Thursday, April 14, 2022

Aesop's Animals: The Science behind the Fables by Jo Wimpenny

This is not a book about Aesop’s fables but rather examining animal behavior.  As the author states in the preface, if you are reading for the fables this may not be the book for you.  If you are interested in the science and animal behavior this will be enlightening. 

Dr. Wimpenny starts with the story about a crow who drops pebbles into a container in order to raise the water level, thus allowing it to drink. Doing an experiment with crows and ravens provided different results.  The crow did indeed grab the provided pebbles to change the water level.  With another group of corvids, using larva as a treat, there were different outcomes.  Initially the bird figured out the problem then enjoyed the treat. It declined to particpate the second time. 

Are foxes as clever as the fable suggests?  The tortoise and the hare is included and many other stories.  The research is done in a lab as well as in the field.

The author is a British zoologist and writer with a background in animal behavior. She studied zoology at the University of Bristol and had her PhD at Oxford university. She writes for BBC wildlife and has previously presented at science festivals in Oxford and Glasgow.

Sharing with:

Shellyrae at Book'd Out for the 2022 Nonfiction Challenge - Category Wild Animals

Joy's Book Blog for British Isles Friday





5 comments:

  1. This sounds like it could be very interesting. I'm always fascinated by animal behavior...well, maybe just my cats' behavior :)

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  2. Animals are fascinating, some of the things theydo... the book sounds really interesting!

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  3. That’s such an interesting angle to take with research, thanks for sharing your thoughts

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Getting current here on my February books.........

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