You may remember that many years ago before Charles became king, he spoke about talking to plants. At the time he had a reputation for being a bit out of step with reality but he was right. He was ahead of the game. And it’s been proven to a certain extent with a recent study …
The answer to the question in the title is currently believed to be no, but please read on. There is one highly qualified scientist and author who is able to answer the question in the title with precision. His name is Dr Arik Kershenbaum. He a fellow, Director of Studies and tutor at Girton College …
Are sounds that animals use to communicate with each other considered to be “words”? Read More »
Chimpanzees and bonobos use dozens of gestures to communicate with each other. They might be a request or an instruction. For example, as you can see in the Infographic below, a scratching movement across a chimpanzee’s torso means “please groom me”. Or a directed push would be an instruction to climb onto their back or …
Chimpanzee gestures can be understood by fellow primates such as humans Read More »
It is ironic that people use the phrase “pig ignorant” to denigrate stupid people or people who are acting stupidly. Arguably the people who use this phrase are being stupid themselves because pigs are smart. The late Stanley Curtis, a US professor of animal sciences, said: “Pigs could be as smart as chimpanzees and other …
Blame the phrase “pig ignorant” on the pig’s stiff neck! Read More »
Dolphins have to shout at each other when trying to communicate as underwater noise has increased substantially because of increased human activity over the past decades. Sound travels well underwater which exacerbates the problem. In preindustrial times the oceans were much quieter than they are today. Marine wildlife evolved in a quiet environment and therefore …
Dolphins shout to be heard over human-created ocean background noise Read More »
Chimpanzees have their own drumming style. Some are much wilder than others, scientists have discovered when observing chimpanzees in a Ugandan rainforest where the males have developed their own signature drumbeat. They always use the same sort of tree species it seems with wide, flat, exposed roots (buttress roots) which allows the sound to be …
Chimpanzees don’t say goodbye because they keep in touch through drum beats Read More »
I don’t know about you but I find that the whistling sound that pigeons make when they take off to be irritating because I feed squirrels and squirrels chuck their food onto the ground. Pigeons come along and eat this food. And pigeons are very nervous creatures. They are smart birds too. But because they …
The reason why pigeons make a whistling sound when they take off Read More »
Domestic animal caregivers should talk to their animal companions politely in melodious and pleasant tones as they know when you’re angry and when you are expressing that anger in your voice. As a result, they become upset according to a study of horses and pigs. Observant cat owners and scientists who have run studies know …
Tone of the human voice affects emotional state of domestic animals including horses Read More »
Unlike domestic cats, domestic dogs have a face-full of fast twitch muscles which enable them to have expressive faces and rapid barks. Their bark is entirely different to that of their wild ancestor the wolf. Wolf bark compared to the domestic dog bark And it is postulated that this evolution of facial muscles has been …
Dogs’ facial fast twitch muscles provides them with expressions which entice us Read More »
The participating dogs in a study on how they perceive different languages spoken by their owner and others required that their brains were MRI scanned while listening to two different languages. They were trained to keep completely still in order for a successful MRI scan to be carried out. It took several months training. My …
Dogs pick up difference in human languages as shown in MRI scan Read More »
This sounds really good and it is certainly interesting. A mobile phone which can translate your cat’s meows and other sounds (perhaps) with a bit of training by the owner. You download the mobile app, Meow Talk, from Google Play and Bob’s your uncle you’ve got a translator for cat language. It sounds a bit …
Meow Talk – your mobile phone tells you what your cat is saying Read More »
The video explains it all to be honest but I’ll add some words and comments – note: I’ve concluded that this research is rather pointless for this reason. These captive kangaroos are in effect domesticated and the research is proving is that domesticated animals communicate with their human caretakers. This we already know and therefore …
