BOOK REVIEW
The Genius of Dogs, Author: Brian Hare.
By Seth Borenstein – Dolphins are so distantly related to humans that it’s been 95 million years since we had even a remotely common ancestor. Yet when it comes to intelligence, social behavior and communications, some researchers say dolphins come as close to humans as our ape and monkey cousins.
“Think of it like a toolbox,” Duke University researcher Brian Hare said. “Some species have an amazing hammer. Some species have an amazing screwdriver.”
For dogs, a primary tool is their obsessive observation of humans and ability to understand human communication, Hare said. For example, dogs follow human pointing so well that they understand it whether it’s done with a hand or a foot; chimps don’t, said Hare, whose upcoming book is called “The Genius of Dogs.” more> http://tinyurl.com/7zs6m3a
Related articles
- Adorable Video! Dolphin And Dog Kiss! (huffingtonpost.com)
- Primates, what are they thinking? (stuff.co.nz)
- Dolphins, Humans Share ‘Brainy’ Genes (news.discovery.com)
- Do Dogs Speak Human? (bigthink.com)
I find the subject of dolphin and whale intelligence to be fascinating. With the great apes, it’s not so hard to believe we’re related because we look alike (…although, unfortunately, we still kill them. And other humans, for that matter.).
But with these intelligent sea mammals, they look and behave–well, like fish. So even though some studies suggest that they might rival ourselves in things like intelligence, emotion, culture, and social sophistication…not a lot of people are interested in treating them as equals.
I recently had a petition sent to me to ask the U.S. Navy not to test a new sound technology which was projected to kill thousands of whales and dolphins, and deafen thousands more. So thoughtless are we toward our fellow intelligent creatures…