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I'm having a hard time with "articulate" in this context...?
Perhaps it means "aggressive" in Autocorrectese?
What I meant by "articulate" is most species wouldn't fathom killing their young as a form of expression of angst. However, in elephants, seals, and walruses, this isn't an uncommon thing to see in the wild, in fact a large percentage of the ones in zoos have been victims of the elephant/walrus/seal equivalent of unexplained child abuse that were "adopted" by zookeepers.
I'm really confused then, since "articulate" to me means clear, distinct speech, being good with words, or having the power of speech. I don't know what it means in this context.
"Articulate" as in a rough synonym of expressive. Art is articulate. Gaming can be articulate. Or at least that's what I'm going by. I learned full English later in life, which may explain why some people say my word choice isn't 100% analogous to its closest counterpart.
Ah, I see where you're coming from with that interpretation, thanks for the clarification! (For what it's worth, for this English speaker, "articulate" has a very strong connotation of speech.)
Articulate can relate to physical flexibility, jointedness, which isn't a strong point for seals on land, and may contribute to their tendency to squash their pups. Speaking clearly is also not a strong point.
They don't just squash their pups, they often outright slaughter.
Are you asking whether you're having a hard time? I see the interrogative, and it parses like that.
Well, I was asking whether they meant another word or whether I was misunderstanding their use of this one. They did indeed choose articulate, and were using it in a way that is foreign to my experience.