Originally published in 3000Melbourne magazine.
Anyone who has ever loved a pet will tell you without hesitation that animals have thoughts and feelings – but what do we really know about how they think and feel? In Animal Wise, science journalist Virginia Morell delves into the current pool of knowledge we have about the minds of our fellow creatures, surveying the most recent research on animal intelligence and the scientists who have devoted their lives to finding out what goes on behind those majestic creatures’ eyes.
The idea of animals having cognitive abilities such as memory and self-awareness goes back as far as Charles Darwin. Yet until about 50 years ago, most scientists considered animals to be more like complex automatons, governed by blind instinct rather than thoughts and feelings. Animal Wise illustrates the field of research into animal intelligence as it is today – still controversial, but rapidly evolving, and increasingly suggesting that animals do indeed have indeed have the capability to think, make plans, teach, remember, feel pain, empathise, calculate and deceive. From Japan to Hungary to Tanzania, Morell visits scientists working with creatures large and small, tame and wild, piecing together a compelling picture of how similar animals really are to us. “If you’re most interested in why our human minds are unique,” she writes in her introduction, “you’ll need to read a different book.”
Each chapter takes us into the world of a different group of animals, beginning with those with simpler brain anatomy. Morell introduces us to ants who teach each other how to navigate unfamiliar paths, fish who learn from one another, rats who enjoy being tickled and a parrot who can comprehend the concept of ‘same’ and ‘different’. She then moves on to larger creatures, looking at cheetahs who die of heartbreak, elephants who can recognise the skeletons of other elephants, chimpanzees who excel at memory games, and dolphins who have sophisticated personal relationships. All throughout, she weaves in philosophical musings about what we can learn about ourselves by studying the behaviours of animals.
It is this open and thoughtful style that makes Animal Wise an engaging read; this is science writing that is clear enough and intriguing enough for an audience that doesn’t necessarily have much background science knowledge. Morell demonstrates a deep sensitivity towards and appreciation for the human-animal relationship, and draws out charming details – the way dolphins seem to smile, for example, or the way Bristol researcher Nigel Franks refers to his ants as “the people” – that place this emotional connection at the centre of the text.