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The Social Lives of Animals
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About This Book
A rat will go out of its way to help a stranger in need. Lions have adopted the calves of their prey. Ants farm fungus in cooperatives. Why do we continue to believe that life in the animal kingdom is ruled by competition? In The Social Lives of Animals, biologist Ashley Ward takes us on a wild tour across the globe as he searches for a more accurate picture of how animals build societies. Ward drops in on a termite mating ritual (while his guides snack on the subjects), visits freelance baboon goatherds, and swims with a mixed family of whales and dolphins. Along the way, Ward shows that the social impulses we've long thought separated humans from other animals might actually be our strongest connection to them. Insightful, engaging, and often hilarious, The Social Lives of Animals demonstrates that you can learn more about animals by studying how they work together than by how they compete.
Reviews
"Ward has a good eye for details...and he writes vividly ..."
"Ward's lively and oftentimes surprising observations and quirky and wry writing will appeal to readers."
"Engaging and entertaining; of interest to anyone who wants to better understand the behavior of social animals, including humans."
"Ward's enthusiasm keeps things moving, and his account is well researched and fascinating as he covers locust swarms, infanticide in chimpanzees, and humbug fish harems."
"Ward's The Social Lives of Animals explores, in extensive and often exhilarating detail, the many ways in which animals, like humans, 'hate to be alone' ..."
"Ward...draws very few explicit connections between animal behaviour and our own, and is cautious about ascribing emotions or motivations to the creatures he studies—even in tear-jerking anecdotes about how elephants and wolves appear to mourn."
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