From: "malmo" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
>
> Stop the damn stretching!!! Ever see a lion stretch before it
> kills something?
>
> malmo
As someone who grew up in Africa, spent a lot of time around animals, and
has a lot of pets, here's a salient bit of data: mammals stretch a lot.
Lions may not stretch directly before a kill (that would be
counterproductive to the main aim: kill the critter before it sees you or
escapes), but they stretch a lot in general. Watch a bunch of adult lions
resting: they lie down, doze, get up, stretch a little, walk around a
little, lie down again, doze again, ad nauseum.
It takes a little looking out for, but once you notice it you start seeing
it everywhere and it becomes amazing how many different animal species do
this. My rabbits stretch, usually after a period of inactivity: they yawn,
stretching first the front legs, and then the back legs (quite a funny
sight, actually, as they drag themselves a few steps forwards with stretched
hind legs). My dogs stretch in much the same way too: front legs first,
chest to the ground and ass high in the air, and then the hind legs, with
short scrapes backwards. My cats do it different: they tend to stretch their
legs and arch their backs at the same time (clawing away furiously, too, as
I know from painful experience). Even the free range chicken we used to own
did similar things: they didn't stretch, but after periods of sitting around
they would get up, flap their wings a bit, strut around a bit, peck a bit,
and go back to sitting down. Keeping the motor oiled and humming, as it
were.
In case you think that animals aren't neccessarily flexible, let me inform
you that all of the said pets (except the chickens) are perfectly able to
lick their own butt-holes (which they do regularly, and with obvious
pleasure); few humans can claim the same. Which is a pity, because if the
reaction of my dog is anything to go by, it must be a fun thing.
Now I don't know if by analogy the way most athletes stretch is neccessarily
beneficial. The animals I observe rarely stretch for more than a few seconds
at a time, and they do that by preference during sedentary pauses, not
during activity. The credo seems to be "fairly often, and briefly". In
contrast athletes stretch just prior to, and after, intense physical
activity, for relatively prolonged periods. Also, athletes tend to stretch
isolated muscles one at a time while animals do whole-body stretches. Then
again, athletes train; most animals don't.
Disclaimer: I am not an avid stretcher, a fact which leaves me feeling
guilty now and then.
Elliott Oti
