I have finally had enough. Commentators and columnists such as Kathleen Parker, Sean Hannity and Michael Savage keep calling people "animals." The "animals are attacking," the "animals deserve to die," the "animals with religious fervor." What is with this illusion of portraying bad human behavior as "animal?"

Every time I hear or read a news story where the word "animal" is used to describe negative human behavior, I feel as if I am being poked with a cattle prod. If someone hits an elderly person, he acts "like an animal." If a teenager eats his lunch in an unattractive manner, he eats "like an animal." Don't I wish.

I have worked directly with animals for more than 40 years at the Cincinnati Zoo and Botanical Gardens, as well as living a lifetime on a farm. I would be so grateful if more humans "acted like animals."

Animals actually have excellent manners. While TV cameras love to zero in on a fight between two male lions, the fact is they seldom hurt each other seriously. It simply does not serve them well to engage in vicious fighting because an injured animal can lose his life even if he is the winner. Most hoofed animals snort, paw the ground, circle each other and even bash heads, like the bighorn sheep or our own local male white-tailed deer. But the tussle is a show of strength, and the weaker animal moves away in cases of boundary disputes.

We humans have engaged in boundary disputes since recorded history. Border wars, fences, walls, you name it, and humans have fought over it.

Let's engage in some "animal behavior" and see what happens. Wolves are among my favorites. To avoid dangerous fights, wolves carefully patrol their borders and deftly urinate on the boundaries. Wolves from another pack dutifully respect this and stay in their own territory, at least most of the time.

This "animal" way of problem solving is so civilized compared with what humans do. For example, look at the ancient hatred playing itself out in territory disputes between Israel and Palestine. The implications of the wolves' method brings to mind the possibility of an amazing photo op with the Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon and Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat as they walk up and down the Gaza Strip.

And if that does not solve the problem, then they can try cattle prods on each other. Let's just give up the "animal" comparisons.

Cathryn Hilker of Mason founded the zoo's Cat Ambassador program and has directed its Angel Fund for cheetah preservation.

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