That was my daughter after my latest niece was born the other day! Sadly, she’s in England, and we are not.
I love Selkie’s unrestrained glee, and the colorful swirlies in the background of the last panel.
Looks like Selkie gets a look in on how her species is born, and also some daddy-daughter time with just her and Todd soon as well. Good things can come out of shitty situations!
nah, i’m pretty sure he was surprised as well as the actual parents were… i think his “hmmm, A Daddy-Daughter day” was more of a “i have no clue” kind of thing than him hiding the info and just trying to wait until the call came in
My suspicion is that after a very short while, other animals would learn not to eat them. Sort of like how tigers in the jungle have learned that it’s generally a bad idea to kill a human: because the other humans tend to resent it. I think they would learn pretty quickly that that’s not a thing you do.
I… don’t… think… tigers have learned anything of the sort.
Produce for me some evidence that this is happening. Predators large enough to kill men kill men if they figure it’s an easy meal. They don’t stop and think “Oops, better not make the other humans mad at me,” and they don’t get enough cause-and-effect in a hurry to make the “won’t eat the same butterfly twice” effect happen.
The tigers haven´t *learned* anything, as such. It´s just that any tiger who develops a taste for humans is much more likely to be hunted down and killed, and thus far *less* likely to pass its taste for humans on to its descendants, because it won´t live long enough to *have* descendants.
That makes it sound like tigers wouldn’t go after humans if they didn’t have a taste for that specific prey.
Tigers eat other animals. They require large animals to get enough fuel for their large bodies. It seems laughable to think they have bred out the willingness to attack lone humans.
Maybe the insanity it takes to charge into a human camp where humans with guns exist.
But no, I don’t buy this argument, and I’m waiting to hear if there’s some level of data to back this assertion up.
If there are fewer shark attacks on humans today than previously, it’s either because there are fewer sharks in general or, more likely, because we, the intelligent species, learned to stay out of the areas where most shark attacks happen (their hunting grounds). Or maybe because humans stick to shallows and, although sharks could hunt shallows, they find bigger and better game in deeper waters and have learned to hunt there instead.
I’m pretty sure most large predators work the same way. We got out of their hunting grounds, or spread out in ways that make them avoid the altered environments. And that’s IF there’s even a statistical change over time, because that point hasn’t yet been proven.
Tigers, for instance… most tigers do not hunt humans, but the ones that do (usually but not always because of starvation, old age, or illness) can be really lethal. One tiger in India in the early 1900s was reported as having killed 430 people.
But that’s humans. Collectively we are a dangerous species; individually, most of us are not. Catch us alone, off guard, without weapons, and generally speaking we ARE prey.
The Sarnothi, on the other hand, are dangerous both collectively AND individually. They’re apex predators. In terms of instincts and natural weapons they resemble sharks or tigers more than humans. I find it entirely plausible that instinctive fear of Sarnothi would be a very strong survival trait amongst any co-evolved lesser predators.
Infant sarnothi do indeed need protection and observation, as any baby will. But the risk of predators is small to zero, depending on where in Sarnoth territory they live. In the city proper, predatory animals are virtually non-existant. You may have an occasional stray find its way into a building, but that’s a one-in-a-million freak occurrence.
Rural holdings have a slightly higher risk of predatory animals finding their way into homes but it’s no more likely than the notion of a wolf or a puma finding entry into a rural human home. It COULD happen if doors aren’t closed, but very unlikely.
Sarnothi are also apex predators of their territory, so very few creatures would venture too closely to a sarnothi home anyway.
Should she pack a bathing suit? I kind of figure the Sarnothi are amphibious so next thought is frogs hatch from eggs as tadpoles and hang around as tadpoles for awhile before leaving the water. We do not know how soon a Sarnothi baby can leave the water so if Selkie wants to interact with the baby immediately she may have to go to the baby rather than the other way around.
I relate to Selkie so incredibly much
reminds me of when my little brother was born (i was 5 and had a cold and it was THE WORST THING EVER because it meant i wasn’t allowed to hold the baby or even be close to him. WORST THING EVER)
Wow, this looks like it’s going to go catastrophically bad. I hope it doesn’t but it has all the potential of a room full of dynamite and Todd and Andi are about to light a match to try and see in the dark…
I get the feeling that Selkie wants to meet the new hatchling. (Although I *could* be wrong…)
That is the most adorable thing ever. I love the last panel.
That was my daughter after my latest niece was born the other day! Sadly, she’s in England, and we are not.
I love Selkie’s unrestrained glee, and the colorful swirlies in the background of the last panel.
Looks like Selkie gets a look in on how her species is born, and also some daddy-daughter time with just her and Todd soon as well. Good things can come out of shitty situations!
Yea! The “Selkie Swoosh” is back!
“I’m gonna play ball with him, wrestle with him. I’m gonna teach him how to spit.”
“I’m gonna hug him, squeeze him and call him George…”
And stroke his little bill.
I think you mean “Could you repeat that for Selkie, please?”
Not nit picking, just thought you should know.
I kinda get the idea that Todd knew this was in the offing.
nah, i’m pretty sure he was surprised as well as the actual parents were… i think his “hmmm, A Daddy-Daughter day” was more of a “i have no clue” kind of thing than him hiding the info and just trying to wait until the call came in
BEST DADDY-DAUGHTER DAY EVER. THE KIND THAT INCLUDES ANOTHER DAUGHTER HATCHING.
(Also “well the kung fu might have to wait” Pohl I love you so much.)
I’m also interested in seeing what the young of the species look like!
Selkie is going to be a tank-tapper, isn’t she?
The baby is hatching? This is gonna be awesome! 🙂
Selkie is adorable.
So how big does the baby start as? The egg isn’t all that big. Do they hang out in the tank for awhile? Kind of like pollywogs?
I wonder, in their natural environment, do her people have to worry about predators eating their kids?
My suspicion is that after a very short while, other animals would learn not to eat them. Sort of like how tigers in the jungle have learned that it’s generally a bad idea to kill a human: because the other humans tend to resent it. I think they would learn pretty quickly that that’s not a thing you do.
I… don’t… think… tigers have learned anything of the sort.
Produce for me some evidence that this is happening. Predators large enough to kill men kill men if they figure it’s an easy meal. They don’t stop and think “Oops, better not make the other humans mad at me,” and they don’t get enough cause-and-effect in a hurry to make the “won’t eat the same butterfly twice” effect happen.
The tigers haven´t *learned* anything, as such. It´s just that any tiger who develops a taste for humans is much more likely to be hunted down and killed, and thus far *less* likely to pass its taste for humans on to its descendants, because it won´t live long enough to *have* descendants.
That makes it sound like tigers wouldn’t go after humans if they didn’t have a taste for that specific prey.
Tigers eat other animals. They require large animals to get enough fuel for their large bodies. It seems laughable to think they have bred out the willingness to attack lone humans.
Maybe the insanity it takes to charge into a human camp where humans with guns exist.
But no, I don’t buy this argument, and I’m waiting to hear if there’s some level of data to back this assertion up.
If there are fewer shark attacks on humans today than previously, it’s either because there are fewer sharks in general or, more likely, because we, the intelligent species, learned to stay out of the areas where most shark attacks happen (their hunting grounds). Or maybe because humans stick to shallows and, although sharks could hunt shallows, they find bigger and better game in deeper waters and have learned to hunt there instead.
I’m pretty sure most large predators work the same way. We got out of their hunting grounds, or spread out in ways that make them avoid the altered environments. And that’s IF there’s even a statistical change over time, because that point hasn’t yet been proven.
It’s complicated, and species-dependent. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Man-eater
Tigers, for instance… most tigers do not hunt humans, but the ones that do (usually but not always because of starvation, old age, or illness) can be really lethal. One tiger in India in the early 1900s was reported as having killed 430 people.
But that’s humans. Collectively we are a dangerous species; individually, most of us are not. Catch us alone, off guard, without weapons, and generally speaking we ARE prey.
The Sarnothi, on the other hand, are dangerous both collectively AND individually. They’re apex predators. In terms of instincts and natural weapons they resemble sharks or tigers more than humans. I find it entirely plausible that instinctive fear of Sarnothi would be a very strong survival trait amongst any co-evolved lesser predators.
Good question!
Infant sarnothi do indeed need protection and observation, as any baby will. But the risk of predators is small to zero, depending on where in Sarnoth territory they live. In the city proper, predatory animals are virtually non-existant. You may have an occasional stray find its way into a building, but that’s a one-in-a-million freak occurrence.
Rural holdings have a slightly higher risk of predatory animals finding their way into homes but it’s no more likely than the notion of a wolf or a puma finding entry into a rural human home. It COULD happen if doors aren’t closed, but very unlikely.
Sarnothi are also apex predators of their territory, so very few creatures would venture too closely to a sarnothi home anyway.
“Ev’rybody was kung fu fighting…”
Oh man, can you imagine if the baby was born with some horrible birth defect? Or stillborn? Let’s get dark.
Should she pack a bathing suit? I kind of figure the Sarnothi are amphibious so next thought is frogs hatch from eggs as tadpoles and hang around as tadpoles for awhile before leaving the water. We do not know how soon a Sarnothi baby can leave the water so if Selkie wants to interact with the baby immediately she may have to go to the baby rather than the other way around.
Now why can’t she get ready that fast when it’s time to go to school?
Selkie in panel 2 is the cutest darn thing. Adorable wide eyed surprise!
Oh, she/he is just a baby…..
AHHHHHHHHHHHH
I relate to Selkie so incredibly much
reminds me of when my little brother was born (i was 5 and had a cold and it was THE WORST THING EVER because it meant i wasn’t allowed to hold the baby or even be close to him. WORST THING EVER)
Just out of curiosity, I wonder how long it takes Selkie to get ready for school? Probably not as fast. 😛
Wow, this looks like it’s going to go catastrophically bad. I hope it doesn’t but it has all the potential of a room full of dynamite and Todd and Andi are about to light a match to try and see in the dark…