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Reviewed: The Parrot's Lament By
Eugene Linden Plume
Books, a member of Penguin Putnam, Inc. New York, 2000, 204 pp, ISBN:
0-452-28068-0, Cdn$ 18.99 (paperback) Although
the title would seem to indicate this is a book about parrots - and parrots do
play a role in it - its subtitle (and Other True Tales of Animal Intrigue,
Intelligence, and Ingenuity) indicates that it deals with the larger subject
matter of animal intelligence. Obviously
any book dealing with the intelligence of our furred and feathered friends would
be remiss if it did not include some sections on the most intelligent birds on
our planet. While
it does include several descriptions of behavior indicative of high levels of
parrot intelligence, the book also tells tales of the cognitive processes of
other animals, including leopards, gorillas, housecats, pigs, dogs, chimps,
dolphins and many other species. Author
Eugene Linden - an award-winning writer in the fields of science, nature and the
environment for publications that include National Geographic and Time
magazine - stresses in his introduction that this is not another book merely
delving into scientific studies of animal language and intelligence. It
is a thoughtful collection of anecdotal evidence that would seem to answer the
question, "Can animals think?" with a resounding "Yes!" Of
course, the mainstream scientific community, by and large, tends to reject this
type of evidence as non-scientific, therefore, non-valuable. Believe
what you may about animal intelligence and the methods science uses to determine
critters' IQ, this approach certainly makes for interesting, thought-provoking
and entertaining reading. Linden has talked with zookeepers, conservationists,
animal behaviorists and veterinarians to compile a collection of stories that
should appeal to anyone who shares their lives with parrots or any other
animals. Parrot owners in particular will enjoy the tales about the parrots who
share their lives with well-known members of the avian community like Irene
Pepperberg and Sally Blanchard. The
author donates a part of his royalties from the book to the Humane Society and
Traffic, a branch of the World Wildlife Fund aimed at ending the trade in
endangered species. That's a good enough reason alone to purchase the book. But
it also stands on its own as a good buy, because it gives the thoughtful reader
much to laugh about and much more to think about and perhaps re-evaluate about
the way we view animals, in particular the way humanity tends to regard all
non-human species as "inferior" in terms of intelligence. -
Reviewed by John Geary "Here, at last, is proof that animals are smarter than humans - or at least the humans on the Jerry Springer show." - Dave
Barry |
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