Hush Little Humpback. . .
We might not be able to hear them without the use of sophisticated technology, but humpback whales are loud. Don’t take my word for it. Listen to this rec...
Month: April 2017
Cursing in the Wild, Singing Pavarotti and Heavy Metal in Captivity
What happens when captive talking birds, such as parrots and cockatoos, escape and return to the wild? They start teaching their new wild bird buddies some of t...
Magpie Hide-and-Seek: A Theory of Mind?
Magpies are an intelligent, social, self-aware species capable of reasoning, strategy, foresight, altruism, and other behaviors not previously associated with b...
Let’s Go Tickle Some Rats: In Memory of Jaak Panksepp
Jaak Panksepp, a neuroscientist who studied the brain, behavior, and emotions, died this week, on April 18. Panksepp helped establish the idea that humans are n...
The Fish Artist Formally Known as Torquigener albomaculosus
Art is hard enough to define when it is created by humans, but what about when wild animals make objects that look like art? Consider Torquigener albomaculosus,...
Langur Monkeys Respond to “A Change in Environment” (aka Death)
Scientists have found plenty of evidence suggesting that many animals have at least a basic understanding of death. But there are a few species who seem to hav...
Interspecies Friendship at Noah’s Ark Animal Sanctuary
Interspecies friendship raises intriguing questions about animal communication, such as how do different species learn to read one another’s signals and become ...
The Whale
I use a quote from the film The Whale in my introduction to my book, and on my “About” page on this blog. The quote—and the film—call our attention ...
David Rothenberg Jams with Humpback Whales
Musician and philosopher David Rothenberg has written extensively about the relationship between humanity and nature. He is the author of Why Birds Sing, on mak...
Self-Aware Until Proven Otherwise
Four years ago, ethologist and animal advocate Marc Bekoff wrote an op-ed for LiveScience titled “After 2,500 Studies, It’s Time to Declare Animal Sentien...