My first animal love was the domestic horse (I went through a farm phase when I was 2) and while I still love them my favorite taxa is Loxodonta africana the African elephant. I loved watching stuff like the Lion King and Dumbo and going to the zoo and that introduced me to the whole African savannah biota.
I also adore the Komodo dragon. I was in first grade and we had to do a project on an animal rather than just do the elephant I found this book in the school library about Komodo dragons and the rest is history.
Finally we’re kicking it waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay back(about 68-66MYA to be precise). When I was three and a half I went into the obligatory dinosaur phase and I never grew out. My favorite then and now has been Triceratops. For some reason I saw it as a dinosaur elephant I guess and to this day I love triceratops.
I don’t think anyone ever outgrows that phase completely. Plus, um – the still existing ones, birds, right?
Triceratops! My childhood fave, too. What really made that so was an old ‘early reader’ book titled, ‘The Enormous Egg’. Charming tale of a boy who has a chicken that lays… well - - I bet you can guess the rest. I definitely have always wished that this be made into a movie. (Um, after a cleanup of the 1956 sexism, etc, of course. But probably not the politics! Amazingly current.)
Such a joy to see people fall in love with a specific species. My love for a species changes with the season to be honest. At the moment its still a tiny bit to early in the Netherlands but there are Crocus sprouting everywhere and i cant wait for the bumblebee queens to emerge and forage. Always gives me hope to watch such big insects peacefully roam around knowing the insect population here is declining rapidly.
My childhood memories bring me back to the love for Salticus scenicus which were often found at my grandparents house. I used to try make them jump to and from my fingers. I was fascinated by the gentle and friendly interaction one could have with a spider. It still brings a smile on my face whenever i see one.
