The Marginalian
The Marginalian

The Exultant Ark: The Secret Emotional Lives of Animals

Hundreds of books are published, research studies conducted and lectures given on human psychology and emotion every year, yet the question of animal emotion remains a hotpoint of scientific debate and contention. But why should our inability to measure these phenomena mean that they don’t exist at all? That’s exactly what scientist and animal advocate Jonathan Balcombe explores in The Exultant Ark: A Pictorial Tour of Animal Pleasure — an absolutely remarkable and fascinating journey into the rich, tender and complex emotional lives of animals.

Balcombe examines a new generation of research on animal feelings, especially animal pleasure, illustrated with joyful images of the animal kingdom by some of the world’s leading wildlife photographers. The story unfolds with equal parts affectionate enthusiasm and scientific rigor, extending a gentle invitation to reexamine our relationship with living beings, reaching for more kindness, more empathy and more wholeheartedness in how we think of and treat other animals.

Nobody denies that other humans are sentient, though it’s no more possible to prove another human being is sentient than it is to prove an animal’s sentience. We don’t accept such solipsism. It would be far-fetched. So let’s stop drawing this line between humans and all other animals.” ~ Jonathan Balcombe

Elk
‘A young bull elk engages in an act of playful curiosity commonly performed by young children — sticking out a tongue to catch snowflakes.’
Image by Mark Peters via Wired
Barbary Macaque
Says Balcombe: ‘Some macaques show an intense fascination with water — its appearance, its movements, and its feel … The attention of this Barbary macaque was held completely for several minutes as she repeatedly splashed, apparently enchanted with the feel of the water and the consequence of the action.’
Image by Andrew Forsyth via Wired
Norway Rats
Norway rats can emit two telltale chirps, at 22 kHz and at 50 kHz. The higher-pitched chirp is emitted while wrestling, playing and having sex, and they also make the chirps when being tickled, a response akin to human laughter.
Image by Brandy Saxton via Wired
Chimpanzees
For chimps, mutual grooming plays a key role in communication and conflict resolution. These two, named Teresa and Sheila, live in the Chimp Haven sanctuary, a lifelong care facility for chimps abandoned as pets or rescued from medical research.
Image by Amy Fultz/Chimp Haven via Wired

Pleasure is a private experience, well nigh impossible to prove, though of course scientists don’t like the word “prove.” And there are good reasons for being skeptical of making assumptions that are difficult to prove. But what I’m getting at is everyday experience: the capacity to be empathic in viewing other animals’ experiences and comparing them to our own.” ~ Jonathan Balcombe

Common Blue Butterflies
Mating among common blue butterflies involves surprisingly complex displays of courtship. Although it’s commonly assumed that these rituals are unaccompanied by feelings, Balcombe gives insects ‘the benefit of the doubt,’ pointing out that it’s easier to be cruel to insects when we assume they aren’t sentient than when we suspect they might be.
Image by Arthur Sevestre via Wired
Beluga Whale
Dolphins and beluga whales blow bubble rings and swimming through them, and tend to do this more in captivity, indicating the behavior might be a boredom-buster for them. A parallel theory is that it’s a form of play and Balcombe suspects that, whatever the answer, they find the activity stimulating.
Image by Hiroya Minakuchi/Minden Pictures via Wired
Swift Fox
Says Balcombe: ‘I did not choose this photo because it expresses pleasure. Indeed, how are we to know what this fox is feeling as he bounds across a field? I chose it because it expresses a fundamental value: freedom.’
Image by Thomas D. Mangelsen via Wired

Wired has an exclusive excerpt from the book, as well as an interview with Balcombe.

The Exultant Ark is the follow-up to Balcombe’s equally excellent Second Nature: The Inner Lives of Animals.


Published June 24, 2011

https://www.themarginalian.org/2011/06/24/exultant-ark/

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