Is Anyone Listening?
What Animals are Saying to Each Other and to Us
Denise Herzing
Imagine what it would be like to really understand another intelligent species on this planet.
Denise Herzing has long been intrigued by what that would mean. As the director of the Wild Dolphin Project, she has spent thirty years studying the underwater behavior of dolphins in the wild, with a particular interest in their social lives and communication strategies. What are they saying? And, can we humans join in the discussion?
Her new book, Is Anyone Listening?: What Animals Are Saying To Each Other and To Us, begins with her work with dolphins. Their behavior hints at a deep intelligence, their brains are big, they show signs of self-awareness, and some even use tools to help hunt fish. Building from there, she considers what we know about animal intelligence and the ability to communicate across species, looking at animals from prairie dogs to domestic dogs, and from parrots to primates.
Intelligence in animals has typically been measured by comparing their abilities with people. Denise argues that we need to resist the urge to see animals in terms of how we see ourselves and she wants to radically revise the way we define and measure intelligence in other species. Her work with dolphins has taught her that until we devise an approach to intelligence that isn’t human-centered, we don’t have a chance of meaningfully communicating with the animals who share the planet with us.
Denise Herzing’s deep experience with dolphins and her wonder and celebration of the rich variety of life on this planet informs Is Anyone Listening? The book is a eye-opening guide to the opportunities and challenges of understanding other social worlds.
Praise for Is Anyone Listening?
“It’s high time someone pulled together our current knowledge of interspecies communication, and no one is better placed to do that than Herzing. — Arik Kershenbaum, author of Why Animals Talk: The New Science of Animal Communication
Dr. Doolittle famously desired to talk to the animals. Herzing has a better idea: stop talking long enough to listen to what the animals themselves are saying. Herzing has spent more than forty years doing just that, mostly while underwater with free-living dolphins. It might surprise us to learn that animals sometimes lie, and that some animals talk by changing colors. Listen to what Herzing has to say here. You’ll be amazed. — Carl Safina, author of Beyond Words and Alfie and Me
By merging personal stories with scientific depictions, Herzing offers a compelling argument that captivates. —Con Slobodchikoff, author of Chasing Dr. Dolittle: Learning the Language of Animals
A detailed, fascinating survey of the ongoing pursuit to understand the linguistic dimensions of nonhuman animals, told through the lens of Herzing’s decades of studying a community of dolphins in their native habitat. Particularly interesting is Herzing’s chronicle of her imaginative and pioneering use of technology to attempt to understand the many facets of dolphin communication. Required reading for anyone interested in building a bridge between humans and nonhumans.—Thomas I. White, author of In Defense of Dolphins: The New Moral Frontier
