Prey Animals?

I'm not a therian, myself, but my best friend is a thylacine, and I'm dating a jaguar. ^_^ Therefore, I like to sniff around the therians. My best friend and boyfriend agree that IF I were an animal, I'd be some small prey animal, probably a gecko or squirrel. This raised a question- and considering the pair of them are making and selling some awesome fursuits for sale, it's a pertinent question- for me.

Is there a guinea pig out there?

How about a jerboa? Rock hyrax? Bunny? Squirrel? Lemming? Lemur? Vole? Red panda? Ermine? I keep seeing a lot of horses, bears, wolves, deer, birds of prey... but no guinea pigs. No hamsters, mice, squirrels, rats, or housecats. (Lots of tigers and lions, panthers and such. Why no ocelots?) I know there HAS to be a frustrated guinea pig out there somewhere, and I'd love to meet you, wherever you are!

I have come across a few therians who are rabbits, house cats, ferrets, a deer, a yellow-backed duiker. They're out there, you just have to look.

I've been looking quite a bit, but perhaps not in the right places. My best friend tells me she's seen a couple of odd prey animal therians, but that the wolves outnumber them by the dozens. I've been laughed at by quite a few people, but I still stand by my conviction that there IS a guinea pig out there.

Many theories abound for why the big and impressive creatures are more likely to be discovered as a theriotype, and why big and impressive predators are more common than prey species. I will not bother to list a bunch here, merely state that I think the "real" cause is likely a combination of many explanations, and to list one of my favourites.
The one theory goes that we often hear of large, impressive were-creatures in various cultures (werewolves, jaguar naguals, were-tigers, even Loki changing into a horse in one Norse tale) and therefore it might be easier to recognize you are a therian if you are one of these creatures. You are much less likely to hear tales of werehampsters, not to mention be as familiar with their behaviour.
For the record, I have certainly encountered plenty of domestic dogs and cats, and I have not been involved in the community for very long.
I am sure there is one of every type out there somewhere, or that they have existed at some point in the past (or will in the future.) But in order to encounter them they need to recognize that they are a therianthrope, and they need to find their correct theriotype (or types) as well (everybody makes mistakes, sometimes it can take a very long time to realize it though.) AND they need to get involved in a few online communities, because they could very well know what they are down to the hindclaws, and you would still never encounter them because they keep to themselves.
I have met more than one rabbit as well, so far all have been domesticated ones as well. I have read postings on one forum by a person who suspected they might have a mouse theriotype, although they were still searching for the veracity of that.

Since I personally attribute otherkin-ness to the soul, my theory on why is that there are simply fewer bodies for the more impressive animals to be incarnated into, thus they end up in mismatched bodies. Prey animals, however, are mostly in high enough number that very few are incarnated into the "wrong" body.

In our system, S'aryn is a domestic cat (as well as elf).

-Shainin

We've met a rabbit therian (Nousagi; I think she's registered here. She's also the mod of TrueForm Within) and I think we've come across a few domestic feline therians on the forums.

Also, remember - not all therians or otherkin are on the forums. Quite a few like to stay out of the community and I'm sure there're a few that don't even have the internet. *shrug*


- Blake

There's the typical "being cool to fit in" response, or "being cool because your physical self feels inferior" (twiggy, fat, ugly, nerdy, etc)

But on another forum (a really long time ago), Simim brought this point up:

Quote:Posted: Apr 10, 2006 8:59 AM
I think it has something to do with the predator-prey mindsets.

As I have seen, predators are more impulsive. Regardless of whether you are submissive, dominant, or shy, if you're a predator, you probably tracked down this place and made a firm decision to find out more about yourself.

Prey, on the other hand, tend to be more "contained in their little bubble." You don't see many cows or sheep or pigs concerned about otherkin, because they're already happy in their own little world.

I think it's more or less domestic animals who don't search this stuff out. Like, you know, bunnies, cows, chickens, turkeys, pigs, goats, sheep. All those fun animals. They comprise a good percentage of the world, but they're content grazing away, living the same day to day life.

Actual "prey" prey, like jackrabbits, mice, deer, squirrels, I think, may be a little afraid or paranoid about this whole thing. They might be viewing it with suspicion. Who wouldn't be? I mean, if you were a mouse, would *you* venture into a den of tigers, wolves, lions, bears, and so forth?

And for the most part, I think this makes sense. You see horse-kin, but horses are intelligent creatures. So are most predator animals. I think the intelligence of the animal may play a part as well.

I will have to admit I don't see many reptiles (especially less predatory reptiles)...but thats probably in part because of their personalities as well. Snakes, for example, aren't the most intellgent animals, because they're so well programmed to survive, they don't need to be. I'm sure its hard to leave much imprint on your soul when theres less mentally going on.

But as for things like...tigers and lions but no ocelots...its poor research. People aren't inclined to learn everything they can about all the possible animals, so they settle on what they think it is. Intellegent therians never stop researching animals they could be...because you never know everything. I would bet its the same case with things like rats, which are smaller, very intellegent predators...but its alot easier to assume you're something you know more about.

*nodding* Simim makes a very good point. Actually, everyone makes a good point. I suppose for people who are feline-inclined, it's just easier to assume they're a lion or tiger than do the research to find out they're a lynx or sand cat. Seraphyna made a pretty good point with that- there are a lot of prey animals around, but the large predators are endangered, so many of them don't have an animal form to incarnate into. *claps* Thank you, everyone for the answers! This makes much more sense now!

And hopefully I'll be able to hunt up that guinea pig somewhere. ^_^