Last week we discussed the evolution of the domestic cat, which apparently evolved (or was selected) from a population of the wildcat, Felis silvestris, inhabiting the Middle East. Here are a mother and kittens of the European wildcat (same species), taken only yesterday in Germany’s Opel Zoo. Photo courtesy of ZooBorns.
(P.Z. and I are on a campaign to show that we’re really softies underneath and that not all atheists are hateful and grumpy curmudgeons.)
That’s just upped the ah factor! Let’s see how PZ responds 🙂
Are not Twain and Mencken admired for being being curmudgeons? Mooney, et al are rightfully reviled for their softness and pliability. I say post images of cute tigers mauling unsuspecting victims. Give me the red tooth and claw over this downy fluffiness any time. Hate has nothing to do with it, it’s survival of the fittest. In the marketplace of ideas Mooney is offering us a 1959 Ford Edsel. Where am I supposed to find parts for that clunker?
Penguins, kitties, and…flies! We need an article about a certain mutant with an increased number of supraorbital bristles!
It isn’t working. We all know you’re just posting them as dinner suggestions.
Or is that puppies?
Those are indeed awwwwwwwdorable. And I want to adobt the mother.
Another atheist conspiracy?
Isn’t it enough to persecute the IDists, now you have to pretend to be nice?
Next movie by Stein: Wildcats being raised to maul all god-believers. Can’t get any of that “nice” nonsense past their design detectors, you know.
Glen D
http://tinyurl.com/6mb592
Wait, is this another atheist conspiracy I did not get invited to?!
The Iriomote wildcat is better.
Wow, beautiful. Though, the stuff about softies I find a bit annoying and unnecessary (first time ok, now, not so much). Can’t we just celebrate the magnificence without the strange “pandering”. These pictures you find are amazing. Skeptics have long been labeled curmudgeons, but I don’t recall a campaign by those such as Paul Kurtz or Michael Shermer etc., making a point of showing how “soft” they/we are simply by publishing pictures of beautiful creatures.
But, hey all in good fun I guess.
Awwww, so cute!
Let’s devise some empirical measure of cuteness.
Sure – they’re cute until you try to pet one and your arm is lacerated by their sharp claws and to make matters worse they dig their sharp teeth into your flesh while their germ-laden saliva oozes into the open wounds. They weren’t called “wild life” for nothing.
I challenge you not to squee at the nurse bandaging you: “But it was so kyoooooooooot!”
It’s an abomination! Now all the evil neo-atheists have to show sweet animals on their blogs just because two biologists in their very midst have begun their newest sinful crusade with the very aim to pretend they would have feelings as well!
lol…so true! I’m not complaining though, but when will I start seeing pictures of baby iguanas and other cute reptiles?
There’s cute and over-the-top cute such as these cub photos of Tai Shan (b July 2005), the National Zoo’s panda cub. A few of these spread around atheist sites would totally confuse the pious.
http://nationalzoo.si.edu/Animals/GiantPandas/MeetPandas/PandaCubGallery/thumbnails.cfm
However, I will retain my hatefulness and grumpiness towards religion; it’s what religion has earned.
so ADORIBLE