"Man is the only animal that deals in that atrocity of atrocities, War...

[rateyes]

He is the only one that gathers his brethren about him and goes forth in cold blood and calm pulse to exterminate his kind. He is the only animal that for sordid wages will march out... and help to slaughter strangers of his own species who have done him no harm and with whom he has no quarrel.... And in the intervals between campaigns he washes the blood off his hands and works for 'the universal brotherhood of man' - with his mouth."

~Mark Twain

[Gman]

1. Ants wage war too.

[anonymous171]

2. So do apes. nt

[atreides1]

3. What atrocities do apes commit?

Or ants for that matter?

[Odin2005]

5. male chimps often go into another troop's territory and murder isolated chimps.

And apparently have fun while doing it.

[rateyes]

6. So, we really haven't evolved all that much

have we?

[Odin2005]

7. Nope.

It's often pointed out that it's not much different than human warfare.

[JonQ]

10. We can dream of a world where all that is over and done with

And possibly work towards it. No other species can make that claim.

[Gman]

14. Ants rape, pillage and burn villages

they often perform ritual sacrifices with ant infants.

[madokie]

16. I don't know about atrocities but when we were quite young

us kids used to see if we could find a red ant mound and a black mound and take one to the other and the battle would be on. The black and red ants would kill each other until one or the other was all dead. I'd call that war.

[Odin2005]

4. Actually, chimps do the same thing

Minus the "brotherhood" thing.

[LostInAnomie]

8. Lots of animals wage war.

Bees, wasps, ants, apes, etc. Depending on how you define it, most social animals wage some kind of war on other groups.

Are you just going around trying to dig up silly anti-war quotes from famous people?

[JonQ]

9. Ants, wasps, termites

a variety of simians.

Quite likely neanderthals did as well.

[GreenStormCloud]

11. Lions kill hyenas anytime the get a chance.

Often a pride of lions will face off with a pack of hyenas and the fight is on. Unless the hyenas outnumber the lions about 3 to 1, the lions win.

This two week long battle had the lions win by driving off the hyenas. Casualties were 35 dead hyenas, 6 dead lions. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/323422.stm

[juno jones]

12. What Twain said.

Animals aside, we are the only ones capable of hypocrisy.

That's what he was getting at.

[SmileyRose]

13. Are we sure Twain was correct?

I'm thinking Mark Twain would have had to be able to understand the language of all the other animals in order to know whether or not they condemn their neighbors for the same sins they themselves are committing. But since I can't even hear the ants, let alone know what they might be talking about, I really can say if they are capable of being hypocrites or not.

[Tierra_y_Libertad]

15. And, we are the only animals who are conceited enough to believe we are the epitomy of evolution.

Not to mention thinking we are, in some way, valuable to the universe.

[Uncle Joe]

17. I don't agree with Twain, other animal species wage war but Man has the least excuse

for doing so.

Thanks for the thread, rateyes.