Defenders Of Humans And The Natural World

When people speak of loyalty in the animal kingdom, they usually refer to dogs. I’ve never heard anyone mention albatrosses. I think albatrosses are a lot more loyal than dogs are. Here is something to share with those who praise dogs for their loyalty:

🌊 The enduring bond of the albatross

Across the Southern Ocean, the albatross keeps one of nature's most striking social structures. These birds stick with a single partner for life, even though they spend most of their time apart, flying solo. A pair might cover tens of thousands of miles separately over a year, but their internal navigation brings them back to the exact same nesting spot, at the same time, to find their mate again.

🌏 Remarkable solo journeys

During the non breeding season, these birds live alone. They rarely see another of their kind. They cross different parts of the globe, and still their loyalty to one partner never changes. This cycle of separation and reunion matters for their survival: it lets them find food across huge distances while keeping a stable partnership for raising chicks.
* Individual birds can fly over 10,000 miles in a single journey.
* Reunions happen with striking precision on remote islands.
* Pairs often recognize each other through specific calls and movements.

💔 The tragedy of a missing mate

The depth of this bond shows clearly when a partner doesn't come back from the sea. The surviving bird often waits, sometimes for a long stretch. If a mate dies from environmental hazards or fishing activity, the survivor may return to the same spot for several years in a row, watching the horizon for someone who won't show up. For many older birds, that loss is permanent. They spend the rest of their lives alone instead of trying to find a new partner.

🕊️ A complex ritual of love

Finding a new partner isn't easy for an albatross. Their courtship is one of the most elaborate in the animal kingdom. Young birds need years to learn the dances, calls, and gestures required to attract a mate and build a bond. That's why losing a partner hits so hard. These rituals take so much to master that once a pair forms, it tends to last a lifetime, which is why people call the albatross a symbol of devotion.

Facts checked by @ifreakingloveanimals

Sources:
National Geographic: Why Albatrosses Are the World's Most Loyal Birds
Audubon Society: The Marathon Migration of the Albatross
Royal Society Open Science: Environmental Factors and Albatross Divorce Rates

2 weeks ago | [YT] | 31

Defenders Of Humans And The Natural World

Grace
1 out of 5 starsNo research, no credibility, terrible book
Reviewed in Australia on 2 August 2026
Verified Purchase
This book is really horrendously bad. It is not scientific at all. There are absolutely no citations for anything stated and there author has no credentials in this space

I spent 7 years researching my book. It has an extensive bibliography and engages with scores of published evidence.

I’ll ask you all again, please, if you’ve read my book, please leave an honest review on Amazon. Thanks. 🙏

4 weeks ago | [YT] | 36

Defenders Of Humans And The Natural World

Check out what Clive Wynne, Ph.D., ethologist and author of Dog Is Love, has to say about my book. 🩷
www.facebook.com/100006274540826/posts/pfbid05DEmv…

1 month ago | [YT] | 21

Defenders Of Humans And The Natural World

Sorry guys. I uploaded a short yesterday, but afterwards, I realized I wasn’t happy with it and that improvements on it could be made. So I deleted it, changed a few things, and re-uploaded it. My apologies to those who commented on the original video. I feel bad that your comments were deleted along with the video and hope you will comment again. This new short isn’t going anywhere. Thanks for your understanding. 🙂

1 month ago | [YT] | 24

Defenders Of Humans And The Natural World

I have been thinking a lot lately about how society praises extroversion and views introversion as something to overcome. And how this relates to modern dog culture. I am curious about how my fellow dog rationalists see themselves. Would you say you are more introverted or extroverted? I will be uploading a video on this topic soon.

1 month ago | [YT] | 29

Defenders Of Humans And The Natural World

If you’ve read What It Really Means To Love Dogs and found it worthwhile, I have a small request.

Reviews on Amazon make a genuine difference for independent authors. They can increase the book’s visibility in search results and recommendations.

If you’ve finished the book and have a few minutes to spare, I’d be very grateful if you would consider leaving an honest review on Amazon. It doesn’t have to be long. Even a sentence or two about your thoughts can be incredibly helpful.

Whether you agreed with every argument or not, thoughtful feedback helps these conversations reach a wider audience.

Thank you to everyone who has read the book, discussed it, shared it, or supported this project in any way. 🩷

1 month ago | [YT] | 32

Defenders Of Humans And The Natural World

Grateful to see “What It Really Means To Love Dogs” selected for the Australian Dog Lover Book Club! 🇦🇺 📚

When I wrote this book, my goal was to explore the deep social, ethical, and ecological impacts of our devotion to dogs. Because it asks some tough, uncomfortable questions, I wasn’t sure how the dog community would receive it.

Having it featured by a major platform like Australian Dog Lover is incredibly rewarding. It proves that readers and industry professionals are ready for deeper, nuanced conversations about our relationships with animals and shared spaces. A huge thank you to the editorial team for highlighting independent research. You can check out the full feature and July lineup here:

www.australiandoglover.com/2026/06/dog-lovers-book…

1 month ago | [YT] | 38

Defenders Of Humans And The Natural World

Amazing news about my book!

I have been contacting scholars, journals, public and academic libraries, and independent bookstores across Canada to share my work. The book has now been added to the collections of five regional libraries and has been submitted for consideration at many more. It is also beginning to appear in independent bookstores.

The most significant recent development is a formal endorsement from Jessica Pierce, Ph.D., a bioethicist whose work focuses on environmental ethics and human animal relationships. She has published widely in the field and is the author of several books, including Who’s a Good Dog?, A Dog’s World, and Dogpedia.

After I reached out to her, she requested a copy of the manuscript and later provided the following endorsement:

“Dog lovers who care deeply about the well-being of dogs, and about our place in a shared social and ecological world, should read this book. Melina Jacques raises challenging questions that are too often ignored, asking us to examine both the burdens that contemporary dog-keeping can place on other people and communities, the impacts our practices can have on broader ecosystems, and the costs they can impose on dogs themselves. Thoughtful, provocative, and deeply humane, this is a book that deserves to be read with an open mind.”

I am incredibly grateful for her engagement with the work. I have also sent the book to other scholars and writers, including Marc Bekoff and Erin Jones, for review. Will keep you posted!

🎉👍😀💓

2 months ago | [YT] | 76

Defenders Of Humans And The Natural World

If you would like to help contribute to a better future for society, wildlife, and the environment, please consider sharing the ideas discussed on this channel by requesting that your local libraries and independent bookstores acquire my book.

What It Really Means To Love Dogs - A Cultural And Ethical Exploration
Author: Melina Jacques
ISBN 978-1-0677630-0-8

Summary
This nonfiction work examines how dogs came to occupy such a prominent place in human culture and why they have become powerful social and psychological symbols. It explores the historical development of human-dog relationships and the beliefs that surround dogs, examining how those beliefs shape public perception and policy, as well as the consequences those ideas have for society, ecosystems, biodiversity, and dogs themselves. It also offers a critical examination of modern dog culture while considering broader questions of domestication, ethics, symbolism, and the relationship between perception and reality.

Why this book may interest your patrons/customers
The book addresses a subject of broad public interest and contributes to ongoing discussions about animals, culture, human behaviour, and social values. It may appeal to readers interested in animal studies, sociology, psychology, philosophy, cultural criticism, and contemporary social issues. It offers a perspective that is not widely represented in existing literature on human-dog relationships and may appeal to readers seeking thoughtful, well-researched, and unconventional nonfiction.

Thank you ❤️ 🙏

2 months ago (edited) | [YT] | 40

Defenders Of Humans And The Natural World

Whether or not this particular dog enthusiast does so remains to be seen, but it is bound to happen.
Dog people will hate my book. They will give it poor reviews without even reading it.
Why? My book is not an attack on dogs or their owners.
It is a careful analysis of the hidden costs of dog ownership to society, wildlife, the environment, and dogs themselves. Yet I know the vindictive 1-star reviews are coming.

If you have read my book, please give it an honest review on Amazon. I’d really appreciate it.

2 months ago | [YT] | 69