Quote:
Originally Posted by glatt
...In the summer, that same underground pipe means the water is cooler for the cows...
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I really wonder. Do cows care about the temperature of the water they drink?
Like, I'm fairly sure my puppy never cared if his water was cold or warm. He in fact seemed to prefer fairly tepid water to chilled water.
How would you go about trying to scientifically prove "enjoyment", not mere preference but actual sensual pleasure, from animals' reaction to various temperatures of accessible water?
There might be very good reasons why we would have evolved positive reactions to chilled beverage that other animals may not have evolved. And even if they show tendencies towards, or preferences for, certain temperatures of water, can we show ways that they actually ENJOY or otherwise have positive "emotional" reactions to having chilled water versus room-temperature water?
I'm mildly skeptical of, but mostly down with, the idea that animals PREFER colder water. Cold water is a good indicator of fresher spring-fed sources of water. But... while on my most animal-loving level, I want to equate that with ENJOYMENT OF colder water, is there any way to empirically show the sort of emotional enjoyment that we feel towards having cold drinks, in other animals?
Like, i'm serious - if anyone can help me understand, i'm not asking in a rhetorical, no-they-don't sort of way - i'm legitimately dead curious as to whether we can be sure that they really do have the sort of emotional concept of 'enjoying' something they prefer that we do.