Animal Wise: The Thoughts and Emotions of Our Fellow Creatures

Front Cover
Black Inc., Mar 1, 2013 - Nature - 291 pages
Did you know that dolphins are self-aware, rats love to be tickled, chimps grieve, killer whales have cultures and octopuses have personalities? Did you know that dogs have extensive vocabularies and birds practice songs in their sleep?

Animal Wise takes us on a dazzling exploration into the minds and emotions of animals, through the unusual and committed researchers who study them. Looking at insects, parrots, crows, blue jays, fish, rats, elephants, dolphins, chimpanzees, wolves and dogs, Morell examines the amazing inroads made in the field of animal cognition; the unique personalities of the pioneering researchers involved; the moral and ethical issues raised; and the dilemmas involving how we can accurately uncover animals’ cognitive abilities like memory, feelings, personality and self-awareness – traits that many in the 20th century felt were unique only to humans.

By standing behaviourism on its head, Morell brings the world of nature brilliantly alive in a nuanced, deeply-felt appreciation of the human–animal bond.
 

Contents

Introduction
The Ant Teachers
Among Fish
Birds with Brains
Parrots in Translation
The Laughter of Rats
Elephant Memories
The Educated Dolphin
The Wild Minds of Dolphins
What It Means to Be a Chimpanzee
Of Dogs and Wolves Epilogue
Acknowledgments
Notes
Copyright

Other editions - View all

Common terms and phrases

About the author (2013)

Virginia Morell is an acclaimed science journalist and author. She is a prolific contributor to National Geographic, Discover and Science, among other publications. She is also the author of Ancestral Passions, a New York Times Notable Book of the Year; Blue Nile; and coauthor with Richard Leakey of Wildlife Wars.

Bibliographic information