From your report (22 September) on the endangered New Zealand parrot the kea: “its destructive habits such as … attacking stock and habitually stealing food”. A wild creature has no concept of harm or property, so both “attacking” and “habitually stealing” are demonising anthropomorphism. The kea, like any other predator species, is simply and instinctively taking its share of nature’s bounty, the only way it could have survived until now. By any rational criterion, a wild animal is beyond human conceits of blame and responsibility.
Alex Watson
North Nibley, Gloucestershire
• Samuel Gibbs fingers a poor battery as the iPhone 7’s big weakness (Technology review, 24 September). This after five hours’ music, three hours’ browsing, photos, emails, etc. Allowing for seven hours sleep where do, you know, people, fit in?
Bill Steedman
Edinburgh
• It’s autumn. Cue creeper-clad cottage at Llanrwst (Autumn’s glow, 19 September), red deer in Richmond Park (Stag in a green scene, 23 September) again. Wales has hundreds of picturesque cottages next to rivers and Britain six species of deer. Any chance of some variety in 2017?
Kate Gibbs
Llanfairfechan
• Homa Khaleeli’s article “Snap, crackle and filth” (Family, 24 September) reminded me of my father’s oft-repeated “Nothing wrong with good clean dirt.” This was in the 1950s, and 60 years later my brother and I are in excellent, unmedicated health.
Stephen Lee
Ryde, Isle of Wight
• Re the obituary of Sir Trevor Jones (24 September), please note that a Bootle accent is not a Liverpool accent.
Joyce Blackledge
Formby, Merseyside
• I was taught to drive by a Welsh woman fluent in both English and Welsh. I asked her what she thought of bilingual signage (Letters, 24 September). “Terrible,” she said. “I have to read everything twice.”
John Shimwell
London
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