May 11, 2015
Considering the fascination human beings have with animal behavior, it’s little wonder so many books on the subject exist. Yet so many of these resources compare animal behavior with human behavior—apples to oranges—rather than comparing one type of animal behavior with another. Safina (Song for the Blue Ocean) chooses to concentrate on the latter approach to animal behavior, meeting up with animal behavior researchers in the field: first observing elephant families in Kenya, then the wolves of Yellowstone, and, finally, killer whale pods in the Pacific Northwest. In between his on-site adventures, Safina discusses the higher-intelligence characteristics of lemurs, chimpanzees, and domestic dogs, among others. In this mind-bending book, Safina takes the reader along with him on his adventures, enlightening and educating at each of his stops. Those interested in animal behavior, as well as anyone who has ever wondered about higher animal intelligence, will feel as if they’re right next to the author, learning along with him. B&w illus.