what do titmice feel when they eat sparrows? (lemmy.world)
from wonderfox_dev@suya.place to nostupidquestions@lemmy.world on 07 Feb 2025 14:23
https://suya.place/objects/5784c598-e76d-4b88-97b5-b8e278387269

what do titmice feel when they eat sparrows?

hi @nostupidquestions@lemmy.world ! I was told titmice eat sparrows. what do they feel when they’re ripping out a fellow small bird? do they understand titmice and sparrows are kinda alike? do they have bad feelings about killing them for eating, then? or are they completely indifferent?

#nostupidquestions

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Nollij@sopuli.xyz on 07 Feb 2025 14:27 next collapse

Most wildlife isn’t capable of that level of thought or empathy.

For most animals that hunt, the thought process is “I’m hungry. This looks like something I can eat. Now I’m not hungry”

prole@lemmy.blahaj.zone on 07 Feb 2025 14:32 next collapse

I was going to say that maybe elephants are intelligent enough to feel this conflict, but then I remembered that elephants only eat plants. Maybe that’s why.

Nollij@sopuli.xyz on 07 Feb 2025 14:50 next collapse

There are certainly some exceptions, but 90+% of species are not.

MajorMajormajormajor@lemmy.ca on 07 Feb 2025 15:47 collapse

Dolphins are considered very intelligent, along with chimps, and they both eat other animals. Hell, dolphins will bite a fish in half and use the head to jerk off with. That’s not to say they can’t feel empathy for other creatures, but can we tell? Have we observed it?

prole@lemmy.blahaj.zone on 07 Feb 2025 22:06 collapse

Well yeah, dolphins are fucking assholes lol

False@lemmy.world on 07 Feb 2025 15:45 collapse

That thought process probably applies to most humans too tbh

Nemo@slrpnk.net on 07 Feb 2025 20:06 next collapse

A satisfying crunch, I imagine.

Seriously, we eat other mammals often. Why should birds not eat other birds?

dyslexicdainbroner@lemmy.world on 07 Feb 2025 20:33 collapse

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anthropomorphism