With regard to our relation to other primates:

[MineralMan]

I visit the Como Park Zoo in St. Paul, MN pretty regularly. During the winter months, the gorilla exhibit is mainly indoors. There's a nice indoor habitat, which connects to the much larger outdoor one. But, when it's cold, the gorillas stay inside most of the time. They're clever primates, and know which part of their habitat is most comfortable.

On one visit last January, the big silverback male gorilla was inside, sitting next to one of the big glass panels that separates the human primates from the gorilla primates. He had his back to the glass. So, I walked over there. The gorilla looked at me through the glass, turning his head to see me. I took a seat on the bench that is in front of the glass, and sat with my back to the gorilla, so we were sitting back to back, with just an inch of glass between us.

I stayed there for about 15 minutes, since I had the time and was enjoying the proximity with another primate relative. Finally, I stood up, and turned to face the enclosure. The gorilla turned his head and looked at me once again. I put the palm of my hand flat against the glass, where he could see it clearly. After about 10 seconds, he turned a bit and put his hand against the glass, too, across from mine. His much larger hand, I might add.

We looked at each other for a few more seconds and then I left.

We are not the only primates with consciousness. Not by a long shot.

[hlthe2b]

1. I almost always spend entirety of my zoo visits with the higher primates--chimps, orangs & gorillas

It is always eye-opening, fascinating, and a bit poignant.

[MineralMan]

2. Yes. One of the nice things about winter visits is that you

can spend more time in closer proximity. All of the primates end up noticing you, if you stick around. That was the first time, though, that I had a real interaction with one. It's a great memory. I need to make another trip there soon.

[Voltaire2]

3. Corvids.

There is a growing body of evidence that many birds - perhaps all corvids (eg crows) have cognitive abilities similar to primates.

There is a bit of a revolution in neuroscience regarding consciousness and which creatures appear to have it. The more they look, the more they find it.

[MineralMan]

5. Yes. We have a flock of about 40 crows who visit our house twice a

day. I enjoy watching them interact with each other. They're smart. But, they are always wary of humans, even though they clearly know that it is us throwing that food out there for them.

Jays, on the other hand, are more than willing to interact with humans. At my home in California, I had jays flying to my hand for peanuts within an hour in my front yard, the very first day I tried. After that, they'd fly down every time I came out of the door. One would land on the top of my head and wait until I produced a peanut.

I've also had wild chickadees fly to my hand for sunflower seeds and hummingbirds perch on my finger to take sugar water from a feeder.

Taming squirrels and chipmunks is child's play, too. It's amazing how quickly many wild animals will come to humans for food and actually sit on humans. Even raccoons can be tamed enough to take food gently from your hand with a little patience.

There is consciousness in many animals, I'm certain.

[Cuthbert Allgood]

4. Well, they don't have language so they can't think.

Or so I've heard.

Great story. I love the Como Park Zoo.

[MineralMan]

6. Yes, it's a great little zoo.

And free, to boot. I always drop a $10 bill in the slot, though.

It's one of the gems of the Twin Cities, for sure. The Conservatory, too, of course.

[Act_of_Reparation]

7. We have something similar in Lansing.

Potter Park. I'd never seen a local, community zoo until moving to the northern midwest. A great way to spend an afternoon with the wife.

[MineralMan]

8. I've not been there. Zoos, especially small ones, are a great outing.

They're small enough to see completely, and usually there's food available and pleasant surroundings. I've always liked smaller zoos, especially when they don't try to have everything, but have good surroundings for what they do have.

[True Dough]

9. Do you think it's possible

you could ever have a similar experience with Donald Trump, if you had the opportunity? I would expect a much smaller hand to meet yours on the opposite side of the glass, but Donald is almost as evolved as that gorilla in some ways.

[MineralMan]

10. I would never entertain the idea of being that close to Donald Trump.

I would fear infection with whatever stupidity-inducing illness he has. The gorilla, on the other hand, seemed relatively harmless to me.

[Pope George Ringo II]

11. Those cloned macaques in the news get my attention here too.

I defy anybody to look at those and not realize how close sharing 93% of our DNA makes us.

[MineralMan]

12. Looking at and observing any primates for any length of time

makes the link between us and them obvious. I recommend sitting in front of an enclosure full of primates of any species and watching for a couple of hours. Anyone who does that will recognize them as our cousins.