Lions and Tigers and Bears, Oh My!

Hello, darklings.

The season is warming up! Dead-nettle and dandelions are peeking up in the yard, trees are budding, and I love it, even if my allergies are making themselves known.  I've also been enjoying the weekend. My roommate is away, which means I'm taking care of four large dogs. Thus far they've been well-behaved kiddos. They are bedhogs, though.

Speaking of animals, Let’s talk a bit about writing animals in books. 

First thing, if you’re going to put a critter in your book? Please, please, please do some research. From multiple sources. This will save you and your readers some pain. Because someone is going to know about handling animals and their habits. (Especially if they’re a nature nerd like me.)

Second, we don’t need to add to the misinformation on how a beastie needs trained, handled, or why they might attack a person. This has been done in literary works far too often. Even scientific journals have spread misconceptions that have garnered nothing but harm. (Alpha wolves don't exist. Get over it.)

Third, you will make your animal far more believable by describing them behaving like an animal. 

And number four, your readers will love seeing animals and their handling described correctly. I once wrote a fanfic with an abused, aggressive horse. I did a goblin-ton of research to see how horse trainers gained these animals’ trust, how they addressed a horse using aggression out of fear, how they worked horses without whips, what medication they used to handle parasites and treat malnourished equines--all of it.

Man, the glow of pride I experienced when I had two people with horse experience comment on that being exactly how a scared, skinny horse should be handled! Well worth the many hours of research and watching horse training videos.

I want you, little corvids, to experience that satisfaction.

Now, don’t think just because your animal character (yes, it’s a character) is rare or imaginary that you don’t need to put in the work. More exotic creatures like tigers, hyenas, wolves, bears, hawks, etc. still require the research. Someone will know if you accurately depict them or not. Even if you have a fantasy animal, figure out what animal their brain is likely close to and start there.

Not only will this keep knowledgable readers from closing your book, but even those who aren’t experts will have more suspended disbelief. 

As an example, how much would you suspend disbelief if a character approached a feral, predatory animal and instantly befriended it without magic? I wouldn’t. Even in How to Train Your Dragon, which costarred a fantasy creature, Hiccup had to work patiently over time to earn trust, and then had to continue building on that relationship with this trapped dragon. It’s my favorite part of the movie.

And yes, I know, giving your character a pet ostrich, bear, etc. looks cool. However, even animals that have been around humans all their life require rules. Tiger caretakers, for example, do not turn their backs on them, especially if crouching. Camel owners know they are pushy and can kill you with one kick (and can strike sideways). Wolf caretakers know their brains are not the same as dogs. 

Also, be aware of how deadly some of these exotic creatures are. People in India know trying to dissuade an elephant herd from their gardens can be fatal. Orcas in aquariums have drowned people and played with their corpses. Yes, tigers and lions both have infamous historical examples of voracious man-eaters with a single big cat turning hundreds of humans into happy meals. Hippos—you just shouldn’t with hippos. If you’re not aware of the damage and death chimpanzees have inflicted, go look it up, but I’m not responsible for your therapy bill afterward.

I encourage you to not ignore these details. They’re useful! There is intrigue in showing a character being respectful of potentially dangerous animals. Even ones as simple as a dog or horse require safety rules. Because yes, Flicka and Fido can kill you. Every year, horse related incidents stamp out over 100 people, and 30-50 people get unalived by canines. That’s just in the United States. 

Scenes with animals don’t have to be dire, either. It can be very humorous! As a reader and viewer, I love when a person runs across an animal they have no clue what to do with and wind up in trouble. Like not knowing how to ride a horse, or knowing that llamas spit, or that big birds think they’re courting them, or that werewolves need very strong chew toys or say goodbye to the new couch. Point is, you wouldn’t know about these comedic nuggets unless you did the research.

Also, I’m not going to believe your story if you give a regular animal human gestures and understanding. You can get away with that if you’re writing something Disney-like or fantasy where animals behave so, but if that’s not the vibe you’re going for, make sure your animals behave like animals. 

Research animal training and handling, too. Riding camels is different from riding horses. Training a dog is much different than training a hawk. Know how it’s done if your character has a well-trained critter. That pays off!

Please also research what it takes to gear an animal up for riding. I’m not a horse rider. I still know you can’t run into a barn and be on saddled horseback the next ten seconds. Same thing with hooking any beast up to a chariot or wagon. That doesn’t just instantly happen.

And feed and water those poor beasties. Not everything is like a camel. Having your character concerned for their animal companion’s wellbeing gives something for audiences to sympathize with (especially if that character hates people—Save the cat!).

Also, I love when characters have neurotic animals. We have four dogs, all of them found strays. None of them are normal. Two are kept separate due to them being easily triggered to fight each other. One takes anti-anxiety meds. I’m pretty sure the black lab has depression. These animals have their past embedded in them, and we don’t know how much of their temperaments is genetic or from what they experienced as puppies before I and my roommate took them in.

That makes them interesting. These animals are individuals and none of them act alike. Your animal is a character. Flesh them out. Animals can have PTSD. Pets can have chronic illness. Fearful animals can shut down or attack. Animals with high prey drive act much different from animals that are prey. They all require different tactics and training to account for their neurosis. 

Enrich your world and characters with these animals. 

Also, be nice to crows and ravens. They DO remember you, and they WILL tell their friends about you if you’re mean. 

Stay safe and create some cool animal characters, corvids.