Barbara J. King: Grief and love in the animal kingdom
ברברה ג'יי קינג: אבל ואהבה בממלכת החיות
As a writer on animal cognition and emotion, Barbara J. King seeks to motivate us all to be kinder to the animals we share the planet with. Full bio
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about an orca named Tahlequah.
על לוויתן אורקה בשם טאלקה.
as J35 to scientists,
in the Salish Sea.
בים סאליש.
British Columbia and Washington State.
לקולומביה הבריטית ומדינת וושינגטון.
in her 17-month pregnancy,
של הריון בן 17 חודשים,
in this pod for three long years.
כבר שלוש שנים תמימות.
known as killer whales.
כלוויתנים קטלניים.
and profoundly intelligent beings.
in their behavior,
they share habits, information
הם חולקים הרגלים, מידע
has been way down in the region,
מחבבים היו בירידה באזור,
gave birth to a daughter,
by this development.
in fact, shortly after birth --
למעשה, מיד אחרי ההמלטה --
electrified animal lovers
to let her baby slip off into the water.
לתינוקת שלה לשקוע במים.
and she swam with it.
she would dive and rescue it,
she swam over 1,000 miles.
slip off into the water.
וזו שקעה במים.
swims on with the J Pod,
is the right word to use.
is the right word to use
שמתאבלים על המתים.
these behavioral cues,
הרמזים ההתנהגותיים,
an animal's emotional state.
examples of animal grief --
של אבל אצל חיות --
and in wild animals --
of animal grief.
to you right up front
it's been a big deterrent
we project onto other animals
על בעלי חיים אחרים
think of examples of this.
towards a squirrel,
to read an animal's mind.
את מחשבותיה של החיה.
with some meaning.
often push back at me,
has been disrupted."
about anthropomorphism
סביב אנתרופומורפיות
can care very deeply for each other,
דאגה עמוקה מאוד זה כלפי זה.
can be pierced by a death.
ליבו של הניצול.
on embracing part of ourselves.
of animal grief,
של אבל בבעלי חיים,
a better place for animals,
למקום טוב יותר לבעלי חיים,
about animal grief.
על אבל בבעלי חיים.
an elephant named Eleanor
came to her right away
visibly distressed,
סימני מצוקה ברורים,
and she vocalized.
from another family named Maui,
ממשפחה אחרת שקוראים לה מאווי,
and she stayed at the body.
and she even rocked in distress
ואפילו התנדנדה מצד לצד במצוקה
should be classified as grief.
כפי שאמרתי, מתוך מצוקה.
himself or herself away from friends
or vocalization.
for those of us studying this
of a survivor before death
של הניצול לפני המוות
of our interpretation.
named Harper and Kohl.
בשם הארפר וקול.
at a foie gras factory,
force-feeding of birds.
spirits were not in good shape, either.
ורוחם גם היא לא היתה גבוהה.
by a farm sanctuary in upstate New York.
לחוות הצלה בצפון ניו יורק.
and they were fast friends.
והפכו לחברים טובים.
to a small pond on the property.
really intractable pain in his legs,
that he had to be euthanized humanely,
did a brilliant thing,
to the body to see.
the body of his friend,
for over an hour with his friend.
where he had been with Kohl,
have this sorrowful outcome.
to visit my adult daughter, Sarah.
לבקר את בתי הבוגרת, שרה.
and I checked my work email.
about a dejected donkey.
this wasn't what I expected,
had gone to another farm sanctuary,
לחוות הצלה אחרת,
for that reason.
with an older horse named Jake,
לסוס מבוגר יותר בשם ג'ייק,
was that Jake, at age 32, the horse,
שג'ייק, הסוס, בגיל 32,
and had to be put down,
She didn't want to come in for food.
היא לא רצתה לחזור לאכול,
she brayed in distress,
היא נערה במצוקה,
diverge from that of Harper the duck,
מתפצל מזה של הארפר האווז,
and said it worked out well.
supplement observation
of scientists in Botswana,
and compared two different groups.
והשוו בין שתי קבוצות שונות.
who had witnessed a predator attack
שחוו מתקפה של חיה טורפת
who had witnessed an attack
were way up in that first group.
בקרב הקבוצה הראשונה.
call them "stressed baboons,"
of the observations that they made.
זאת תוצאה של התצפיות שערכו.
pair were very close,
היו מאוד קרובות זו לזו,
was killed by a lion.
from all her friends,
and just stayed by herself for weeks --
ופשוט נשארה לבדה במשך שבועות --
about bereaved bees?
על דבורים אבלות?
is because animals really need
היא בגלל שבעלי חיים באמת זקוקים
for that to happen.
and personality matters.
והאישיות משפיעה.
cats and dogs who grieve,
who was extremely bothered
in the house has died.
seem concerned, the second dog.
על החיה השניה, הכלב השני.
the only animal in the household,
בעל החיים היחיד בבית,
that was a pretty good deal.
are not going to grieve
רוקדים את האבל שלנו,
we've never met,
על אנשים שמעולם לא פגשנו,
that their grief isn't real.
at a young age from AIDS.
here have lost someone.
the only beings on this earth
היצורים היחידים על פני כדור הארץ
this a step further,
לקחת את זה צעד קדימה,
that the reality of animal grief
אבל בבעלי חיים
and do better for animals.
ולהתנהג טוב יותר עם בעלי חיים.
renewed their talks with greater urgency
את השיחות ביניהן בדחיפות
plausibility to the notion
sadness, even hope.
שמחה, עצב ואפילו תקווה.
to think about the world.
אנחנו יודעים שהם חשים בחייהם שלהם,
we know they feel their lives,
to small tanks in theme parks
במיכלי מים קטנים בפארקי שעשועים
for our entertainment.
and say, yes, they grieve,
כן, הם מתאבלים,
against international trophy hunting
נגד ציד פילים בינלאומי
living relatives, monkeys and apes,
אלינו, הקופים והשימפנזים,
they feel their lives,
they tell us something too.
גם הם מספרים לנו משהו.
and realize that what we eat
ולהבין שהאוכל שאנחנו אוכלים
and it's not just ducks.
and cows in factory farms,
ועופות ופרות בחוות מפעל,
that these animals feel, too.
ושלבעלי החיים האלה גם יש רגשות.
we choose a plant-based meal,
to reducing animal suffering.
of animal grief.
של אבל בבעלי חיים.
we don't own these things.
so much better for animals,
לטוב יותר עבור בעלי החיים,
just save ourselves, too.
ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Barbara J. King - Biological anthropologist, writerAs a writer on animal cognition and emotion, Barbara J. King seeks to motivate us all to be kinder to the animals we share the planet with.
Why you should listen
Barbara J. King writes and speaks about the thinking and feeling abilities of animals ranging from our closest living relatives, monkeys and apes, to orcas and octopuses. In her own words: "After 28 years of teaching anthropology at the College of William and Mary, I’m now a full-time freelance science writer and speaker. My husband and I care for homeless cats and spend all the time we can in nature. For work, I’ve observed baboons in Kenya, and gorillas and bonobos in captivity, and for pleasure bison in Yellowstone. I focus on how the science of animal cognition and emotion might help animals.
"My books take up topics ranging from animal grief to who (not what) we eat and how religion evolved, tied together by my focus on animals. I wrote weekly for six years for NPR about science, and my work has appeared in Scientific American, Aeon and Undark magazines. I love giving public science talks and I am active daily on Twitter @bjkingape."
King is the author of How Animals Grieve, Personalities on the Plate and Evolving God.
Barbara J. King | Speaker | TED.com