Hey guys,
In class we have been discussing a lot about the different ways images can depict animals, and in particular the 2 different images of the mice have stuck in my mind. These two pictures are especially interesting to me because I actually have pet mice in my dorm room (don’t tell residence life!). I was able to see the non-personal side of these pet mice when I was first unfamiliar to them grow into a personal familiarity that shows a uniqueness to each one of them.
Also, some of the pictures I’ve taken of them are remarkably similar to the ones in class.
Your mice are very cute. I have always loved mice. I grew up reading children’s stories with cute anthropomorphized mice. However, unfortunately while doing a research internship over the summer I saw how much the mice were disrespected by scientists. Thankfully, there are animal advocates who have put into place federal regulations of how many mice one can use in the lab per month. This causes the scientists to value the lives of the mice more, make each sacrifice purposeful, and not “waste” the mice. However, it bothered me that their resourcefulness was only due to selfish purposes rather than valuing the life and intrinsic value of another being.
Thanks for these photos, Mike. I’ve had mice as pets, too, though not for a long time. I’ll enjoy hearing more about yours in the coming weeks and your thoughts about your relationship with them.
So–true confession–since I’m interested in representations of animals and human-animal relationships, I watch a lot of animal videos online. Some of my favorites are the mouse agility videos (yes, that’s really a thing that people do). I do agility with my dogs, and it’s hard enough to get them, animals evolved to work with humans, to do the equipment. So I’m really impressed by people who can get mice to do something that requires so much patience, not to mention finding ways to communicate across the language barrier.