This poor thing…

Apparently it’s the only fish in that tank, which could be, and I sincerely hope is, because that kind of fish doesn’t take well to others. So I’m told by people who keep aquariums, you have to be careful about introducing others into the tank. But it had an audience that it clearly enjoyed as much as the public enjoyed visiting it. And then it lost its audience, and it stopped eating. Tell me that wasn’t depression. Just a fish you say?

In the night I heard him whining and yapping, and when I turned the lights on his feet were making running gestures and his body jerked and his eyes were wide open, but it was only a night bear. I awakened him and gave him some water. This time he went to sleep and didn’t stir all night. In the morning he was still tired. I wonder why we think the thoughts and emotions of animals are simple.
– John Steinbeck, “Travels With Charley”.

Deep within all of us is the beating heart of life on Earth.