What Makes Us Unique To Other Animal Species?
We all know that all animals eat, drink and breed for the sheer pleasure of it, but why do we care what they eat? Humans are different to all other animals in the sense that we are born with the instinct to eat, but we choose what we eat. For instance, we do not have a need to drink, but we may drink if we are thirsty. Therefore, we are more or less "water less" than other animals.
Humans are eating machines. We are not walking around eating grass and leaves; we eat when we feel like eating and we do not eat junk food. This is what makes us so different from other creatures.
Humans need carbohydrates to survive. Not just any kind of carbohydrates, we need complex carbohydrates such as starches. These types of carbohydrates are digested quickly and used as energy. Most all other animals cannot digest such high-energy carbohydrates. They are not metabolized, which means that they are not stored. Humans do not store carbohydrates; therefore, they are not digestible.
Humans need fat to survive. Fat is also a complex carbohydrate and so it is metabolized as energy. But humans have a much greater need for fat than other creatures. For example, humans need about twice as much fat on a pound of body weight to remain healthy. This is why people can spend hours trying to lose weight.
Humans are the only creatures that walk upright. All other animals have an upright posture otherwise their lives would be very uncomfortable. In fact, all other animals walk on their toes, back legs and elbows. Humans have two feet that are not bent in the usual way.
Humans have three toes. The two on the ends are more like claws and are used to help our toes grasp and hold onto things. Our hips are unique in that they have no difference in them between men and women. They simply have hips that are wider and longer that women have.
Humans are the only creatures that are born with lungs. This is one of those traits that makes them so unique. We have two different sets of lung volumes (the capacity to inhale and exhale) that are distinctly different from each other. Other creatures such as rabbits, rats and guinea pigs have lungs with the same capacity.
Finally, when we think about appetite, food and eating, what do we think? We think about a center place where all of the needs of the human body meet. Humans have this center place for all of their needs. This means that they will eat when they are hungry and they will not eat if they do not feel good about what they are eating. Humans are indeed unique.