Jealous Beasts: The Dark Side of Love (2024)

FAQs

What animals are known for jealousy? ›

Tigers and gorillas are not the only animals in which we see outbursts of jealous rage. There is a species of marine crustacean called cleaner shrimp.

Jealousy is a strong feeling of resentment that can overpower a person's good will and compel them to take involuntary action against one.

Jealousy, the result of real or perceived threats to our emotional attachments, is remarkably similar in humans and animals.

Jealousy is often rooted in insecurities and fears that a person may not even realize they have. These could include fear of oversimplification, fear of inadequacy, fear of abandonment, fear of being replaced, and fear of being judged.

There is not one root cause for someone's jealous behaviors or feelings, but there are a few reasons why someone might feel this way, including insecurity, past history, or fear of loss. Jealousy can be triggered by these and might create tensions within your relationships.

An allegorical image depicting the human heart subject to the seven deadly sins, each represented by an animal (clockwise: toad = avarice; snake = envy; lion = wrath; snail = sloth; pig = gluttony; goat = lust; peaco*ck = pride).

James 3:16 says, “For where jealousy and selfish ambition exist, there will be disorder and every vile practice.” If you have ever struggled with jealousy, you probably know this to be true.

Both of these are the opposite of love and seek to see another person's misfortune. The root causes of jealousy and envy are connected to a person's inability to see what God has provided in their life and a lack of thankfulness.

Make no mistake, though, the Bible still calls envy a sin. As one evangelical dictionary puts it, envy is the “sin of jealousy over the blessings and achievements of others.” That's straightforward and it tells us that the words “envy” and “jealousy” are interchangeable.

While we may never know with certainty whether animals fall in love, it seems unlikely that humans are the only animals that experience complex emotions. Regardless, the courtship and partnership of various animal species illustrate the similarities we all share when finding someone to spend our lives with.

What does it mean when a wild animal stares at you? ›

“When an animal pricks up its ears and stares at you, it's showing alarm. There's stress going on. You're too close for its comfort,” says Greg Kurz, a wildlife biologist at Yellowstone National Park. An animal that's alarmed is not relaxed and is suddenly alert.

Breed: After a substantial amount of time working with dogs, she's noticed French bulldogs and Labrador retrievers tend to display high levels of jealousy. Age: Dogs tend to become more anxious and compulsive as they age, driving them to act clingy toward their owner.

Morbid jealousy can occur in a number of conditions such as chronic alcoholism, addiction to substances other than alcohol (i.e., cocaine, amphetamines), organic brain disorders (i.e., Parkinson's, Huntington's), schizophrenia, neurosis, affective disturbances, or personality disorders.

But jealousy is a natural, adaptive feeling designed to preserve important relationships.

If there is one animal that never forgives or forgets, it is the camel. They have good memories and can hold grudges against people who harm them. Harming a camel is likely to lead to a revenge attack that will most likely end in death.

Jealousy is an emotion reflecting weakness and desperation. Females are predominately associated with emotion, which may be why they are thought of as being more jealous than males. Males are generally associated with “tougher” forms of emotion, such as anger.

The quintessential embodiment of betrayal is the rat—as in “he ratted me out” and “we've got to find the rat in this gang.” Snakes (especially venomous ones) and weasels often have the same meaning.

It's no wonder that many pets that are close to their humans, such as dogs, cats, horses, pigs and exotic birds, are all known to display obsessive compulsive behaviors. The most common types of animal obsessive compulsive disorder seen in dogs include tail chasing and obsessive licking.