Why Animals Talk: The New Science of Animal Communication

by Arik Kershenbaum

Why Animals Talk is a scientific journey through the untamed world of animal communication. From the majestic howls of wolves and the enchanting chatter of parrots to the melodic clicks of dolphins and the spirited grunts of chimpanzees, these diverse and seemingly bizarre expressions are far from mere noise. In fact, they hold secrets that we are just beginning to decipher.For example, wolves – just like humans – possess unique accents that distinguish their howls, and not only do dolphins give themselves names, but they also respond excitedly to recordings of the whistles of long-lost companions.Chapter by chapter and animal by animal, Kershenbaum draws on his extensive research and observations of animals in the wild to explain the science behind why animals are communicating. Also revealing profound insights into our own language and why it is different, Why Animals Talks tells the comprehensive story of communication and how it works across the entire animal kingdom.

Genres: Nonfiction, Science, Animals, Nature, Biology, Audiobook, Linguistics

288 pages, Hardcover

Published August 6, 2024

About the author

Dr Arik Kershenbaum is a zoologist, College Lecturer, and Fellow at Girton College, University of Cambridge. He has researched animal vocal communication for the past ten years in Europe, Israel and the United States and has published more than twenty academic publications on the topic. He is also a member of the international board of advisors for METI.org, a think tank on the topic of Messaging Extra Terrestrial Intelligence. Arik has done extensive field work on animal communication, following wolves around Yellowstone National Park and the forests of central Wisconsin to uncover the meaning of their different kinds of howls, as well as decoding the whistles of dolphins among the coral reefs of the Red Sea, and the songs of hyraxes in the Galilee

Reviews

[Jess the Shelf-Declared Bibliophile · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars. While I appreciated the author's passion for the subject, I do have to say this listened more like a lengthy college lecture than a fascinating nonfiction work. The complete lack of any personal notes or humor thrown in just gave it a very standard, droning feel, and while I adore animals and all things nature, I often found my attention span wandering.

[Nima Mf · Rating 4 out of 5]

The main lesson of this book for me is that we don't need to find similarities between animal and human communication to appreciate the former. Animals are not lesser humans - which seems to be suggested by those apparent animal advocates arguing for continuity between language and animal signals. Animal communication is perfect, it's perfect for the functions that drove its evolution, not because it's language-like.

[Mary Arkless · Rating 4 out of 5]

Borrowed from the library. I am the first person to have borrowed this book. :)

This is a rather interesting read for the total layperson. The author is also rather amusing. Quick read as a comparatively small book.

[Maria Lyle · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was really looking forward to this, and perhaps misunderstood the premise slightly. I found the way that the research was introduced and explained to be rather confusing for this lay person, and it really impacted my enjoyment.

[Salty Swift · Rating 3 out of 5]

Between the covers we learn why some animals talk among themselves but not how to get them to communicate with us....

[Uli Vogel · Rating 5 out of 5]

I gained quite a few insights. The final chapter is simply brilliant.

[Migdalia Jimenez · Rating 5 out of 5]

Kershenbaum, a distinguished zoologist, explores the fascinating, wide and wild world of animal communication, dedicating each chapter to one of six animals: wolves, dolphins, parrots, hyraxes, gibbons and chimpanzees.

Each one of these extraordinary animals provides a unique perspective, into their biology and habitat, and how their communication is shaped by them. In attempting to answer the age-old question -why animals talk- Kershenbaum delves deeply into the question of animal intelligence and the very concept and origin of language itself.

This well-researched and passionate book is for readers who are curious about animals and enjoy reading about the natural world in a manner that does not prioritize human experience nor does it assert human superiority, but rather situates humanity within the broader context of the Animal Kingdom.

Fans of Temple Grandin and Ed Yong will want to pick this one up.

[D.J. Desmond · Rating 3 out of 5]

There's a lot of research put into this book. The book answers what it sets out to answer, and I appreciate that as a reader. Animal communication seems to have 65% of their research figured out, with the other 35% still mostly unknown. Funny enough, that's probably due to the fact that animals can't just tell us their communication systems, AND they tend to "Toy Story" us by ceasing communication once we get too close.

Basically, I like the organization and the openness, but I was hoping for more information that (no fault to anyone) isn't available yet.

I don't rate it high b/c the reading experience was good but nothing special. Felt like I was reading many articles on animals, which is what I signed up for but there's a level of spice that authors can add to any writing, even nonfiction.

[Claire Binkley · Rating 4 out of 5]

I still don't really understand what a hyrax is, despite the photography, but this author told me that it was trying to communicate something out there, so I think it has to exist somewhere in the world.

I also absolutely love dolphins, having played Ecco the Dolphin until the adaptor started to smoke.

There are other animals here too like parrots and more. I remember having a bird on my shoulder from age five to seventeen. It was hard when he passed away.

However in this book you and I can find remnants of animals like him and similar ones, as well!

[Scott Bolick · Rating 4 out of 5]

An enjoyable read that is well structured and easy to follow. The author does a great job of highlighting how different animals communicate based on their needs, not based on how we would like them to communicate. I learned at least a few things from each section which I always count as a win.

[honey · Rating 4 out of 5]

“But it is a genuinely helpful way to remember how to think about animal language. They have what they need: no more, no less. No matter how similar to us, their communication is not like ours - it's precisely like theirs. As it should be.”

[Emma · Rating 5 out of 5]

Love this book. Very good introduction to animal communication, also for biology undergrads

[Alex Hartburg · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked this book, a solid argument to move away from human exceptionalism!

[Penner · Rating 2 out of 5]

The author uses as many words as possible to say "we don't know."

[Twirlsquirrel · Rating 3 out of 5]

Really wanted to love this. Gave it several tries. Eventually made it near the end of the audiobook before giving up in frustration.

There are fascinating tidbits, like when Alex the grey parrot sees himself in a mirror, asks what color he is seeing, and is taught the word "grey"...but even in those tidbits there are problems.

For example, the author says that Alex's interaction is "the only instance of a nonhuman asking a direct question" - a very strong claim, and obviously wrong!

Consider Bunny the dog, who uses an English button board to ask direct questions of his caretaker, with the interactions recorded for the whole world to see. Is the author referring to something other than dynamics like this when he makes his claim about Alex? Did he intend rather to write something more specific - perhaps "the only instance of a nonhuman asking a direct question about the nature of its own unique identity"?

Or is the author simply unaware of Bunny? This would represent a startling failure of due diligence for an animal communication expert researching a pop science book on animal communication in a Western market where the average reader is likely to have direct communication experience with dogs.

This book also often fails to ask the obvious next questions. For example, was Alex interested in his own color because he recognized that he was seeing himself? The author doesn't pursue this line of reasoning at all, which is strange considering how prominently the question of selfhood features in the later chapter on chimpanzee language.

More importantly, was Alex actually seeing a dazzling array of UV patterns on himself, which the human researcher mistakenly identified as "grey" because our species lacks UV photoreceptors? Given what we know about bird vision, this seems probable and represents an obvious opportunity to discuss cross-species conceptual miscommunication, which in turn seems extremely relevant to a book on animal language. Yet the author addresses none of this.

For the most part this isn't a bad book. It just doesn't say much. A lot of the book seems to be the author asking questions, telling a few tangential anecdotes of varying relevance, then concluding that no one knows. It mostly feels like padding. Sure it's important to be honest about our ignorance, but I'm reading a book like this because I already know I'm ignorant and I'm hoping to learn from someone who is less ignorant.

Organization could be better too. Here's the concluding quote from the second-to-last chapter, which is where I finally gave up: "But it is a genuinely helpful way to remember how to think about animal language: They have what they need - no more, no less. No matter how similar to us, their communication is not like ours. It's precisely like theirs...as it should be."

This is true and important, but it belongs in the intro. This is first-principles background, the kind of stuff that needs to be made clear right up front so readers and listeners can read and listen with this guiding principle in mind. Instead we don't see or hear it until we've already had five chapters of human-nonhuman linguistic comparisons, several incomplete definitions of "language", and several incomplete arguments about whether various nonhuman animals meet those incomplete definitions. Makes for a subtly but persistently frustrating experience.

There are a few statements that really bothered me, like when the author mentions that "some people would say animals have no intentions at all" and then immediately avoids dealing with that statement by saying "but intention isn't necessary for us to call something meaningful". It is obvious to everyone who isn't a solipsist or a eugenicist that nonhuman animals have intentions, that there is no magical line separating humans from our relatives in this regard. So this is like saying "Some people think only humans have a soul." It just doesn't belong in a science book on its own merits, so why include it if you're not going to deal with it properly by contextualizing it and explaining the known issues with it? Otherwise you're just giving unnecessary breathing room to the same Cartesian delusions that have already generated so much ecocide over the past several centuries of colonialism and capitalism. I don't think this was the author's intent, but I do think it's irresponsible.

Giving this three stars instead of two because I learned some genuinely interesting facts, the tone of certain passages was comforting, and the author seems to really care about the creatures he studies.

[Robin Ellsworth · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was fascinating. I loved learning about hyraxes for the first time! There were so many wonderful insights about the evolutionarily necessary communication methods of different species, specific to their social groups and habitat. There’s so much we still don’t know about what goes on in the mind of an animal, but this was a good foray into the subject.

I also really appreciated how important nonverbal communication is between humans and domesticated animals. Animal communication is driven by evolution. It makes complete sense that domesticated dogs evolved to communicate both verbally and nonverbally with humans, because so much of human communication happens nonverbally.

The ultimate lesson of this book is: animal communication doesn’t need to be similar or the same as human communication. A dog’s bark or a dolphin’s whistle does not need to be directly translatable into a human word, because a dog or a dolphin have no need for that type of communication. They have each evolved into exactly what THEY need as a species. And we can appreciate animals for exactly what they are.


I definitely want to look more into this!

[Annie O’Brien · Rating 3 out of 5]

this took me so long to finish, and I chalk it up to the last four chapters being leaps and bounds more fascinating than the rest of the book. to be honest, I think a lot of this book was great, and if I were coming into it with no prior knowledge of the topic I probably would have enjoyed it more. i just don’t think i agree with him on the definition of human language and what the implications of us talking to animals are. i don’t think the key to navigating animal language is demeaning human language, even if we have only recently evolved to have it, SO WHAT. language is fantastic! I’ve seen new tools being developed (AI for bioacoustics, hearing aids and noise exposure threshold discoveries for all kinds of creatures), and i wish this could have gone into more of the tech for the future. Also, the structure of covering a new species with more complex language than the previous chapter…. this could have been sped up a bit. And not giving honeyguides a whole chapter is criminal. Overall, i liked it okay, but i think it was both too speculative and not in depth enough for my liking.

[shaki · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5

[Aleisha Burke · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.3 🌟/5🌟

[Tamara Agha-Jaffar · Rating 4 out of 5]

Why Animals Talk: The New Science of Animal Communication by Arik Kershenbaum explores the possible reasons why six specific species of animals communicate. The six animal species Kershenbaum focuses on are wolves, dolphins, parrots, hyrax, gibbons, and chimpanzees. Each chapter includes some fun facts about the species. Kershenbaum then moves to human communication, exploring definitions of what constitutes a language and to what degree we can truly communicate with animals and they with us.

Kershenbaum analyzes the different sounds animals make through the use of a spectrogram which visually represents sounds in time and in pitch. By studying the spectrogram, we can picture animal sounds in our heads. He offers some interesting insights on animal communication, categorizing the different sounds they make and suggesting a correlation between a specific sound and the event that triggered it. He provides fascinating examples of two-way communication between animals and humans.

Animals have species-specific methods of communicating which are governed by a number of factors, including the nature of their habitats, the availability of resources, mating rituals, and predator warning signals. Kershenbaum cautions us against imposing our meanings on animal communication and argues that in order to understand what animals are communicating and why they are communicating, we have to view the world through their set of lenses and not through ours.

Kershenbaum is at pains to argue against the idea that human communication is somehow superior to animal communication. Animal communication evolved to the degree necessary to suit the needs of the specific species inhabiting that specific environment. Our language, which is immeasurably more complex than the “language” of animals, evolved to suit the needs of our immeasurably more complex social environment. Human language is not necessarily superior to animal talk—just different. Underlying his study is Kershenbaum’s plea for humility in our treatment of animals and when studying their oral and non-oral methods of communication.

Full of interesting insights on animal behavior, the study takes a measured approach to the subject of animal talk.

My book reviews are also available at www.tamaraaghajaffar.com

[yanxuan · Rating 5 out of 5]

- each chapter focuses on a different animal that Kershenbaum has extensively researched and observed first-hand, sans the chimps, using their communication systems to explore why animals have evolved the ways they 'talk'
- rather than asking what animals are saying, Kershenbaum is much more interesting in why they communicate in the first place, placing their vocalisations within the context of their environmental, social structures and survival needs
- a major theme throughout the whole book is challenging human exceptionalism, repeatedly emphasising that we should not base animal communication off of human standards or assume that human language is the ultimate benchmark for what ‘language’ can be
- our definition of language is shaped by our individual experiences, not necessary a universal biological rule
- goes very deep into concepts central to human linguisticss, such as the difference between syntax and semantics, that may not apply to other species
- e.g. animals may not combine sounds according to the same grammatical rules human use, and some behaviours that may appear like language may instead be learned (model/rival technique), or trial and error, rather than a true understanding of syntax
- heavily implies that we are imposing our own linguistic framework on animals
- very critical of the idea that animal sounds have a one-to-one translation into human words (like a dictionary); just because humans have evolved a language system based around distinct words and meanings does not meant other species 100% communicate this way
- this book constantly attempts to decanter the human experience, which both makes it stand our but also poses a great challenge, as understanding animals on their own terms is impossible when we cannot directly ask them what they mean
- he repeats his anti-anthropocentrism argument a bit too frequently, yes I may have awful memory but I can defo remember the point you made a couple pages ago - tho maybe he’s just trying to get his point across
- the most annoying thing: Kershebaum refuses to provide his own formal definition of language…. I agree with him that there is no universal definition, but at least give your interpretation when the entire book has been question what language means
- really changed the way I think about communication, and how our seemingly advanced understanding of animal communication is built around human experience, encouraging us to appreciate animal communication as something that evolved independently.

[Ed Bernard · Rating 5 out of 5]

I think the choice of title here is revealing — Kershembaum wants to approach animal communication from the perspective of its utility and benefit, and to do that, we need to understand not so much what animals say as why they say it. He profiles six species — dolphins, wolves, hyraxes, parrots, chimps and gibbons. Eventually, he even gets around to humans. For each, he takes us inside their lives in the wild, to see not just how they communicate but why it provides an evolutionary advantage. It’s a fascinating exercise, because it sort of turns the whole language thing on its head — and that puts human language into perspective as well. Kershenbaum makes an interesting observation toward the end that our big brains probably evolved to process the amount of sensory information we could take in, which made our rich language possible — but that language’s evolution was probably beneficial from a social perspective, and that the social benefits is why it evolved rather than died out. He also applies the Occam’s razor idea that any communication only develops if it enhances the fitness of the user — so, hyraxes don’t communicate more deeply because it wouldn’t help them to do so. That’s probably not a huge breakthrough in the field, but it was a new perspective for me. Throughout the book, Kershembaum combines science with storytelling in a compelling way, and drops little interesting tidbits — for example, wolves use two styles of vocalization, probably based on their distance from one another. He also makes it quite clear how hard this kind of research is to do in the field, which explains in part why we have such gaps in our knowledge. It’s very tough to observe dolphins and whales in the wild, but even ones we think we know, like chimps, are tough to follow, never mind shyer creatures like gibbons. Regardless, this was a fascinating book on an interesting topic, well told, well written and entertaining to read.

Grade: A

[Melissa · Rating 3 out of 5]

Tags: Non-fiction, Biology, Animals

Picked this up from the library.

The author, Dr. Arik Kershenbaum, a zoologist with a PhD in Evolutionary Biology and Ecology from the University of Haifa, focuses specifically on sound communication. He explains:


“Of all the different media through which animals can communicate, only sound has these four crucial properties: it can travel long distances, it travels those distances fast, it can contain a lot of information, and, crucially, sound travels around things.” (Pg 17)

The book is structured with main chapters broken into subheaders like “Can there be a chimp dictionary?” making it accessible, though having some background in reading music might help with understanding the differences in sound.

Each chapter examines a different animal (I’ve provided some of my takeaways):
Wolves – Howls, pitch, and emotion
Dolphins – Whistles and dolphin names
Parrots – Copying vs. understanding
Hyrax – Syntax and songs
Gibbons – Bond songs and balancing simplicity with complexity
Chimpanzees – Deceptive behavior and social dynamics
Humans – Language, cooperation, and communication

The author chose these species because:
“Six species that I have chosen because their complex communication shines a little light on the similarities and differences between what animals say and what we say. Six species that are champion communicators of the animal world, and yet we struggle to understand what they are saying.” (Pg 232)

Ultimately, there’s still a lot we don’t know about animal communication. The author even suggests potential research that could be done—but isn't being pursued yet.

[Judie · Rating 5 out of 5]

People enjoy hearing birds and animals communicate, but do those sounds have specific meanings? Do they make more than one sound and, if so, under what conditions?
Arik Kershenbaum undertook a study observing six species in their natural habitats: wolves dolphins, parrots, hyrax, gibbons, and chimpanzees. He discovered how they communicated quite often depended on where they were living and why they had to communicate. He also tried to link their communication with that of humans.
He tried to learn if they use syntax and created spectrograms to illustrate their sounds, which makes it much easier for us to understand the patterns.
Some animals live in groups, others are more singular. He shows that some animals have a warning sounds while others are providing information or just keeping in touch. They have special sounds for individuals they know.
Dolphins have their own names.
Male and female gibbons will sing duets.
The hyrax produces six different sounds.
Chimpanzees Communicate differently with people than they do with other chimpanzees. Their language is more complex than that of other animals.
Kershenbaum created a chart showing when singing began. For gibbons, it was 13 million years ago, for humans, 4 million.
WHY ANIMALS TALK is an unusual book. It’s scholarly but the spectrograms make it easier to visualize.

[Indra · Rating 4 out of 5]

"Animal Talk" by Arik Kershenbaum is a fascinating dive into the world of animal communication, perfect for the curious layperson! 🌳 Kershenbaum, a distinguished zoologist, dedicates each chapter to one of six extraordinary animals, offering unique insights into their communication methods and habitats.

The book stands out by appreciating animal communication on its own terms, not just as a comparison to human language. It's like trying to understand a foreign culture instead of expecting it to be just like ours! 🌍 The author's amusing tone and the book's compact size make it a quick, enjoyable read.

While it's packed with well-researched information, don't expect to learn how to chat with animals yourself – it's more about understanding their intricate communication systems. 🐒🐺 The book is open about the limits of current research, with roughly 35% still shrouded in mystery.

Fans of Temple Grandin and Ed Yong will definitely want to pick this one up! However, be aware that the reading experience is more informative than thrilling. It's like reading a collection of engaging articles rather than a suspenseful novel.

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐.5/5 – A well-researched, engaging read that could use a touch more "spice" in its storytelling.

[Cami · Rating 4 out of 5]

I had a great time with this audiobook! Since the subject is animal communication, clips are incorporated into the narration to provide examples of the types of animal noises being discussed. This was especially useful for animals that I'd never heard of before, like the hyrax, but also for familiar animals whose sounds I didn't know how to describe.

Each chapter focuses on a different type of animal (wolves, dolphins, parrots, hyraxes, chimpanzees, and humans), and I found this structure immensely satisfying. I also loved the references to "The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy," and I'm interested in checking out Arik Kershenbaum's other book, "The Zoologist's Guide to the Galaxy" sometime in the future.

Another thing that I appreciated about this book is how Kershenbaum talks about neurodivergent people. He mentioned meeting Temple Grandin and emphasized how neurodivergent students bring great perspectives and enthusiasm to the field of animal communication. Like "Accidental Astronomy" (the audiobook I listened to before this one), the author of this book felt like a cool person, someone I'd want to have for a science professor. I highly recommend this title to anyone interested in the subject matter.

[Cheryl]

I read the introduction and the conclusion. There's been lots of new research and analysis lately, but not enough to make this book anything other than premature speculation, sorry.

From the intro.
"Why animals need to talk is the important question to ask before we can answer how and what animals are saying."
"It's unhelpful to start with a conviction that animals 'must' have a language like ours, or that animals'obviously' don't say anything meaningful. Let's see what we find, and what the evidence indicates.'"
"Gibbons are apes, like humans, but unlike the rest of the apes (chimps, gorillas, orangutans, etc.), gibbons have an exceptionally complex and diverse vocal repertoire. Perhaps these long-armed relatives of ours, swinging gracefully through the jungle trees, have the closest thing to human language among our near relatives. Charles Darwin certainly thought so."

From the concl.
"We could of course, simply equate language with communication and the problem goes away, but by doing so we would be doing ourselves, and science, a great disservice.... Language *is* different from just communication, but where to draw the line isn't very clear. Perhaps for now it doesn't have to be."

September 2025

[Patricia · Rating 2 out of 5]

I lost interest in this book almost from the get but pushed on to halfway before I decided to stop wasting my time.
My biggest issue was the narrator (this was the audible version) because he seemed so invested in the research done for this book. The premise was to find out if animals talk, and if they do, what are they saying, or are they just making sounds that have no meaning. My reaction was that human beings don’t even understand each other or there wouldn’t be wars or misunderstandings amongst people who supposedly speak the same language. Other species get along fine within their own groups so why should we, the so-called top-of-the-food chain species, think we can figure out the language of animals, mammals, and birds?

[Cassandra Lashae · Rating 3 out of 5]

Compared to other books about non-human communication, I found this book to be better organized and easy to follow. In part because it is general and doesn't dive too deeply into any of the wheelhouses: linguistics, psychology, or biology. Also, probably in part due to the fact that we have been studying the way that animals communicate much longer than say plants and their intelligence. The author's review of older research is tactfully brought to the current century by way of research on specific types of animals that get earmarked as animals with more language than others. He relates to the animals and his own relationship with anthropomorphizing them and acknowledges the complications of how we think and question animal communication.

[Karin Künnapas · Rating 3 out of 5]

/Audiobook/

I don't think I've ever thought much about how animals communicate with each other. I assumed that they do somehow, and that's it. This is a very deep dive into a lot of research that has gone into the subject, especially with some species.

Has my world changed after reading this book? No. Will I remember all the details and research that have been put into this field? Definitely, no. Was I entertained? Yes.

I think the key thing here to remember is that we cannot compare animal communication with humans and assume that they have to have similar words and constructions in their own languages. There are different ways to communicate, and that's what they do.