Barbara J. King: Grief and love in the animal kingdom
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.
as J35 to scientists,
in the Salish Sea.
British Columbia and Washington State.
in her 17-month pregnancy,
in this pod for three long years.
known as killer whales.
and profoundly intelligent beings.
in their behavior,
they share habits, information
has been way down in the region,
gave birth to a daughter,
by this development.
in fact, shortly after birth --
electrified animal lovers
to let her baby slip off into the water.
and she swam with it.
she would dive and rescue it,
she swam over 1,000 miles.
slip off into the water.
swims on with the J Pod,
is the right word to use.
is the right word to use
these behavioral cues,
an animal's emotional state.
examples of animal grief --
and in wild animals --
of animal grief.
to you right up front
it's been a big deterrent
we project onto other animals
think of examples of this.
towards a squirrel,
to read an animal's mind.
with some meaning.
often push back at me,
has been disrupted."
about anthropomorphism
can care very deeply for each other,
can be pierced by a death.
on embracing part of ourselves.
of animal grief,
a better place for animals,
about animal grief.
an elephant named Eleanor
came to her right away
visibly distressed,
and she vocalized.
from another family named Maui,
and she stayed at the body.
and she even rocked in distress
should be classified as grief.
himself or herself away from friends
or vocalization.
for those of us studying this
of a survivor before death
of our interpretation.
named Harper and Kohl.
at a foie gras factory,
force-feeding of birds.
spirits were not in good shape, either.
by a farm sanctuary in upstate New York.
and they were fast friends.
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.
and I checked my work email.
about a dejected donkey.
this wasn't what I expected,
had gone to another farm sanctuary,
for that reason.
with an older horse named Jake,
was that Jake, at age 32, the horse,
and had to be put down,
She didn't want to come in for food.
she brayed in distress,
diverge from that of Harper the duck,
and said it worked out well.
supplement observation
of scientists in Botswana,
and compared two different groups.
who had witnessed a predator attack
who had witnessed an attack
were way up in that first group.
call them "stressed baboons,"
of the observations that they made.
pair were very close,
was killed by a lion.
from all her friends,
and just stayed by herself for weeks --
about bereaved bees?
is because animals really need
for that to happen.
and personality matters.
cats and dogs who grieve,
who was extremely bothered
in the house has died.
seem concerned, the second dog.
the only animal in the household,
that was a pretty good deal.
are not going to grieve
we've never met,
that their grief isn't real.
at a young age from AIDS.
here have lost someone.
the only beings on this earth
this a step further,
that the reality of animal grief
and do better for animals.
renewed their talks with greater urgency
plausibility to the notion
sadness, even hope.
to think about the world.
we know they feel their lives,
to small tanks in theme parks
for our entertainment.
and say, yes, they grieve,
against international trophy hunting
living relatives, monkeys and apes,
they feel their lives,
they tell us something too.
and realize that what we eat
and it's not just ducks.
and cows in factory farms,
that these animals feel, too.
we choose a plant-based meal,
to reducing animal suffering.
of animal grief.
we don't own these things.
so much better for animals,
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