so vegetarians are wimps, eh? Far from it...
By Stephan
@stk40m (1119)
Koeln, Germany
February 17, 2012 1:48pm CST
okay, this is a funny one I guess. Recently I heard a comment in a TV documentary about animals so dumb that I thought I would have to investigate the issue. They said that a certain monkey species which only eats plants (herbivores) are moving rather slowly through the trees (compared with other meat eating monkey species) because they only rely on plants as a protein source.
Here's an example that proves that physical strength is not necessarily related (if at all) to being a carnivore, an example that even astonished me being a vegetarian myself:
the beaver!
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beaver
have a look at what they can do in just one night:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Beaver_signs.JPG
quote: "Beavers are known for their natural trait of building dams on rivers and streams, and building their homes (known as "lodges") in the resulting pond. Beavers also build canals to float build materials that are difficult to haul over land.[2] They use powerful front teeth to cut trees and other plants that they use both for building and for food. In the absence of existing ponds, beavers must construct dams before building their lodges. First they place vertical poles, then fill between the poles with a crisscross of horizontally placed branches. They fill in the gaps between the branches with a combination of weeds and mud until the dam impounds sufficient water to surround the lodge.
They are known for their alarm signal: when startled or frightened, a swimming beaver will rapidly dive while forcefully slapping the water with its broad tail, audible over great distances above and below water. This serves as a warning to beavers in the area. Once a beaver has sounded the alarm, nearby beavers will dive and may not reemerge for some time. Beavers are slow on land, but are good swimmers, and can stay under water for as long as 15 minutes.''
... or what about this guy:
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elephant
now, anyone still want to tell me herbivores are wimps?
quote "The elephant's trunk is sensitive enough to pick up a single blade of grass, yet strong enough to rip the branches off a tree.
[...]
Elephants themselves have few natural predators besides man and, occasionally, lions.''
enjoy: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S-EZHZpAsOI
Cheers
4 responses
@RawBill1 (8531)
• Gold Coast, Australia
23 Feb 12
That is pretty awesome! I am hoping that I will come across some beavers while I am in the USA as they would be great to see in action. What amazing little creatures they are. I can't believe how big those trees were that they felled. Amazing! I mean, I have seen cartoons where they rip through trees, but I have not seen any real images of it done before. 
As for the elephants, they can be extremely dangerous and no other animal would want to mess with them! Not only are they huge, but they can move quite fast as well. A friend of mine worked as a tour guide in Africa for three years. He drove the bus and set up camp for guests in the middle of the jungles and savannah. He always warned the tourists about elephants and advised them to stay indoors if they ever see them. One night a couple were walking with torches when they should not have been out and the elephants got spooked and ran at them, scooping the lady off her feet and throwing her through the air. My friend watched all of this from his bed on top of the truck while yelling at them to get away! Luckily she was not hurt badly. 
Yep, just because we do not eat meat or animal products does not mean that we are all skinny and weak. There are plenty of vegan body builders and athletes out there.
As for the elephants, they can be extremely dangerous and no other animal would want to mess with them! Not only are they huge, but they can move quite fast as well. A friend of mine worked as a tour guide in Africa for three years. He drove the bus and set up camp for guests in the middle of the jungles and savannah. He always warned the tourists about elephants and advised them to stay indoors if they ever see them. One night a couple were walking with torches when they should not have been out and the elephants got spooked and ran at them, scooping the lady off her feet and throwing her through the air. My friend watched all of this from his bed on top of the truck while yelling at them to get away! Luckily she was not hurt badly.
Yep, just because we do not eat meat or animal products does not mean that we are all skinny and weak. There are plenty of vegan body builders and athletes out there. 1 person likes this
@RawBill1 (8531)
• Gold Coast, Australia
24 Feb 12
Of course I was going to get here eventually. I always try to comment on your discussions.
Elephants are amazing creatures. Apparently it is awesome to see them in the wild. Yes unfortunately we humans are the real king of the jungle as we have the superior brain capabilities which allowed us to create weapons. If we were to live as I believe nature intended us to though, we would be way down the food chain! 
I am currently having an interesting discussion on Facebook with someone I know about veganism. He used to be a vegan for quite a few years but went back to eating meat and dairy and now goes out of his way to try and get other vegans back to eating animal products. I posted something about dairy and he has continued to respond with all sorts of "facts" on how vegans are unhealthy. But the one and only time I met him in real life, he was sick all weekend and I have not been sick for about 5 to 6 years! 
Elephants are amazing creatures. Apparently it is awesome to see them in the wild. Yes unfortunately we humans are the real king of the jungle as we have the superior brain capabilities which allowed us to create weapons. If we were to live as I believe nature intended us to though, we would be way down the food chain!
I am currently having an interesting discussion on Facebook with someone I know about veganism. He used to be a vegan for quite a few years but went back to eating meat and dairy and now goes out of his way to try and get other vegans back to eating animal products. I posted something about dairy and he has continued to respond with all sorts of "facts" on how vegans are unhealthy. But the one and only time I met him in real life, he was sick all weekend and I have not been sick for about 5 to 6 years! @stk40m (1119)
• Koeln, Germany
25 Feb 12
oh, if necessary I'll help. Drop me a pm just in case :-) I haven't been on FB for more than a year now coz I don't like how they possess and process our account information. But if he goes ''too far'' let me know and I'll be happy to show him the limits lol.
Meanwhile I've come across many other - very powerful - animal herbivores: rhinoceros, camelids, horses ... no wimp there :D
To me more and more it seems like carnivores are ''inferior'' or rather more primitive when it comes to the development of the gastrointestinal tract. They ''still'' rely on meat while others don't necessitate it ''anymore'' as they can synthesize all the proteins from plants by themselves. Being an herbivore comes with a lot of advantages: no need for hunting for example which costs a lot of physical energy and less risk because no need to fight with the victim which may cause injuries to the hunter. You just have to look for a place where the vegetation is right and stay there without much worry about tomorrow :D
@stk40m (1119)
• Koeln, Germany
2 Mar 12
very good point about the relation between region and human diet! As long as people really need to rely on eating meat it is excusable. They cannot be made responsable for the 'voyages' of their ancestors :-) Still there's a big difference between people who hunt to survive and those who hunt for any other reason. It is inexcusable to hunt/ kill animals to improve our standard of living (shoes, dashboards, seats, oils, fur coats etc). Not to mention hunting for trophies, bloodthirstiness, or hunting as a sport - that's the lowest category of human intellect one can imagine and it equals murder, no matter how hard they try to persuade others it's ok.
I'm not a devotional Darwinist. I lean more towards a form of Lamarckism.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lamarckism
Independently from this theory I developped my own theory of life and only later I found that Lamarck had some similar ideas. I think that we can influence evolution with our minds. I even go as far as saying that evolution began with minds (souls) in the first place (and not by accident!). So, I guess that - even if humans are not perfect vegetarians, i.e. we are unable to produce B12 or certain proteins for example as can do many herbivores - we can influence our genetic code and develop towards perfect vegetarians. Maybe some vegans who don't supplement have already reached that level. It is remarkable that most herbivores are rather benevolent beings. Benevolence may help improve our genes in the long run :-)
@magtibaygom (4858)
• Philippines
17 Feb 12
It is not true. Vegetarians are not wimps, as some people may think. Actually, vegetarians stays healthier than "meat eaters", and they live longer than the rest. Now, who says vegetarians are wimps?
@Innovative10 (51)
• India
18 Feb 12
I'll go with magtibaygom.
No one can claim that vegetarians are inferior to meat eaters. Non-vegetarians have developed a delusion that they are far more stronger than vegetarians because of the type of food they eat.
@Innovative10 (51)
• India
17 Feb 12
What channel showed that documentary? Was it Discovery or NGC or Animal Planet?
Generally, these channels do a lot of research before airing anything like that though not in all the cases.
I think that those particular species of monkeys must be moving slowly in order to conserve energy which is required for the lifestyle they lead. It all depends on the lifestyle adopted by a species. Proteins alone cannot decide the pace of life of an animal. It depends on the metabolism rate which again depends on many factors.
The carnivorous monkeys need to be more active probably because they need to hunt down their prey while the herbivorous ones go out to find the right plants and eat them. So you see the difference in the energy levels of both the species. This is what I think. I am not even close to being an animal expert and hence might not be correct. I do watch a lot of animal shows and this is pure observation.
By the way, did you watch the whole documentary before coming out with this one?
@stk40m (1119)
• Koeln, Germany
17 Feb 12
''recently'' means a few weeks ago in this case, so unfortunately I don't remember which channel it was (was shown on German TV anyway :D). Yeah, probably it's for other reasons that they move slowly. But I do remember they said it was because they are herbivores. I think I watched the whole docu.
@Innovative10 (51)
• India
18 Feb 12
I was just confirming that you watched the whole thing.
Anyway! do you often watch animal documentaries. I do watch a lot of them especially the ones on snakes, crocodiles and birds of prey.
