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The social lives of animals / Ashley Ward.

By: Material type: TextTextPublisher: New York, NY : Basic Books, Hachette Book Group, 2022Copyright date: ©2022Edition: First U.S. editionDescription: v, 372 pages ; 25 cmContent type:
  • text
Media type:
  • unmediated
Carrier type:
  • volume
ISBN:
  • 9781541600836
  • 1541600835
Subject(s): Genre/Form:
Contents:
Introduction - Brown ale and cannibalism -- Honey, I fed the kids (and now I'm going to explode) -- From ditches to decisions -- Clusterflocks -- Getting into mischief -- Following the herd -- Blood's thicker than water -- Codas and cultures -- War and peace -- Epilogue.
Summary: "A rat will go out of its way to help a cold, wet stranger. Cockroaches pass down generational knowledge, hyenas form personal relationships with members of different species, and ants farm fungus in cooperatives. Why do we continue to believe that life in the animal kingdom is ruled by competition? Why do we believe that humans are special for their ability to live and work together, or worse, that human society is somehow "unnatural"? In The Social Lives of Animals, animal behavior expert Ashely Ward embarks on a global search to reveal the surprising, delightful, and occasionally downright strange ways that animals build and manage societies, with both members of their own species and others. Ward studies how shoals of krill search for food by plying them with beer, visits baboons in Namibia that work for hire as goatherds, wades through a literal river of shit to study how groupthink spreads among sticklebacks, and swims with a family of sperm whales that adopted an orphaned dolphin. By studying animal societies on their own terms, we can see clearly that human societies may not be so unique. Rather, human social life may be just one version of a basic animal instinct. Biology has, since Darwin, tried to understand species by studying how they compete. But in the end, The Social Lives of Animals shows that you can often learn more about animals, including humans, by studying how they work together than by how they tear each other apart"-- Provided by publisher.
Holdings
Item type Home library Collection Call number Materials specified Status Date due Barcode Item holds
Adult Book Adult Book Main Library NonFiction 591.5 W256 Available 33111010804546
Total holds: 0

Enhanced descriptions from Syndetics:

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. 

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Introduction - Brown ale and cannibalism -- Honey, I fed the kids (and now I'm going to explode) -- From ditches to decisions -- Clusterflocks -- Getting into mischief -- Following the herd -- Blood's thicker than water -- Codas and cultures -- War and peace -- Epilogue.

"A rat will go out of its way to help a cold, wet stranger. Cockroaches pass down generational knowledge, hyenas form personal relationships with members of different species, and ants farm fungus in cooperatives. Why do we continue to believe that life in the animal kingdom is ruled by competition? Why do we believe that humans are special for their ability to live and work together, or worse, that human society is somehow "unnatural"? In The Social Lives of Animals, animal behavior expert Ashely Ward embarks on a global search to reveal the surprising, delightful, and occasionally downright strange ways that animals build and manage societies, with both members of their own species and others. Ward studies how shoals of krill search for food by plying them with beer, visits baboons in Namibia that work for hire as goatherds, wades through a literal river of shit to study how groupthink spreads among sticklebacks, and swims with a family of sperm whales that adopted an orphaned dolphin. By studying animal societies on their own terms, we can see clearly that human societies may not be so unique. Rather, human social life may be just one version of a basic animal instinct. Biology has, since Darwin, tried to understand species by studying how they compete. But in the end, The Social Lives of Animals shows that you can often learn more about animals, including humans, by studying how they work together than by how they tear each other apart"-- Provided by publisher.

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