I'd say in this day and age, that is not peculiar at all. I believe society says that, as a whole, humans are inherently bad, and animals are innocent little creatures, warm and fuzzy, and might even talk to you if you love them and idolize them and hug them and call them George. Anthropomorphics is big business these days.

Of course, not too many of us see the cougar playing with someone's 60 lb 9 year old little girl like the housecat plays with the mouse. The Ghost and the Darkness is a good example of animal carnage. Then again, there will be those who insist that animals behave like that only because of human conflict with them. We're smarter, more advanced, therefore it must be our own fault somehow.