I'm trying to translate a video on TED into my native language (Latvian). At the very start there is an expression I'm unfamiliar with – "animal warmth". I think I kind of understand the idea intuitively, but I can't think of any similar expressions in my native tongue (short of direct translation). It would be nice if someone could explain the concept to me, or give some more examples of usage. Here's the context:
… Because in my family, reading was the primary group activity. And this might sound antisocial to you, but for us it was really just a different way of being social. You have the animal warmth of your family sitting right next to you, but you are also free to go roaming around the adventureland inside your own mind.
Best Answer
It simply describes, rather graphically, the comfort to be derived from the presence of other people, particularly people you are close to.