11/12/2025
Fauna
I feel as a resident “dinosaur-guy” (not certified as I’m not getting a degree for it) and a painfully uncloseted furry (don’t ask), there are a few things that people say about biology, history, and anthropology that tend to make me raise an eyebrow or two. In my day to day life I’m surrounded pretty heavily by people who study or have studied sciences; my partner majored in Anthropology, an interest we both share, to name one. I’d be easily persuaded that a dinosaur hobbyist or enthusiast would know the basics of biology, at least when it comes to the assurance that their Spicomellus model has the correct amount of spines and in the correct placement. And, from what I’m told, Anthropologists have a humorous reputation of also being furries (as quoted by my partner). So, while I’d love to go over the two adorable specimens in my terrarium more, Ruby and Sapphire, I’d like to spend some time and talk about common misconceptions that I’ve seen that have been nagging at me for some time. We’ll start with one of the biggest I see.
Evolution and Anthropology (and furries)
Oh evolution, every biology professor’s dreaded lecture. Nowadays there are many connotations with the word evolution: an anti-christ belief, a process which only goes one way, the concept of de-evolution, the fear or desire to return to being “primal” with the existence of technology (or lack there of). To rip the bandaid off: De-evolution is not real. Sorry primal fans, thought I’d say it now rather than later. Essentially, while evolution is popularly considered a linear line of progression, it’s really more of an effect that doesn’t necessarily pick based on what could happen in the future. For example, Tyrannasaurids existed, but evolution didn’t prepare them for the massive climate changes that took out every animal weighing over 25 kilograms. While they were built to be the “ultimate apex predator” at the time, their bodies were incapable of regulating their body temperatures which led to their extinction (as well as rapid ecosystem change). Evolution doesn’t even necessarily have to pick based on what’s better for survival. If we’re really being frank with ourselves here, evolution for humans is one of the worsts it’s been– consider that our pathways for intaking food and air are mostly the same, or that we still get hiccups even though we don’t have gills, or that our brains are so large that we now have to remove teeth from our jaws on a regular basis since there’s no more room on our jaws (wisdom teeth), or the fact that we get goosebumps even though we don’t have fur.
Now, if for some reason someone would desire to “de-evolve”, the process would leave more to be desired. Firstly, evolution is the process of de-evolution; however, I understand when people say “de-evolution”, what they’re looking for is a more animalistic state of the human body, which to get to that point would still be classified as evolution. There’s no going back to a specific evolutionary period for a specific species, rather if, for example, humans were to get rid of the technology they rely on in order to spur new traits that resembled older ones and somehow not go extinct (winter temperatures alone would kill us in droves), we’d be looking at a specimen with a smaller brain, possibly longer arms, better eyesight, and a posture that would support our organs and spinal structure more profoundly. Also, we probably wouldn’t have pinky toes anymore (we’re evolving to not have them anyways). From an Anthropological perspective, we probably wouldn’t keep a lot of the behavioral traits we have; if we’re returning to being primal or on the same plane as animals, animals don’t particularly have the brains to comprehend the metaphoric symbols and abstract language that are needed to practice religion, so that’d be gone too. However, if for whatever reason someone is really determined to become more animalistic, there is a group of people who combine technology and identity, as well as a group of individuals who do the opposite: Furries and Therians.
For those unaware, furries (at the very minimum) are people who like anthropromorphized animal characters. Fundamentally, this is a preference for design, or an identity-link (for lack of a better phrasing) with animalistic characteristics, behavior or physical look. The unfortunate truth of describing what a furry is, is that the community description of what a furry can be is so large encompassing in what an identity could be makes it difficult to describe on a minute level. Many people see it as a significant part of their identity; there are comparisons that could be made to the way that people are treated when others find out they are furries and when they are gay. There are thousands and thousands of videos uploaded of furries being the brunt of verbal abuse or even physical assault just because of the fact that they are furries. People who are furries who “come out” to their families, showing them their fursuits (a mascot-esq costume of their own character), either being accepted or ostracized from their families because of it. Of course, there are disputes on whether or not the two can truly be compared. Furries are an interesting side of people who do want to identify with something that isn’t inherently human, but still a part of anthropology. If you go looking for old fursuiting videos, most of the time people who show up in these videos act more like animals; most try to act out their chosen species through communicating through body language or alternate sounds like squeaks, chirps, or calls (as referenced by official guides to fursuiting). Some even use tools like bird whistles or other self-engineered calling mechanisms like 3D-printed whistles that they would place on top of their tongue. However, most will still say that while it’s a part of their identity, they don’t actively believe they’re animals.
On the other side, Therians (more often than not) do not identify with furries but rather actual animals, completing a sort of identity spectrum. It’s more akin to the belief of spirit animals, except Therians identify with the spirit of a specific animal and believe that their spirit is just that; their chosen animal. They make a conscious effort to be grounded and understanding with the earth; training their bodies to walk on all fours (when appropriate), adorning masks and taxidermied tails of the animals they feel spiritually connected with (as a note, most therians advocate for a humane way to acquire their taxidermied tails), while also understanding their brains and bodies are fundamentally human. From an anthropological perspective, Therians are an interesting combination between identity and beliefs; their beliefs don’t exactly equate to a religious ideology, nor do Therians fit within a specific community other than themselves, despite being the best example of a group of people who reject the status quo and embrace a larger part of nature. What I’m trying to say here is that humans famously do not not advocate for a growing divide between animals and humans, it’s just that the people who do are often ostracized and antagonized beyond belief for simply practicing self expression.
A small, perhaps unlinked line of thinking I had when concerning these topics was the overabundance of christian ideology that seems to find its way into a lot of everyday functionality. Criticism towards the church is often antagonistic or seen as such; the sheer amount of conversations I’ve had with people about Christianity labelling homosexuality as demonic and a source of people’s hate could take several years off of my life, despite Jesus denouncing the part of the Bible that labels the love of two men as a sin. However, I also have had personal experiences with Christians that aren’t hateful; one of the biggest examples is when the current president tried removing healthcare for transgender people, when I received nearly ten messages from people that my mother knew telling me they were praying for me and my health. Despite being baptized, I was raised by my mother as Pagan, which essentially combines any religious belief that isn’t centered on Judeo, Christian, or Islamic. Growing up I was told to never tell anyone what we believed in or it'd be seen as satanic, that it was a big scare when I was younger, which admittedly instilled a more biased approach to religion as a whole. It also didn’t help that I was struggling with my identity and found out that a disdain towards queer people also existed, unfortunately with an overlap within Christian beliefs. But, as ridiculous as it sounds to say, the furry community is very welcoming, and I do understand the appeal to be more like an “animal”. It allows people to stray away from the status quo while also finding an accepting and loving group of people who more often than not just want to find a place to be themselves in a place where they feel safe to do so.
There is an interesting link between people and animals, but it lies in identity and self expression which is seen as taboo and unorthodox, even as just a hobby. There's this strange mindset around anthropology and humanity, that somehow humans are different now in a way because of natural occurrences that affect every other creature on the planet, that there’s some haven or utopia that can be created with enough belief or a return to “simpler times”. I believe that by believing that, you’re kind of making way to accept bigotry or differences that do make us as humans beautiful. I believe that if there’s some change you want in the world, you have to look inside yourself and figure all that out before you turn to total annihilation. Who knows, maybe something cool will happen. Idk.
Citations
Ethan Doyle White Possessing a PhD in Medieval History and Archaeology from University College London, E. D. W. writes on religion. (2025, October 24). Paganism. Encyclopædia Britannica. https://www.britannica.com/topic/paganism
How an asteroid ended the age of the dinosaurs. Natural History Museum. (n.d.). https://www.nhm.ac.uk/discover/how-an-asteroid-caused-extinction-of-dinosaurs.html
Omnom The Nom. (n.d.). How to use Squeaks Chirps and Calls in Fursuit! - Fursuiting 101. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6JvfZ44de-o
Top ten daily consequences of human evolution. Top Ten Daily Consequences of Human Evolution. (n.d.). https://proto-knowledge.blogspot.com/2010/11/top-ten-daily-consequences-of-human.html
Evolution and Anthropology (and furries)
Oh evolution, every biology professor’s dreaded lecture. Nowadays there are many connotations with the word evolution: an anti-christ belief, a process which only goes one way, the concept of de-evolution, the fear or desire to return to being “primal” with the existence of technology (or lack there of). To rip the bandaid off: De-evolution is not real. Sorry primal fans, thought I’d say it now rather than later. Essentially, while evolution is popularly considered a linear line of progression, it’s really more of an effect that doesn’t necessarily pick based on what could happen in the future. For example, Tyrannasaurids existed, but evolution didn’t prepare them for the massive climate changes that took out every animal weighing over 25 kilograms. While they were built to be the “ultimate apex predator” at the time, their bodies were incapable of regulating their body temperatures which led to their extinction (as well as rapid ecosystem change). Evolution doesn’t even necessarily have to pick based on what’s better for survival. If we’re really being frank with ourselves here, evolution for humans is one of the worsts it’s been– consider that our pathways for intaking food and air are mostly the same, or that we still get hiccups even though we don’t have gills, or that our brains are so large that we now have to remove teeth from our jaws on a regular basis since there’s no more room on our jaws (wisdom teeth), or the fact that we get goosebumps even though we don’t have fur.
Now, if for some reason someone would desire to “de-evolve”, the process would leave more to be desired. Firstly, evolution is the process of de-evolution; however, I understand when people say “de-evolution”, what they’re looking for is a more animalistic state of the human body, which to get to that point would still be classified as evolution. There’s no going back to a specific evolutionary period for a specific species, rather if, for example, humans were to get rid of the technology they rely on in order to spur new traits that resembled older ones and somehow not go extinct (winter temperatures alone would kill us in droves), we’d be looking at a specimen with a smaller brain, possibly longer arms, better eyesight, and a posture that would support our organs and spinal structure more profoundly. Also, we probably wouldn’t have pinky toes anymore (we’re evolving to not have them anyways). From an Anthropological perspective, we probably wouldn’t keep a lot of the behavioral traits we have; if we’re returning to being primal or on the same plane as animals, animals don’t particularly have the brains to comprehend the metaphoric symbols and abstract language that are needed to practice religion, so that’d be gone too. However, if for whatever reason someone is really determined to become more animalistic, there is a group of people who combine technology and identity, as well as a group of individuals who do the opposite: Furries and Therians.
For those unaware, furries (at the very minimum) are people who like anthropromorphized animal characters. Fundamentally, this is a preference for design, or an identity-link (for lack of a better phrasing) with animalistic characteristics, behavior or physical look. The unfortunate truth of describing what a furry is, is that the community description of what a furry can be is so large encompassing in what an identity could be makes it difficult to describe on a minute level. Many people see it as a significant part of their identity; there are comparisons that could be made to the way that people are treated when others find out they are furries and when they are gay. There are thousands and thousands of videos uploaded of furries being the brunt of verbal abuse or even physical assault just because of the fact that they are furries. People who are furries who “come out” to their families, showing them their fursuits (a mascot-esq costume of their own character), either being accepted or ostracized from their families because of it. Of course, there are disputes on whether or not the two can truly be compared. Furries are an interesting side of people who do want to identify with something that isn’t inherently human, but still a part of anthropology. If you go looking for old fursuiting videos, most of the time people who show up in these videos act more like animals; most try to act out their chosen species through communicating through body language or alternate sounds like squeaks, chirps, or calls (as referenced by official guides to fursuiting). Some even use tools like bird whistles or other self-engineered calling mechanisms like 3D-printed whistles that they would place on top of their tongue. However, most will still say that while it’s a part of their identity, they don’t actively believe they’re animals.
On the other side, Therians (more often than not) do not identify with furries but rather actual animals, completing a sort of identity spectrum. It’s more akin to the belief of spirit animals, except Therians identify with the spirit of a specific animal and believe that their spirit is just that; their chosen animal. They make a conscious effort to be grounded and understanding with the earth; training their bodies to walk on all fours (when appropriate), adorning masks and taxidermied tails of the animals they feel spiritually connected with (as a note, most therians advocate for a humane way to acquire their taxidermied tails), while also understanding their brains and bodies are fundamentally human. From an anthropological perspective, Therians are an interesting combination between identity and beliefs; their beliefs don’t exactly equate to a religious ideology, nor do Therians fit within a specific community other than themselves, despite being the best example of a group of people who reject the status quo and embrace a larger part of nature. What I’m trying to say here is that humans famously do not not advocate for a growing divide between animals and humans, it’s just that the people who do are often ostracized and antagonized beyond belief for simply practicing self expression.
A small, perhaps unlinked line of thinking I had when concerning these topics was the overabundance of christian ideology that seems to find its way into a lot of everyday functionality. Criticism towards the church is often antagonistic or seen as such; the sheer amount of conversations I’ve had with people about Christianity labelling homosexuality as demonic and a source of people’s hate could take several years off of my life, despite Jesus denouncing the part of the Bible that labels the love of two men as a sin. However, I also have had personal experiences with Christians that aren’t hateful; one of the biggest examples is when the current president tried removing healthcare for transgender people, when I received nearly ten messages from people that my mother knew telling me they were praying for me and my health. Despite being baptized, I was raised by my mother as Pagan, which essentially combines any religious belief that isn’t centered on Judeo, Christian, or Islamic. Growing up I was told to never tell anyone what we believed in or it'd be seen as satanic, that it was a big scare when I was younger, which admittedly instilled a more biased approach to religion as a whole. It also didn’t help that I was struggling with my identity and found out that a disdain towards queer people also existed, unfortunately with an overlap within Christian beliefs. But, as ridiculous as it sounds to say, the furry community is very welcoming, and I do understand the appeal to be more like an “animal”. It allows people to stray away from the status quo while also finding an accepting and loving group of people who more often than not just want to find a place to be themselves in a place where they feel safe to do so.
There is an interesting link between people and animals, but it lies in identity and self expression which is seen as taboo and unorthodox, even as just a hobby. There's this strange mindset around anthropology and humanity, that somehow humans are different now in a way because of natural occurrences that affect every other creature on the planet, that there’s some haven or utopia that can be created with enough belief or a return to “simpler times”. I believe that by believing that, you’re kind of making way to accept bigotry or differences that do make us as humans beautiful. I believe that if there’s some change you want in the world, you have to look inside yourself and figure all that out before you turn to total annihilation. Who knows, maybe something cool will happen. Idk.
Citations
Ethan Doyle White Possessing a PhD in Medieval History and Archaeology from University College London, E. D. W. writes on religion. (2025, October 24). Paganism. Encyclopædia Britannica. https://www.britannica.com/topic/paganism
How an asteroid ended the age of the dinosaurs. Natural History Museum. (n.d.). https://www.nhm.ac.uk/discover/how-an-asteroid-caused-extinction-of-dinosaurs.html
Omnom The Nom. (n.d.). How to use Squeaks Chirps and Calls in Fursuit! - Fursuiting 101. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6JvfZ44de-o
Top ten daily consequences of human evolution. Top Ten Daily Consequences of Human Evolution. (n.d.). https://proto-knowledge.blogspot.com/2010/11/top-ten-daily-consequences-of-human.html
