Think Like a Goat: The Wildly Smart Ways Animals Communicate, Cooperate and Innovate

The world of AI (Artificial Intelligence) is an exciting concept, but here’s a book that invites readers to explore an equally fascinating kind of AI—animal intelligence. How have they “evolved to solve problems and survive in their own unique environments”? After an introduction that offers a few intriguing examples of animal smarts, five chapters delve into specific areas of the topic.

The first chapter sets the tone with basic information about the way natural selection leads to development of useful traits and behaviors for survival. It introduces the term ‘ethologist’, a scientist who studies how animals communicate, cooperate, solve problems, express emotions. Chapter Two highlights animal communication methods, including “visual, auditory, tactile and chemical signals to share information.” Every bird song and call is part of this complex system of sharing useful messages within their own community. Examples of specific studies are cited, such as recording whale dialects, to demonstrate learning.

Chapter Three’s focus is learning from others and using imitation to solve problems. Not only do parents teach their young about food sources and other survival skills, but sometimes unexpected partnerships lead to mutual benefits. The cleaner wrasse is a small fish that nibbles parasites off large predator fish, even from inside their mouths, gaining a meal while working in perfect safety. The fourth chapter talks about problem solving using memory (scrub jays hide food in thousands of places but remember where, when and what they stored), and tools (sea otters crack open tough shells with rocks). In Chapter Five, readers will find examples of animals showing fear, joy, empathy and how scientific studies are done to demonstrate this intelligence. For instance, ravens appear to empathize with other ravens who have been victims of fights. A final, brief summary page leaves the reader with a greater awareness of the scope of animal intelligence and how much more there is to learn. A Glossary of new terms, list of Selected Sources and Index complete the book.

Animal behaviour examples are each given one page, including a brief, easy to read explanation with colourful, playful, digitally created drawings that enliven the presentation. The book includes a wide variety of animal species. Many of the animals will be familiar to young readers, but the research into their activities may be new. For instance, the alarm calls of ground squirrels may be well-known, but perhaps not the fact that they also produce ultrasonic calls we can’t hear. Other studies involving hummingbirds show that they mentally map where favorite flowers are, not merely focusing on attractive colors. When working with reptiles, scientists have learned that a warm room allows far livelier interactions for these cold-blooded species to show their cognitive abilities. It’s great for kids to realize the degree to which these simple-sounding topics are studied, and how results of such research contribute to other areas of science too.

Readers are sure to find something new and intriguing among these accounts, arousing curiosity about the animal world, from ants to elephants. Understanding that we can also learn something new by studying the ways animals behave is an important step to appreciating their value in every ecosystem. Think Like a Goat: The Wildly Smart Ways Animals Communicate, Cooperate and Innovate is an engaging and entertaining book!