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5 comments about The Parrot's Lament: And Other True Tales of Animal Intrigue, Intelligence, and Ingenuity (G K Hall Large Print Book Series).

1. This is a wonderful book. Having had companion animals all my life, I've never had any doubt whatsoever that our four-legged and/or feathered friends have a lot more going on in their little heads than some people give them credit for. Just because an animal can't use human words doesn't mean they can't think, feel, or communicate; and this book demonstrates that very well. My only "complaint," such as it is, is that there was no reference whatsoever to a parrot's lament. This rather disappointed me since I have a companion parrot, have read a lot about parrots, and was interested to hear Mr. Linden's story about a lamenting bird. Other than that, it's a great book!



2. I suspect that my goats have me figured and are now trying to outsmart me. Apparently they don't think it's very hard. Because of the steep hills, hollows and giant boulders here at Flying Goat Ranch, the goats' territory is not securely fenced. Down by the road, where there's little to entice a hungry goat, there's just a wire to let them know their boundary. If I appear when they are outside this line, they crawl back under the wire and scoot up the hill. On the other hand, at the upper end of the ranch, the neighbor's fence is more substantial, but quite old and full of holes. I've tried to patch them, but the goats always find a new outlet so they can explore those greener pastures. If I confront them outside of this fence, they play dumb and wander back down along the fence line toward the front of our place, as if they don't know how to get back inside. Even if I approach them sounding the dinner bell (in response to which which they normally fly straight to their food area), they will still take this indirect and ineffective route, rather than take the quickest way to the food--through the opening of the fence. I suspect they don't want me to know their secret outlet, So I hide while I ring the bell and trick them into taking the quickest way back--the fence hole they came through--and from my hideout I discover their secret opening.
   A recent book has collected many stories better than to demonstrate that animals possess several aspects of intelligent awareness, including a sense of humor as well as the ability to deceive. The Parrot's Lament and other true tales of animal intrigue, intelligence, and ingenuity (Dutton) gets its title from a story about a African Grey parrot, Bongo Marie. Its owner had a number of birds at her house, including an Amazon parrot, Paco, that Bongo Marie especially disliked. One day, the owner was removing a roast Cornish game hen from her oven when Bongo Marie flew over and shouted, "Oh no! Paco!" in an excited tone. When the owner produced Paco to show he was still alive, Bongo Marie responded in a disappointed tone, "Oh, no!" and then broke out into raucous laughter. The author of the book, Eugene Linden, an award winning science writer, has collected many of his stories from professional animal handlers (zoo keepers, animal researchers, etc.) and has included research studies, both of which provide a factual and intellectually curious tone to balance the natural sentimentality.
   Escape stories involve not only animal cleverness, but also deception. In one case, for example, Fu Manchu, a male orangutan, baffled zoo keepers by his ability to open a door that allowed regular escape. Surreptitious observation revealed that he kept hidden in his cheek a secret tool: a wire he used to pick the lock.
   A story of double deception among the animals themselves comes from an observation station created by Jane Goodall in the wilds of Tanzania. Just at the moment that one chimpanzee found a cache of food, a more dominant chimp appeared on the scene. The first chimp walked away from the cache and acted nonchalantly until the second chimp left the scene. When the coast was clear, the first chimp went over to the food and began to eat. However, the second chimp had only appeared to have left. He was observed to have hidden himself in the bushes and spied on the first chimp to learn of its deception. When the secret was exposed, the dominant chimp returned to the scene and claimed the food for himself.
   Pet owners often attribute to their animals more intelligence, awareness and cunning than psychologists think they deserve. In the academic community, animal awareness is still as much an anathema as ESP. I don't think the church is as against animal awareness as much as is the university, even though it was the church who invented animal dumbness to create a spiritual gap between them and us. But evidence is mounting to force a conclusion that animals do think, have feelings, and are creative. Some animals, such as chimps and parrots, are even able to learn how to use symbolic language intelligently. Their ability to deceive, as cute or unattractive as it may be, is a quite important clue about their minds. The act of deception shows an awareness of the mental states of others and an understanding of how those mental states can be misled. My goats seem to assume that as long as I don't see them walk through the fence, I won't know there's a hole in it, so they seem to act so as to plant a false belief in my mind.
   At a time when threats to the welfare of animals abound, it's good to hear stories that speak to us about their recognizably human qualities. When we empathize with them, it helps us connect to them as beings like us. In that way they become as our teachers, inspiring us to develop a more sensitive and caring relationship with the critters with whom we share this planet.



3. I thoroughly enjoyed reading this exploration of animal intelligence. Linden writes clearly and succinctly, and does a great job of weaving his stories together to support the points he makes. He has taken examples from both his personal experience, and from numerous print sources and interviews with other people. Most of the stories revolve around captive animals (as pets and in zoos - primarily because these are more easily observed), though some examples from the wild are included. In addition, an overwhelming number of these case studies involve the great apes (particularly orangutans and gorillas) and dolphins. This is to be expected, as these species are generally considered to be among the most intelligent, but there are also tales of birds, pigs, large cats, and others.

   The book is divided into nine categories. He begins with "Games and Humor," in which he explores the ways in which animals amuse themselves. "Trade and Barter" was one of the most interesting chapters, detailing the elaborate systems captive apes have been taught, where they can earn "money" for performing tasks for their keepers, and then spend that money on items they want, such as treats or toys. "Deception" discusses ways animals have tried to fool both their human counterparts and others of their own species. In "Mind Reading and Mental Chess" Linden explores the extent to which animals can be aware of others' states of mind. "Cooperation in Work, Conflict, and Healing" is another particularly interesting chapter, offering examples of service animals that have gone beyond their training to help humans. Included are stories of animals that actually seek out ill and injured people in order to offer them solace. "Tools and Intelligence" concerns that very sticky topic of whether humans, as tool-users, are unique. It appears that we are not, and Linden shows us numerous cases where other species have made use of tools to achieve their aims. The seventh chapter talks of escape attempts - cases where captive animals have shown remarkable ingenuity despite all their keepers' efforts to dissuade them. "Empathy and Heroism" gives us examples of animal heroes, and finally "A Place Where Humans are the Novelty" takes a brief look at those few wild places that are still relatively untouched by humans.

   While I really liked the book as a whole, however, there are a few things which cause me to knock my rating down to only four stars. First is that Linden undermines much of his own thesis by devoting an entire preface as a disclaimer that none of these stories can be used as scientific evidence. Perhaps the stories are anecdotal, but this is how much of scientific discovery begins - with pure observation of things. For those of us with wide exposure to animals, it is hard to deny that they do possess some remarkable mental capabilities, even without these stories as additional proof.

   And secondly, Linden has done a very poor job of checking his facts. Many of his examples come from animals at the Woodland Park Zoo, which is very close to where I live, and which I have visited numerous times. The first error that leapt out at me is relatively minor - the orangutan Linden refers to as "Tawan" is actually named Towan. But more alarming, one of Linden's stories involves the gorillas at Woodland Park. He claims that the gorilla Jumoke, when separated from the father of her baby, repeatedly tried to climb out of her new enclosure to rejoin him. This is all well and good, except that the "father" is billed as Alafia. Anyone can check the Woodland Park Zoo's website (www.zoo.org) and see that Alafia is, in fact, a female. So something is not right with that particular story. It could be that Linden just mixed up the names - there are a LOT of gorillas at Woodland park - but errors like this make me question the accuracy of the other accounts included. Has Linden made other mistakes in his research?

   Overall, though, I would still recommend this book to anyone with a casual interest animal intelligence. Some of the stories are heartwarming, others funny, and others downright amazing. The book is friendly to the layman and does not require any scientific knowledge. It is also well-written and easy to read. If you're doing a study or writing a paper, I would strongly advise you to double-check the specifics of any accounts you intend to reference (due to the above mentioned errors), but for general-interest purposes this book is good enough as is. It's a great testament to the often vastly underestimated intellectual powers of our furry, feathery, and scaly friends.




4. I enjoyed this book of anecdotes about animals behaving in smart, original, creative, and sometimes heroic ways. It was written in a very accessible style, and I enjoyed the author's sense of humor. The book was well-divided into sections: games and humor; trade and barter; deception; mind reading and mental chess; cooperation in work, conflict and healing; tools and intelligence; escapes; empathy and heroism; and a place where humans are the novelty. I would've liked to have read more about the last section, about animals who have no fear of humans in a virtually untouched jungle in Africa. The only thing that puzzled me about the book was the rather apologetic tone regarding animal intelligence. The tone tries to pacify scientists and other people who aren't convinced that animals possess intelligence. I have never doubted that they do. I'm sure most people who have pets or work around animals feel the same way. It's too bad that we have to be apologetic about believing that the important life forms that share our planet have the capacity to think and feel. As the author points out in the last chapter, based on what we're doing to the planet, it's sometimes questionable which species is really the one without intelligence.



5. I have a bird myself, and though she doesn't display any higher intelligence, these stories were humerous and fascinating.

   The tales of love and escape and the human qualities displayed by animals were touching, too. This book made me do something not not very many other books have done; I laughed out loud. It's a great book for those who have pets or are just interested in tales of animal empathy, deception, and cooperation and intelligence which are sometimes hysterical.

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