What is it that draws us to certain animals? Desmond proposes that our fascination with certain animals is a result of our similarities and differences and that this "operates on two related planes, the physical and the social." .
She begins by explaining that our fascination with mammals has to do with biological similarities that allow us to identify with them in ways in which we could not with radically physically different animals. She says that the facts that mammals are warm blooded, have hair, and give birth to live young "facilitates our identification with theses animals." I say that it is far simpler, that the average tourist or zoo goer is far more superficial than that. We tend to place animals in superficial categories, we relate to animals as being cute, or dangerous, or powerful and majestic. I think that we are equally capable and that we in fact do anthropomorphize animals with which we share very few biological similarities. I would argue for example that sharks, alligators and crocodiles, and snakes tend to draw very large crowds. What is true however is that we think of these kinds of predatory animals as being devious, sneaky, mean even, our reaction to them is usually one of awe rather than affection. .
I think that the biological similarities that Desmond suggested, warm blood, live young, etc are not important in and of themselves, but that their importance lies in their social implications. For example, the young of those animals who give birth are born less developed than those that are hatched; as a result extended parental care is required to help assure the survival of the young. Extended parental care is far more taxing and dangerous on the adults than the lay "em and leave "em ways of reptiles and fish, social groups, or family groups working together is the best way to insure that as many of the progeny, as well as the adults survive.
II, B, para. 38, UN Doc A/Conf.157/24 (Oct. 1993, quoted in Thomas 1999: 249). ... The Declaration attributes the roots of gender violence to historically unequal power relations between men and women, arguing that it is socially constructed and historically justified rather than natural (Coomaraswamy and Kios 1999: 183). ...