Animal Intelligence

A recent Discovery News article indicates that some primates may have a richer vocabulary than previously believed — but that their language may just take an unfamiliar form. Author Jennifer Viegas writes:

While such syntax-like behavior has been described in other species, such as whales and dolphins, the new findings are the first to clearly demonstrate [...]

[Read more →]

Here’s an MSNBC article from 04 April 2007 about two swans released on an ape preserve in Iowa. The apes were pleased to see the birds, and will even get a chance to name them.

The eight bonobos at the Great Ape Trust of Iowa howled Tuesday as they watched two trumpeter swans dip into a [...]

[Read more →]

The Associated Press reports that birds may be able to understand each others’ language. Randolph E. Schmid writes:

Nuthatches appear to have learned to understand a foreign language — chickadee.
It’s not unusual for one animal to react to the alarm call of another, but nuthatches seem to go beyond that — interpreting the type of alarm [...]

[Read more →]

As research into animal communication continues, scientists are gaining insight into the language of individual species. Recent research for example, has allowed scientists to delve into the language of whales, including different whale “dialects”. A recent article in Live Science explains:

Deep below the ocean’s surface, blue whales are singing — and for the first time, [...]

[Read more →]