sort of a theory?

this isn't so much of a theory i suppose as it is just a thought. an opinion lets call it.

all the time we see examples of animals exhibiting charicteristics unusual for their speceis. for example, unlikely animal friendships, or cats that play fetch. i once watched a documentary where a narwhal was separated from it's mother and raised by dolphins. it learned to live and act like the dolphins. my point is that speceis interact with and take traits from one another all the time, for one reason or another. that is, i beleive, what therianthropy is.

we as humans like to label our experiences. its how we understand and communicate them. as far as i know, identity as we think of it is a human thing. but we are not the only ones to push the boundrys between ourselves and other animals.

I believe you are partially right. For some of us, like maybe myself, I may have been Imprinted as a child by my wolfdog as a kid, as my parents neglected me... But this doesn't explain other experiences for me and so many others at the same time.

im sorry, i didn't explain very well. i didn't intend to say that therianthropy is just about imprinting. i only meant to make note of instances similar to therainthropy in speceis other than humans. i apologize for my lack of clarity.

(2024-01-04 2:21)Leaf_Coneybear Wrote:  im sorry, i didn't explain very well. i didn't intend to say that therianthropy is just about imprinting. i only meant to make note of instances similar to therainthropy in speceis other than humans. i apologize for my lack of clarity.

No no! I knew this, I'm just saying imprinting because it's somewhat related to what you had said.

very true, which i think is a good point that would maybe help destigmatize therianthropy to some; since displaying traits that arent 'typical' for a species is seen in nature, why should it be considered wrong for humans?

exactly what i was thinking! cat playing fetch = cute. human playing fetch = freak. funny how that works.

Animals that interact with each other regularly learn to understand each other somewhat.

But I wouldn't say that explains therianthropy. I couldn't have imprinted on ferrets, I didn't know any.

If I'm around say cats a lot then I will learn and use some of their behaviours and language if it helps in understanding each other better. But this doesn't make me a cat therian. Just someone social with cats.

That's just normal behavior for different species interactions. Or well, good behavior. This can get ugly.

that is true. and i have obviously not met any dragons.

i should have included that its not neccicerily through interactions. i honestly don't know why any of this happens. i perhaps should not have put this in the explaination section because i don't intend to explain anything. i simply mean to make an observation.