Sehlats

[Silverbullet]

Webbie has two Sehlats Fuzzy, warm and Cuddly. I think that Sehlats are about warm and cuddly as a Tiger from the wild.

Tigers have large claws and Fangs. A friendly nip from one can take off an arm or a Ham out of one's Butt. Shelats are the same.

I understand that T'Pol was supposed to have had a pet Sehlat when she was young, just a little girl. The Sehlat was a Cub when she got it and she raised it.

Like a tiger you cannot take the wild out of a Sehlat. Who in their right mind would give a child a monster like that as a playmate.

I think Trip believes they are Monsters and won't let his kids have one.

SB

[Distracted]

Since selats are completely imaginary, I would think that a writer can do pretty much anything he or she wants with them, but based on TOS canon, I've always envisioned selats as sort of fanged, carnivorous bears rather than felines. Bears can be very dangerous, but some people keep small ones as pets. And they're very smart. I would imagine that if we could somehow communicate with them and convince them that we're part of the family that they would be effective kid-watchers. Sort of like trusting your kid to the family St. Bernard, you know?

[Silverbullet]

Some St. Bernard. those Bears still have the wild in them and nothing can ever remove that. Same as Wolves. Some people try to keep them as Pets and pay for it. No way would I trust my kid to the care of a Bear.

I still relate Sehlats to Tigers. all Fangs and Claws, large, hairy and dangerous.

SB

[Cogito]

Vulcans plainly do trust sehlats with their children, and it would be illogical to do that if they were a significant danger to them. I subscribe to the idea that sehlats are dangerous predators who have become pack-mates with vulcans in the same way that dogs have with humans. No doubt they could be dangerous under the wrong circumstances, but an intelligent race with long experience with sehlats would know the dangers well.

[Weeble]

SB

I understand but the old TOS Cartoons are canon and youthful Spock had a pet sehlat. It was his constant companion. Canon says that there are domesticated sehlats. Besides It helps my characterization of Hoshi. She is the 2nd most important human to me on Enterprise. (shameless plug) Just keep reading those "Forks" chapters (end shameless plug).

Weeble

[putaro]

You know that if cats were big enough they would not hesitate before eating you. Dogs on the other hand are tame.

[Silverbullet]

Weebie, of course I will keep on reading your stories. They are getting better and better all of the time.

I too like Hoshi. I have (shameless plug) written a couple Hoshi centric stories "Midori" and "Green"

However, I view Sehlats like any other wild animal.You can never take the wld out of them. Dogs, have been companions to man for thousands of years. Still on the rare occasion a Dog will trurn on its master and attack.

I love tigers and wish I had a very large Ranch where I could keep a few. but I don't. I love them but would not trust one.

Vulcans are strange enough without letting Sehlats watch their children.

SB

[Cogito]

Dogs, have been companions to man for thousands of years. Still on the rare occasion a Dog will trurn on its master and attack.

Absolutely right, but this does not mean that dogs can never be trusted. It just means that dogs can't be trusted blindly. Same with sehlats, in my view. Sehlats can be dangerous, especially wild ones, but when tame would also make excellent protectors.

[Asso]

It may be, very simply, that "Sehlats" is a name valid, or, rather, used by Vulcans to define two different types of animals, similar to each other, indeed actually practically the same, derived from the same primordial animal, but yet different for the fact that the first is wild and the second is domestic.

I may even come to think that the domestic "Sehlats" are far from looking favourably at the "Sehlats" savages.

[Silverbullet]

Asso, that sounds pretty good. Although I cannot think of a species here on Earth that are two types different from some ancient beginning

I remember a TV program titled "Gentle Ben" I Often wondered if that Bear was a gooned up as the chimp used in the Tarzan films. That Chimp didn't know if it ws on foot or horseback it was so drugged up. An adult Chimp could kill a grown man. Chimps do not ordinarily act like cheeta did in the Tarzan movies. This almost led to some disasters as kids would see a chimp try to run up to hug it.they would be stopped in time. Damned chip would have torn them apart because itwould believe that anything running towards it was attacking.

I like the idea of a wild Sehlat and a domestic one. good on you Asso

SB

[WarpGirl]

I shouldn't be doing this... I know I shouldn't be doing this... Why am I doing this??? Oh well, I'm just going to just get it over with. I don't see the problem here, before they were domesticated cattle, pigs, horses and animals we take for granted were dangerous and killed people. And guess what, these animals are still dangerous. Horses are still dangerous, pigs are still dangerous, cattle are still dangerous.

So wild shelats are dangerous, so what? So are wolves, my best friend had one for years, with a baby around the house and she was a devoted pet until she died. My Beagle/Collie can be dangerous, our St. Banard can easily kill a man if he were so inclined.

Again I say it's utterly rediculous to call a fictional alien animal "too dangerous" and Vulcans shouldn't keep them as pets. It's like saying we should have never domesticated any animals at all!

And before anyone tells me pigs aren't dangerous, my parents have the dents to prove it!

Okay, I shouldn't have done this but I couldn't help it. Time for me to go back to work.

[Silverbullet]

Warpgirl you came up with an example of an animal who is wild and its cousin is domesticated. We have wild Pigs and Javeleas. both dangerous to man.

Then there are domesticated Pigs. Who might attack a person for some reason known only to it.

Okay, warpgirl at one time Humans were prey animals. But doubt if Horses, Cattle or Pigs hunted them.

Wolves, yes. Big Cats, yes. Other animals, yes

Man's brain gave him dominance over animals. That and the opposing thumb which enabled man to grasp. Man could pick up a rock, make a spear a bow and Arrow to kill and domesticate animals.

But man has never been able to domesticate the Big Cats, probably never tried. Nor a Woverine. Many animals simply can not be domesticated.

I wouldn't mind owning an Ocelot. They are pretty critters and I could fight one off. Not too sure abut a lynx or a wildcat.

BTW, I know that Big apes have oposible thumbs. But they cannot reason.

SB

[WarpGirl]

SB I don't know if I didn't make my point clearly, or if you just disagree with the point I am trying to make. An animal does not have to be a "prey" animal to be dangerous. Take Elephants for instance: they don't hunt, they're herbivores, they're not in the least bit interested in meat! Yet they are extremely dangerous. They have also been domesticated for thousands of years in Africa, and Asia. Nobody minds seeing them in the circus, or having their children go on rides, but they are still dangerous!

It's the same with Cattle, Horses, and Pigs! Bulls gore people, horses trample or throw riders, pigs can be downright vicious if the mood strikes them. Are we idiots for keeping them around and exposing our children to them? Big cats HAVE been tamed and domesticated, so have wolves. A little research will bear that out!

You state Vulcans shouldn't have domesticated shelats and it makes no sense because they posess the very same attributes that give humans dominence over the animals on earth. They obviously know what they're doing, the same way we did when we domesticated dogs and cats, there is no difference!

[Weeble]

TIME!

Putting on my ref shirt here.

Canon clearly shows Spock with a devoted pet. Canon also shows Archer and T'Pol scrambling to get to high ground.

Habin and Dabin are MY sehlats. They are in charge of security at T'Les' old home. They like Hoshi, doesn't everybody?

I wonder whom else they will like....(shameless plug) guess you'll have to wait for the next chapter of "Forks" to find out (end shameless plug)

The bickering can continue now. Time to go fishin'

Weeble
><((((º>

[Cogito]

Who else will they like, Weeble? Who???