Board Thread:General Discussion/@comment-25266931-20141008232543/@comment-24891101-20141017015333

Apparently notwithstanding that a criterion for being alive like that is to have a soul. Ducks have souls, therefore it would be a duck-like thing, not a duck. Grimm are animal-like, but they are not animals. And since animals are the only recognize form of life which has intelligence of any sort, the Grimm cannot be animals. Too steep of a metaphysical divide. The Grimm are not biological. They don't need to eat, nor presumably need to breathe. There are things which learn which live not.

They're twisted parodies of animals. Animal-formed lightning. They act like animals because animals act that way. Not because they need to. Metaphysics is why.