The Inner Life of Animals: Love, Grief, and Compassion -- Surprising Observations of a Hidden World

2016, Ludwig Verlag, Random House Publishing

"And now things got interesting, for the other pigs that had never heard such sounds and therefore had no idea what they meant. Despite this, they experienced the same emotions the musical pigs experienced. If the musical pigs were happy, the newcomers also played and jumped around; in contrast, if the musical pigs were so scared that they urinated on themselves, the newcomers caught the feeling and exhibited the same behavior. Pigs clearly can experience empathy."

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Peter Wohlleben

Wohlleben, a German forester, is the author of the 2016 New York Times bestseller, The Hidden Life of Trees. He has two recent books for children, Can You Hear the Trees Talking? and Peter and the Tree Children.

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Book Synopsis

Researchers are discovering quite a bit of evidence supporting animal awareness which Wohlleben weaves with personal observations to raise a number of ethical questions. Succinctly, if animals are social creatures with the ability to feel joy or to suffer, then how are we to interact with each species?  The Notes at the end of the book provide ample citation information to check out the research for yourself.

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Zoology, animal behavior, 277 pages. An exploration of personal observations, as well as ethical and scientific questions about animals' emotional lives.

Learning Options

Family Read Aloud Time
Young adult animal lovers in your home will find this book fascinating. As a family read aloud it will prick everyone's confidence in traditional scientific thought about animals.

Classroom Resource
If you require students to read supplemental materials for science, this is a superb resource for middle and high school students.

Learning at Home
Make Them Mainstream offers guidance in How to Teach Zoology in the Classroom and at Home. (I love this site - the emphasis is on empowering girls and young women in STEM studies!)

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