The influence of documentaries and video

hello again everyone! Rain here (again) with another question (again X3). What can i say, im a curious critter and fascinated by others experiences :3.
Today as I was watching Blue Planet III (which for those who don't know is a BBC Attenborough documentary series about the oceans and marine life. totally recommend!!) I started to drift back to my childhood and wonder about how documentaries like this lead to the formation of my therianthropy.

Unlike a lot of kids I didn't grow up around cartoons. in simplified terms, my eyes couldn't cope with the intense colour saturation in them. so instead, I watched nature documentaries. i would collect DVD's and scan the TV channels for new ones to watch, from when I was very little. it was the only way to calm me down. I ended up surrounding myself with these creatures a lot of the time. before I went to bed, when I woke up. Whilst I was fascinated by the environment outside as well without a doubt, I also focused on this media a lot.

I have 4 theriotypes. 3 of them can be explained quite simply psychologically. I grew up around felines, hence my domestic cat theriotype, and the alienation that stemmed from it probably lead to my identifying as a Nekomata somewhere along the line. Red kites are common in the skies around my home, and a long time fascination that i mimicked. but then there is the 4th. Crocodiles don't live in the UK (duh), or at least not in modern climatic conditions. In fact, there are very few reptiles here at all. So where on earth did I get what i often describe as my 'founding identity' if I had (apart from zoos) never seen a crocodile in real life?

the answer, i think, lies in these documentaries. Particularly, I copied behaviour from crocodile hatchlings to communicate with their mothers, in an effort to get attention. I used their rolling techniques and eating habits, vocalisations (I have noticed in recent years that my hissing actually sounds much more reptilian than it does feline) and even to the way I swum. I used to 'ambush' other kids in the pool by submerging myself near the waters edge and waiting, just like a croc would, only my eyes above the surface. All of these are behaviours and instances clearly displayed in these programmes I watched so much. and through watching them over and over again, I just picked up and integrated the behaviours. I'm not sure why this occurred with crocodiles specifically, or at least to the extent that I identify as one today despite my habit of watching these documentaries having diminished a lot over recent years (which is a great shame in my opinion. i miss it.).

where im going with this is: have others found this has happened to them? which theriotype or animal has this occured with, and why do you think that is? and what are your favourite documentaries?

I find that when i am stressed, I naturally return to watching film. whether its footage from camera traps online, occassionally grabbing an old Life on Earth documentary or just checking the discovery channel, its something I can't seem to shake. its like- a comfort show, except my comfort is the whole world and watching natural scenarios. perhaps this explains my therianthropy as a whole, aside from the specific species stuff, somewhat as well. i didn't watch shows with people in them. I didn't latch on to, understand or treasure human moments in television or video. it was the animals I learned from and grew to understand, and thus that is what i felt closer to. In a way, my crocodile identity connects me to my childhood. back in the days when I still swam, still watched these programmes every day. its like a connection. and as much as I am a predatory reptilian creature, its a peaceful part of me that i treasure.

thanks for reading :3

stay happy snappy! :>
_Rain

I think this is definitely a possibility for some of my theriotypes. My cat theriotype, like yours, can easily be attributed to growing up with cats. My monkey theriotype I think originated from crossovers of my human and non-human self. The others, except from the Guloninae clade, could be due to me consuming lots of media (video games & cartoons and books mostly) related to them.

But as I mentioned, my Guloninae theriotype would be a bit of on odd one out. I have always loved nature documentaries, and have watched loads, in addition to cartoons and other fictional shows. I don’t think I would have watched enough with pine martens/wolverines etc for it to be the sole reason for this theriotype, but maybe watching documentaries about carnivorous mammals specifically cemented/fleshed out the characteristics more? Also going to zoos and seeing similar animals as well. I sometimes feel slightly mongoosey due to my marten behaviors, and I’ve seen documentaries about meerkats which probably had influence on me.

Onto my favourite documentaries, I love dinosaur ones, they’re very fascinating to me! I’ve recently started watching one by David Attenborough about the evolution of vertebrates (I believe it’s called David Attenborough’s Rise of Animals)
I’ve also watched lots of clips about primate species, and if you have any suggestions for primate-related documentaries I’d love to hear them :3