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How Animals GrieveStock informationGeneral Fields
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DescriptionFrom the time of our earliest childhood encounters with animals, we casually ascribe familiar emotions to them. But scientists have long cautioned against such anthropomorphizing, arguing that it limits our ability to truly comprehend the lives of other creatures. Recently, however, things have begun to shift in the other direction, and anthropologist Barbara J. King is at the forefront of that movement, arguing strenuously that we can - and should - attend to animal emotions. With "How Animals Grieve", she draws our attention to the specific case of grief, and relates story after story - from fieldsites, farms, homes, and more - of animals mourning lost companions, mates, or friends. King tells of elephants surrounding their matriarch as she weakens and dies, and, in the following days, attending to her corpse as if holding a vigil. A housecat loses her sister, from whom she's never before been parted, and spends weeks pacing the apartment, wailing plaintively. A baboon loses her daughter to a predator and sinks into grief. Reviews"Poignant, thoughtful, and sometimes heartbreaking. Barbara J. King once again elevates the discussion of animal emotion. She tackles a tricky subject with a scientist's care and an animal lover's grace." -Jennifer Holland, author of Unlikely Friendships: 47 Remarkable Stories from the Animal Kingdom" Author descriptionBarbara J. King is professor of anthropology at the College of William and Mary. She is the author or editor of many books, including Being with Animals. She blogs regularly for National Public Radio and reviews for the Times Literary Supplement. |