Why Animals Talk - BookWyrm

English language

Published 2024 by Penguin Publishing Group.

ISBN:: 978-0-593-65493-4

(2 reviews)

Why Animals Talk is a scientific journey through the untamed world of animal communication. From the majestic howls of wolves and the enchanting chatter of parrots to the melodic clicks of dolphins and the spirited grunts of chimpanzees, these diverse and seemingly bizarre expressions are far from mere noise. In fact, they hold secrets that we are just beginning to decipher.

For example, wolves - just like humans - possess unique accents that distinguish their howls; gibbons have different alarm-calls for leopards and snakes, and sing romantic duets with their partners; and dolphins not only give themselves names but respond excitedly to recordings of the whistles of long-lost companions.

Chapter by chapter and animal by animal, Kershenbaum draws on his extensive research and observations of animals in the wild to explain the science behind why animals are communicating. Also revealing profound insights into our own language and why it is …

Why Animals Talk is a scientific journey through the untamed world of animal communication. From the majestic howls of wolves and the enchanting chatter of parrots to the melodic clicks of dolphins and the spirited grunts of chimpanzees, these diverse and seemingly bizarre expressions are far from mere noise. In fact, they hold secrets that we are just beginning to decipher.

For example, wolves - just like humans - possess unique accents that distinguish their howls; gibbons have different alarm-calls for leopards and snakes, and sing romantic duets with their partners; and dolphins not only give themselves names but respond excitedly to recordings of the whistles of long-lost companions.

Chapter by chapter and animal by animal, Kershenbaum draws on his extensive research and observations of animals in the wild to explain the science behind why animals are communicating. Also revealing profound insights into our own language and why it is different, In doing so, Why Animals Talks tells the comprehensive story of communication and how it works across the entire animal kingdom

3 editions

Ben Waber reviewed Why Animals Talk by Arik Kershenbaum

A Nice Tour of Animal Audible Communication

3 stars

This book reviews the audible communication approaches of a variety of different species, interrogating the evolutionary advantages of different signals and how they relate to cognition and socialization. The audiobook version is particularly good because they play recordings of the different vocalizations Kershenbaum discusses. I would have liked this book to go beyond audio communication only, as most communication is multimodal, and if you've read "Alex and Me" the chapter on parrots is almost entirely superfluous. Still, this book stands as an interesting entry in the animal communication canon.

Ben Waber

rated it

January 19

Lists

AcademicRunPlaylist