Arik Kershenbaum talks to Nature about his book Why Animals Talk

Will humans ever speak wolf? A scientist unravels the complexities of animal chatter

Download Nature hits the books 09 December 2024

Zoologist Arik Kershenbaum has spent his career studying animals and how they communicate in the wild. In his book Why Animals Talk: The New Science of Animal Communication, Arik takes a deep dive into the various forms of communication, from wolf howls to gibbon songs, to look at how different species get their points across, why they do it the way they do, and what insights they provide into our own use of language.

Why Animals Talk: The New Science of Animal Communication Arik Kershenbaum Penguin (2024)

Music supplied by SPD/Triple Scoop Music/Getty Images

Wolf howl via NPS & MSU Acoustic Atlas/Jennifer Jerrett

Slowed down dolphin whistle via Arik Kershenbaum

Hyrax song via Arik Kershenbaum

Pileated gibbon song via Rushenb CC BY-SA 4.0

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doi: https://doi.org/10.1038/d41586-024-03937-7

This story originally appeared on: Nature - Author:Benjamin Thompson