUOTE]

But in the ARTICLE which you linked to, so I assume you read, and which I have also subsequently quoted from, it is very clear that they do not know and are in part studying the croc to find out.

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**Author:** ![Operation\_Ripper](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/34f0e0/32.png) [@Operation\_Ripper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Operation_Ripper)\
**Post date:** [November 6, 2006, 3:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-are-animals-humans/379169/24 "2006-11-06T03:37:54Z")

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[QUOTE=Ensign Edison]  
And no, your interpretation was not correct, because that was new information I introduced. But yes: some animals are more worth saving than some humans. I would save my friend’s dog Kazzie before I would save Zombie Hitler, for example. Why not? What of it? You seem to think that merely announcing this fact is enough to get a person lynched. I’ve been very clear that in general, and in a random case, of course human life comes first. I just don’t think every single human life is automatically worth more than every single non-human life, especially if the human is more dangerous than the non-human.  
[/QUOTE]

Hehehehehe. Go girl. I didn’t know Zombies were allowed in this discussion. What if the croc was a vampire croc, would you at least agree that vampire crocs \< humans?

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**Author:** ![Ensign\_Edison](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7ab992/32.png) [@Ensign\_Edison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ensign_Edison)\
**Post date:** [November 6, 2006, 3:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-are-animals-humans/379169/25 "2006-11-06T03:45:21Z")

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[QUOTE=Operation Ripper]  
Hehehehehe. Go girl. I didn’t know Zombies were allowed in this discussion. What if the croc was a vampire croc, would you at least agree that vampire crocs \< humans?  
[/QUOTE]

I’m a boy, but I can go drag if you want. Well, unless Kazzie had a time machine, I don’t see how else she’d end up in that burning crocodile with Hitler.

If the croc is a super-killer, I think it should be brought into captivity. If killing were the only option, I would sadly agree with that, too. Fitting it with a tracking device as part of this study will make it possible to both discover if it is the culprit and bring it in. Really, everything that should be done is being done. Blasting its head off just because people like to attach a little legend to their gory encounters (and their films) would be reckless and illogical.

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**Author:** ![Operation\_Ripper](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/34f0e0/32.png) [@Operation\_Ripper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Operation_Ripper)\
**Post date:** [November 6, 2006, 3:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-are-animals-humans/379169/26 "2006-11-06T03:55:27Z")

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[QUOTE=Ensign Edison]  
Really, everything that should be done is being done.  
[/QUOTE]

But nothing _was_ done. These relatively rich (v. Burundians) guys chose to spend money filming a HD doc, trying to capture it, and didn’t, then went away. It’s still around tonight doing what it has always done, according to all parties involved in the doc, which is pretty certain killing Africans.

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**Author:** ![Ensign\_Edison](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7ab992/32.png) [@Ensign\_Edison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ensign_Edison)\
**Post date:** [November 6, 2006, 3:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-are-animals-humans/379169/27 "2006-11-06T03:59:59Z")

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[QUOTE=Operation Ripper]  
But nothing _was_ done. These relatively rich (v. Burundians) guys chose to spend money filming a HD doc, trying to capture it, and didn’t, then went away. It’s still around tonight doing what it has always done, according to all parties involved in the doc, which is pretty certain killing Africans.  
[/QUOTE]

Once again:

[QUOTE=National Geographic]  
Once we locate Gustave, Barr will attempt to collar the accused killer and force him to dry land. Then, he’ll poke and prod and attach a tracking device to Gustave before releasing him. In less than an hour with the captive croc, Barr hopes to collect the data he needs to answer a multitude of important questions about the size, age, genetics, and, ultimately, the feeding behavior of one of the few behemoth specimens of the Nile crocodile left in the wild. If Barr’s tracking device reveals Gustave to be a serial killer of humans, he can be brought into captivity for the rest of his days.  
[/QUOTE]

If they found him, that’s what they did. Do you have a source which says they found him but didn’t do that besides the doc, which I can’t see? All we can go by is the article, and that strongly suggests the whole point was to film the attachment of the collar, if Gustave could be found.

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**Author:** ![David\_Simmons](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/9de053/32.png) [@David\_Simmons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/David_Simmons)\
**Post date:** [November 6, 2006, 5:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-are-animals-humans/379169/28 "2006-11-06T05:41:14Z")

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[QUOTE=Ensign Edison]  
And no, your interpretation was not correct, because that was new information I introduced. But yes: some animals are more worth saving than some humans. I would save my friend’s dog Kazzie before I would save Zombie Hitler, for example. Why not? What of it? You seem to think that merely announcing this fact is enough to get a person lynched. I’ve been very clear that in general, and in a random case, of course human life comes first. I just don’t think every single human life is automatically worth more than every single non-human life, especially if the human is more dangerous than the non-human.  
[/QUOTE]  
Not to mention that we have what I consider to be too damned many people and not nearly enough tigers.

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**Author:** ![Ensign\_Edison](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7ab992/32.png) [@Ensign\_Edison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ensign_Edison)\
**Post date:** [November 6, 2006, 5:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-are-animals-humans/379169/29 "2006-11-06T05:57:15Z")

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[QUOTE=David Simmons]  
Not to mention that we have what I consider to be too damned many people and not nearly enough tigers.  
[/QUOTE]

“It would be nice to think that as a result of the extinction of the dodo, we are now sadder and wiser. But there is a lot of evidence to suggest that we are merely sadder and better informed.” – Douglas N. Adams

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**Author:** ![Autumn\_Almanac](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/d26b3c/32.png) [@Autumn\_Almanac](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Autumn_Almanac)\
**Post date:** [November 6, 2006, 4:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-are-animals-humans/379169/30 "2006-11-06T16:50:38Z")

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I’m about the _last_ person to value an animal over a human-- I don’t really have any affection for animals and it generally doesn’t bother me too much when they die. But this **Ensign Edison** pile-on is bewildering. Let’s just nuke all wildlife areas from orbit because there’s a chance that a wild animal might kill a human someday. Would that make you guys happy?

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**Author:** ![the\_PC\_apeman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ac8455/32.png) [@the\_PC\_apeman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/the_PC_apeman)\
**Post date:** [November 7, 2006, 1:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-are-animals-humans/379169/31 "2006-11-07T13:47:56Z")

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Minor personal hang-up:

Corrected title: **When are other animals \> humans?**

Thank you. Please continue.

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