The State of Planet Earth Today
In his overview of the state of Planet Earth today, Carl Safina begins by asking the seemingly unrelated question: “Does my dog really love me? Or does she just want a treat?”
What Do Dolphins ‘See’ with Their Ears?
Imagine having two separate auditory circuits in your brain. That’s what dolphins have. So, what does the second one do??
Imagining Ourselves as Animals
What would it be like to be eaten by a large predator? We humans are, after all, basically a prey species, and our drive to dominance is a product of human frailty.
How We Moved from Denial to Anger
The recognition is finally dawning that Planet Earth is in deep trouble. In terms of the five stages of coping with one’s impending demise, we seem to be moving, as a society, from Stage One: Denial, to Stage Two: Anger.
Pigs: Smart & Machiavellian
Winston Churchill famously said: “A dog looks up to you; a cat looks down on you; only a pig treats you as an equal.” But that,…
Exploring Consciousness with Jeff Warren
Jeff Warren calls ecology “the contemplative tradition of our time.” His Consciousness Explorers Club meets in Toronto each week for guided meditation and “collective wonderment.” In…
An Emerging Consciousness – Part Two
Does the empathy that certain people have with nonhuman life constitute the seed of a new kind or level of consciousness?
Could it be possible for a body of people, who are of like mind and heart in relation to our fellow animals, to give rise to a new kind of collective consciousness?
At a time of mass extinction, it’s a notion that, however fanciful, may be the only future available to us.
An Emerging Consciousness
(This is one of a series of posts exploring how, as chaos grows around the world and a Sixth Extinction takes hold, a new kind of collective consciousness…
Authentic Spirituality in the Coming Storm
Once you’ve accepted that Planet Earth has entered a Sixth Great Extinction – one that’s irreversible and that will consume most, if not all, species, including…
How Dogs Really Think and Feel
It seems obvious to most of us that dogs (and other animals) share the same kinds of emotions as we humans. But how do we really…
Raven Asks for Help with Quills
A young raven lands on a fence in Nova Scotia, and keeps squawking for over an hour. A girl, Collen Cleary, goes over to the fence…
‘Hey you, Double-Squeak Clickety-Click!’
A new study explores how dolphins use their individual signature whistles (equivalent to their “names”) to stay in touch with each other. Not only do they…
Moses in the Bulrushes – a Cow and Her Calf
A very touching story by veterinarian Holly Cheever about a mother cow and one of her calves. Beyond being touching, though, it raises important questions about…
Ah, Bravo Figaro! Bravo, Bravissimo!
This particular Figaro is not a barber; he’s a cockatoo. But he’s certainly as talented as his operatic namesake – and not just for his singing…
Call No Elephant Happy Until She Is Free
It’s a terrible irony that Happy, the elephant who demonstrated to scientific researchers how animals of her species are capable of a high level of self-awareness, now languishes all alone in a cage about twice the size of her body. No animal with the kind of cognitive abilities that Happy has demonstrated belongs in a zoo – and, worse, in a cage.
Nonhumans Are Conscious – the Video
Here’s the video from the Francis Crick Memorial Conference at Cambridge University, England. In July, we reported that science leaders from around the world had reached…
Birds Tweeting about Death
Do birds of a feather hold their own version of a funeral service? Or when scrub-jays gather round one of their own who has died, with…
Parrots Know Which Box Has the Food
Put two boxes in front of an African Grey parrot. The parrot knows one has a treat and the other doesn’t, but doesn’t know which is…
Scientists Declare: Nonhuman Animals Are Conscious
Science leaders have reached a critical consensus: Humans are not the only conscious beings; other animals, specifically mammals and birds, are indeed conscious, too. The official decision was reached in late night discussions two weeks ago during the prestigious annual Francis Crick Memorial Conference.
Romney Donor Barbecued Dog
Fred Malek, the president of Marriott Hotels, is a big donor to Mitt Romney. But Dogs Against Romney, a grassroots organization, has dug up a story…