A gourmet rabbit.

As long term readers will know, we recently added two rabbits to our family. One is a golden rabbit called Sushi. The other is a grey, very fluffy rabbit called Mochi. Aptly, they are both named after Japanese foods, given the behaviour I am about to describe.

I had the pleasure of observing them as two very young rabbits, on one of their first experiences of the outside world. We had placed them in the garden, under the watchful gaze of all, since we also have cats, who might think two baby rabbits were somehow meant for them, in an unpleasant sort of way (for the rabbits, anyway). Both were very excited to see the grass beneath their feet. Up until then, food had arrived at our hands, in limited quantities: now the very ground beneath their feet sprouted edible goodies. It was fun to see them hop around excitedly, perhaps quite not able to believe that the world, the very world could be constructed of food, as it was, for them.

Mochi's behaviour was most interesting. She wandered about the garden, seeking different varieties of plants. Once she had found a new variety, she would nibble on it, experimentally and come to some inner assessment of its worth. Sometimes she nibbled more enthusiastically, after the first nibble, at other times, she seemed fairly neutral towards the plant. Once she had tasted a plant, she would then hop away in search of another variety. It was quite clear what she was doing. She was on a conscious, deliberate survey of the food options in her environment: she was tasting each and every variety of plant she could find.

She was particular fond of a type of small white flower - name unknown to me. To this she, in fact, returned more than once. It was the only plant, on this particular trip into the garden, that she returned to. With all others, she nibbled, then moved on.

On subsequent adventures in the garden, Mochi would return to where her favourite plants grew and nibble on them. She had come to an understanding of where in the garden the best pickings grew. There was nothing random in her food search: she always seemed to know what she liked to eat. It is notable that she takes the trouble to pick out favourite plants, from among all the alternatives

From this behaviour, it can be seen, that even a rabbit can be a bit of a gourmet. Our rabbits, in particular Mochi, have very individual tastes in food and go out of their way to meet those tastes. In a garden filled with different plants, they don't just nibble the ones at their feet, when placed in the garden - but go hopping off in search of particular treats - at least, they always seem to end up nibbling on these more unusual plants, in preference to more abundant, more readily available ones. Conscious choices seem to be being made.

It has been fun, so far, having rabbits in the house. More than that, however, it has been illuminating. I have come to better appreciate the intelligence of these seemingly simple animals. I think Man rather overestimates our place in the world. Yes, we have language and technology - but even quite humble animals have a degree of intelligence that too many overlook. They are not dumb creatures - they are just not as able as Humanity as a whole. That, however, does not make them unimpressive.

I recommend, to anyone, to have a pet or two in the house. The children will learn a lot - but so will you. The lessons you learn might surprise you and prompt you to reassess a number of your basic assumptions about the world's animals.

(If you would like to support my continued writing of this blog and my ongoing campaign to raise awareness about giftedness and all issues pertaining to it, please donate, by clicking on the gold button to the left of the page.

To read about my fundraising campaign, please go to: http://scientific-child-prodigy.blogspot.com/2011/01/fundraising-drive-in-support-of-my.htmland here: http://scientific-child-prodigy.blogspot.com/2011/01/fundraising-drive-first-donation.html

If you would like to read any of our scientific research papers, there are links to some of them, here: http://scientific-child-prodigy.blogspot.com/2011/02/research-papers-by-valentine-cawley-and.html

If you would like to see an online summary of my academic achievements to date, please go here: http://www.getcited.org/mbrz/11136175

To learn more of Ainan Celeste Cawley, 10, or his gifted brothers, Fintan, 7 and Tiarnan, 5, please go to: http://scientific-child-prodigy.blogspot.com/2006/10/scientific-child-prodigy-guide.html

I also write of gifted education, child prodigy, child genius, adult genius, savant, megasavant, HELP University College, the Irish, the Malays, Singapore, Malaysia, IQ, intelligence and creativity.

There is a review of my blog, on the respected The Kindle Report here:http://thekindlereport.blogspot.com/2010/09/boy-who-knew-too-much-child-prodigy.html

Please have a read, if you would like a critic's view of this blog. Thanks.

You can get my blog on your Kindle, for easy reading, wherever you are, by going to: http://www.amazon.com/Boy-Who-Knew-Too-Much/dp/B0042P5LEE/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&m=AG56TWVU5XWC2&s=digital-text&qid=1284603792&sr=8-1

Please let all your fellow Kindlers know about my blog availability - and if you know my blog well enough, please be so kind as to write a thoughtful review of what you like about it. Thanks.

My Internet Movie Database listing is at:http://imdb.com/name/nm3438598/

Ainan's IMDB listing is at http://imdb.com/name/nm3305973/

Syahidah's IMDB listing is at http://imdb.com/name/nm3463926/

Our editing, proofreading and copywriting company, Genghis Can, is athttp://www.genghiscan.com/

This blog is copyright Valentine Cawley. Unauthorized duplication is prohibited. Use only with permission. Thank you.)

A new meaning of "pet food".

At the beginning of July, we had a new addition to the house: a little baby hamster, all of two months old. The kids gathered around to watch its every move. Tiarnan, two, in particular, was taken by it.

There was something about Tiarnan's gaze and attitude that led to a question forming in the mind of both myself and my wife.

"Tiarnan," began Syahidah, his mother, "If there was no food in the house, would you eat Speedy?" For Speedy was the hamster's name.

He looked at Speedy, and nodded. "Hmmm."

Oh dear. For him, it seemed pet food meant something else altogether.

We told him then and there that Speedy wasn't meant to be eaten, but to be played with. He listened carefully and absorbed the lesson. However, in the next few days, I caught him referring to Speedy as "chicken". Quite comically, he took to miming putting Speedy in his mouth and swallowing - but then saying to himself as he did so: "Don't eat! Don't eat!"

I don't know whether Tiarnan was teasing me or not, once he knew our attitude to Speedy becoming a fast lunch. Knowing Tiarnan, as I do, it is quite possible that he was teasing us. Then, again, it is also possible that he saw the small animal as an attractive bite to eat - since it was readily available and may have looked appetizing to his two year old mind.

Tiarnan's reaction to the first animal we have had in the house is a good reminder that the notion of a pet is not something innate in us, but something we acquire from our culture. A deeper notion is that of other creatures being food - and that is the one that Tiarnan saw immediately on sighting our cute little fur ball of a hamster.

Anyway, the hamster survived his first couple of weeks, unscathed and Tiarnan has become fond of watching him in his cage and trying to catch a hold of him (far from easy since ours is the fastest breed of hamster available).

Nevertheless, I don't think I am ever likely to forget what "pet food" initially meant for two-year old Tiarnan.

(If you would like to learn more of Ainan Celeste Cawley, a scientific child prodigy, aged eight years and seven months, or his gifted brothers, Fintan, five years exactly, and Tiarnan, twenty-eight months, please go to: http://scientific-child-prodigy.blogspot.com/2006/10/scientific-child-prodigy-guide.html I also write of gifted education, IQ, intelligence, the Irish, the Malays, Singapore, College, University, Chemistry, Science, genetics, left-handedness, precocity, child prodigy, child genius, baby genius, adult genius, savant, wunderkind, wonderkind, genio, гений ребенок prodigy, genie, μεγαλοφυία θαύμα παιδιών, bambino, kind.

We are the founders of Genghis Can, a copywriting, editing and proofreading agency, that handles all kinds of work, including technical and scientific material. If you need such services, or know someone who does, please go to: http://www.genghiscan.com/ Thanks.)