Animal Talk: Paw 2: Inquisitive Parrots, Singing Whales, Retired Chimpanzees, Banjos & More

People use language to express themselves, but do you ever wonder how other animals communicate with each other? If they don’t speak like us, how do they convey information? If you listened to our first Animal Talk episode you learned about the complex ways animals communicate, and how some species even have their own languages and dialects. In “Paw 2” we learn even more about the amazing world of animal communication, and about the science behind linguistic development in animals. Evan interviews Dr. Irene Pepperberg, research professor at Boston University in the Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences about her famous work with Alex the African Grey Parrot. Dr. Pepperberg worked with Alex for over 30 years, and taught him over 100 English words. Not only was Alex able to communicate with humans, he even asked what color he was when looking at himself in the mirror, becoming the first known non-human to ask a question. Nichole goes beneath the waves with Dr. Aude Pacini from the Marine Mammal Research Program at the Hawaii Institute of Marine Biology. Dr. Pacini records whales and dolphin song with sophisticated underwater microphones. She was part of an expedition where the world-class cellist Yo Yo Ma played music for whales from the deck of a famous Hawaiian canoe! Evan takes us down to North Georgia with Project Chimps, a chimpanzee sanctuary where over 90 retired lab chimps roam freely on six protected acres of forest. Our hosts are also joined by the very human creator of the Brooklyn Folk Festival, Eli Smith, who plays some banjo for us and talks about his big upcoming event this November 7-9. This episode is jam-packed, but don’t worry, we still found room for favorites like Cryptid Corner, Grandparent Stories, jokes and more. Let’s get wild!