An example of anthropomorphism in public science discourse:
"I think we couldn't hope for a better day [for tick hunting], as it's not raining, and the temperature has just about got up to 15 degrees, and that's the minimum temperature you need for the ticks to start to wake up and think about seeking a blood meal."
Prof. Sally Cutler
Sally Cutler (professor in medical microbiology, University of East London) was speaking on an episode ('We go on a tick hunt') of BBC';'s 'Inside Health'.
I do not think ticks have the type of nervous system which allows them to conceptualise a 'blood meal' and deliberate on whether to feed (rather than simply behave instinctively), so I assume this intended figuratively and is not meant to be taken literally. (I understand sleep is very common in the animal kingdom – including among insects – so waking up may be meant literally. But sleep in animals can be understood in terms of activity levels, and so is not limited to creatures with brains.)
Read examples of anthropomorphism in science
