Papabear Helps a Furry Pick His Fursona

Dear Papabear,

How are you? I found your website while browsing the internet searching for a solution to my problem, and from what I can gather, you seem to be the right person to assist me.

I have been a furry for many years now. I often participated in furry events and was also a member of several furry websites, including FurAffinity. I have always used a cat fursona, as cats are some of my favourite animals and I related to them in many ways, especially when it comes to hygiene, considering that I am somewhat obsessed with cleanliness.

However, after an unexpected incident drove me to back away from the Furry Fandom for many years, my personality changed drastically. 

Now I finally feel ready to return, and have planned the whole process like a military operation. It might be a bit exaggerated, I admit, but I want to make sure that everything goes according to plan.

The only problem I have found, however, is of paramount importance in this ordeal: I am having doubts about my fursona!

Finding an adequate fursona is a central piece in my comeback. While I am fully aware that a fursona is meant to be created out of fun rather than duty, I absolutely need to feel that my fursona's personality reflects my own. This is why it has been so difficult to find the adequate animal to represent me.

I have tried to answer multiple tests online and find the right animal for me, all to no avail. I obtained several different results, such as cat, fox, beaver, wolf and even elephant.

I relate to foxes much more nowadays, but I still feel like I 'am not worthy' of being one. That my personality does not appear to be that of a fox's, not to mention that a fox is more of a canine rather than a feline, and I have always harbored some contempt towards canines, seeing then as 'dirty', although I myself cannot explain why.

In order to find my animal, I will try and explain my personality so that perhaps you can help me find out what animal better suits me:

I am a loner, as I prefer to stay alone. However, I sympathize with others, and others often see me as kind, organised and very intelligent, if somewhat distant and unable to relax, for I am always too focused on maintaining a serious appearance.

I am not a leader. If I were to lead, I would use someone to be a front and to carry out my will, so that if my ideas were to ever draw out enemies, they would focus on him and not me.

I favour intelligence over brute force. I myself am not what you would call physically intimidating. My strength resides on my ability to speak and to bend words and sentences to my will. Therefore I love to debate, and I often win. But I can hold my own in a fight nonetheless, and am stronger that I appear.

I am a epicurist. I do not seek great thrills or adventures, but rather find pleasure in normal and reasonable activities. However, normality somewhat bores me, as I find myself wishing that the superheroes that we often see on TV where real.

I am a romantic man, and prefer to maintain a classical approach towards love. 

I am not violent, but if I am physically harmed, I will defend myself, and to my disappointment, I find pleasure in punishing those who have wronged me. A sadistic side of my personality, if you will.

I am also an open-minded person. I have done volunteer work before, and love animals. I also enjoy helping others.

That is all that I can recall. Considering all that I have written here, what animal do you think I should represent myself as?

Thank you for your help, and have a nice day.

Best wishes,

Anonymous Entity (age 21)

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Dear Anonymous,

It is my belief that picking a fursona is a very personal endeavor, and, therefore, one to be pursued alone. I have written on the topic of choosing one a number of times in this column, and, if you would like to learn more, simply go to the Ask Papabear Letters page and select fursonas under Categories and it will give you several useful hits.

Be that as it may, I thought it would be fun to try and pick a fursona for you as an amusing mental exercise. Reading about your qualities, I have selected one: Crow. Here’s why:

1. You value intelligence, and the crow, a member of the Corvid family, which includes jays, is extremely intelligent. I’ve seen videos where a crow has fashioned a hook out of a bit of wire in order to fish out a piece of food from a bottle. Crows figured out, too, how to use cars to crush nuts for them, and they have mastered the duffle bag zipper, among other accomplishments.

2. You are a loner: While crows can flock into a “murder” of their kind, they are very independent souls as well.

3. You’re a romantic: Crows mate for life, and they have quite a romantic display when they are courting involving formal bows and mutual preening, which I find charming.

4. While you have your independent side, you are also charitable and like to volunteer: Crows will work together for protection. Gathering in small groups of perhaps a half dozen or so, several crows will feed on the ground while one or two others keep watch for dangers. They then rotate duties.

5. Generally nonviolent, you can be fierce: Crows don’t go looking for fights, but they will chase off fierce raptors such as hawks and owls.

6. They’re clean: while not too picky about their food, eating everything from seeds and insects to carrion, crows have been seen washing their food. Although some scientists speculate they are just softening the food a bit for eating, many others believe crows are a bit fastidious.

7. You like some normalcy in your life: Crows have regular fixed routes for flying about to feeding areas and then back to roost each day, so they do like their routines.

8. But you also have an adventurous side and like stories of superheroes: Crows enjoy a rich presence throughout human mythology. To the Greeks, the Crow was a creature of prophecy and was associated with Apollo. In the Mabinogian the Crow is a harbinger of death. In Celtic myths, the Crow was associated with the warrior goddess Morrighan. In the Eddas, two crows serve as Odin’s spies.

9. Your tongue as weapon: And, of course, the Crow appears in many Native American stories as a clever trickster on a par with Coyote. Your ability to “speak and bend words” goes perfectly with the clever Crow of these tales.

So, if I were to pick for you, I’d pick Crow. However, what I think is completely irrelevant. Perhaps, though, you can learn a bit from my method of reasoning this out and emulate that to select your fursona.

Remember not to stress out about it. It will come to you eventually.

Hugs,

Papabear