Animal Wise

Did I hear about this on one of those rare occasions I listened to NPR? Maybe. Sometimes, I heard about intriguing books. But I digress before I begin.

I ran across this little lovely at the library a couple weeks ago. And since one of the three topics I'm apparently obsessed with right now happens to be animal studies, I snatched up Ms Morell's book. She is an experienced science writer who has traveled the world and interviewed a variety of scientists, and actually witnessed some tests being run on animal cognition, so she's not just wildly exclaiming things in the dark.

The book begins with the intelligence of some of our smallest brethren in the animal kingdom, insects–specifically ants. She then moves to fish, to birds, to elephants, dolphins, chimps, and members of the canine family. She interviews ethologists, biologists, psychologists, anyone who has experience working with animals, who tests their cognition, who spends a large amount of his or her time with animals. And in each case, we are stunned at their capabilities and moved by their intelligence. And, I'll be frank, for full disclosure, it just made me even more glad I decided to be a vegetarian.

Because, as she points out, the more we learn about the creatures with whom we share our planet, the more we realize they are intelligent, emotional beings, in some cases self-aware and aware of others, with the capacity for altruism and deceit, the more we must be held responsible for how we treat them. (I'm not saying everyone has to be a vegetarian, but that's what made sense to me, which you probably already know, since you can see ‘Eating Animals' as a five-star book on my shelves.)

In short, I want to hug everything.