Animal Emotions

This is the first demonstration of a whale, a captive beluga named Noc, mimicking human voices. Highly vocal belugas are called "canaries of the sea". I love reading about research like this because it shows clearly that we need to be very careful when constructing boundaries between ourselves and other species and also raises ethical questions about animals in captivity. Read More

Coyotes, North American's Song dog, also known as God's Dog, are amazing animals who are very misunderstood and horrifically maligned. Coyotes are intelligent, playful, affectionate, and devoted caregivers. Native Americans appreciated them as cunning tricksters. They are among the most adaptable animals on Earth and are critical to the integrity of diverse ecosystems. Read More

Read about the fascinating research that's being done on our best friends. Dogs have highly evolved capacities to learn words, abstract concepts, and to count. And brain imaging is showing what's happening in their very active minds. Going to the dogs is a good move. Read More

Dogs show stress long after the devastating earthquake and nuclear disaster. Read More

Plans to bring 18 whales to U. S. aquariums are scientifically and ethically misguided. We don't need any more whales in captive breeding mills that offer romantic settings along with champagne and strawberries for $450 and other forms of entertainment. There still is time to file comments on an upcoming hearing about this inane proposal. Read More

"Ethical hunting" raises numerous difficult and sticky issues including the possibility that some people simply enjoy killing other animals. Read More

Six members of a wolf pack were horrifically and violently slaughtered by Washington's Department of Fish & Wildlife because they were "believed" to have killed some cows and calves. You read it right, "believed" to have done this. Read More

These videos capture events in the wild rarely observed—grief by a cetacean and the survival of coyote pups after their parents were killed. Read More

A panda recently born at the National Zoo will remain captive for life. I'd like to see more open discussion about what events such as this really mean for the newborn and for her/his species. Babies are good for raising money, at least for a while, but sooner or later when they lose their charm they're often moved here and there to breed. Is this a good life? Read More

"Most animals in zoos are happy" claims a zoo advocate. A short debate about the pros and cons of zoos is well-worth watching. Read More

The essay "The Seven Things That Only Human Beings Can Do" thoroughly and irresponsibly misrepresents nonhuman animals (animals). Why do people who don't know much if anything about animals write about them as if they do? Read More

Read about a captive tool-making genius bonobo named Kanzi and captive killer whales who imitate one another. What does the behavior of captive animals tell us about their wild relatives? It's still unclear and we must remain open to the possibility that captive studies can both overestimate and underestimate the cognitive capacities of wild animals. Read More

Wild animals do not make for good companion animals (pets) and should never be kept as if they are dogs or cats. The tragic and recent killing of Buddy, a chimpanzee who lived in a home in Nevada, clearly makes this point. There is a need for strong regulations against keeping exotic animals in homes. Read More

Humans have implicit preferences about the physical features of dogs and these preferences can be systematically investigated. Find out what we prefer about our best friends and how these preferences differ among "animal people" and "non-animal people". Read More