Language of Elephants and Dolphins

Isn't it ironic that our Christian faith teaches us that we are made in God's image and at the same time we are taught that God loves us unconditionally. Yet as humans we can be so thick and unloving. We clump through life thinking that we know how things works and that we can master our universe...we're in the image of God after all.  But we don't get the important part right...the love part.

One of the examples is the way that we see animals.  We use them for work and for food but we don't view them as God's creatures, or see that we might learn something from them.  I found the following stories so amazing.

First there was a story in The Times that says that dolphins should be considered "non-human persons." The article points out:
Studies into dolphin behaviour have highlighted how similar their communications are to those of humans and that they are brighter than chimpanzees. These have been backed up by anatomical research showing that dolphin brains have many key features associated with high intelligence.

The researchers argue that their work shows it is morally unacceptable to keep such intelligent animals in amusement parks or to kill them for food or by accident when fishing. Some 300,000 whales, dolphins and porpoises die in this way each year.

Then there was a story in National Geographic that mentions how there is a language that elephants use.  Here is a bit from the article: 

Like humans and many other mammals, she explained, the elephants have a wide range of calls and signals for different purposes—to secure their defense, warn others of danger, coordinate group movements, reconcile differences, attract mates, reinforce family bonds, and announce their needs and desires.

Distinctive expressions of joy, anger, sympathy, sexual desire, playfulness, and many other emotions are among their vocal repertoire.

Our world is so amazing that it is sad that we often walk through it without really seeing the details.