The Parrot's Lament and Other True Tales of Animal Intrigue, Intelligence, and Ingenuity

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.

Eugene Linden's "Parrot's Lament" is a charming collection of animal anecdotes. The author's intent is to show that the human being is not the only animal that demonstrates mental and communicative abilities. He avoids the contention which surrounds scientific debates on the issues by simply recounting stories from his own experiences and from those of zoo keepers and naturalists, people whose only interest is in the animals they care for and not in scientific laurels or criticism. The only caveat, as he himself points out, is that because "it's unscientific...no matter how persuasive the material, one cannot use the stories and examples as proof of anything (p. xvii)." For those of us who are already convinced that animals are far brighter than most people give them credit for, this is not an important issue anyway.The book is divided into sections, including: games and humor; trade and barter; deception, mind reading and mental chess; cooperation in work, conflict and healing; tools and intelligence; escapes from captivity; empathy and heroism; and untouched nature. Some of the material is repeated under different chapters, but when it is, it's presented from a new perspective which enlarges understanding of animal behavior. My favorite stories are some of the orangutan escape episodes, and some of the tales of trust and friendship. The book certainly gives the reader a sense of what is being lost as our natural world is being destroyed by overpopulation, encroachment and exploitation. Since destruction of habitat seems to have taken on a life of its own these days, one almost wonders if it is unstoppable irrespective of our best intentions or of the ultimate negative impact it will have on our own future. This was particularly apparent in the last chapter of the book which deals with the Ndoki rain forest of the Congo. As was pointed out in Matt Ridley's book, The Red Queen, the incremental increase in benefit to the individual who causes the destruction of the environment increases the likelihood that the destruction will occur despite the overall long term loss to society. And this is often so, even though the individual beneficiary of the immediate good will also suffer with the rest of society. The loss of viable commonly held fields to over grazing during the Middle Ages was the example cited by Ridley (p. 91), but any other major loss of shared wealth could be substituted as well. As Linden points out, perhaps the very intellect of which we are so proud will be our ultimate undoing! We certainly don't seem to have learned from the lessons of our history!Altogether a delightfully readable book.

I loved this book from start to finish. Eugene Linden's individual essays on the intelligence of different species are insightful glimpses into the sentience of animals. From the extraordinary and intelligent efforts of a female gorilla to escape her solitary enclosure to rejoin her friends and family in an adjacent enclosure (she succeeded twice in overcoming electric fences and a moat by using non-conductive and sturdy logs and branches) to a parrot saying, upon seeing her owner's dinner of a Cornish game hen, "Oh, no! Paco!", referring to her male companion kept in another cage, these stories delight with each new page. Linden is careful not to attribute too much intelligence to these animals unless the evidence supports it. He discusses possible ways these moments could be misinterpreted as well as why he believes they are proof that animals have more going on in their brains that some scientists are willing to admit. Read this book if you are willing to expand your view of what constitutes animal intelligence. Even if you are not persuaded by Linden's arguments (which are indeed compelling), you will find much to consider here. And you'll enjoy every word.

It's very obvious which side of the fence the author stands on in the debate over animal intelligence, but Linden never gets preachy about his theories. Instead he presents a collection of fascinating anecdotes and lets the evidence speak for itself. That's not to say he doesn't provide any scientific insight into the stories he's telling; he does, and from both sides of the argument. But this book is not about proselytizing, it merely wants to spin some tales about animals that are at times humorous (I laughed out loud several times), at times sweet and touching, and always thought-provoking. It succeeds in its goal. I couldn't help but feel for the killer whale who grieved after giving his pregnant mate a "sonogram" and discovering she'd miscarried, or laugh at the parrot who invited a wild bird inside for dinner, or secretly cheer on the orangutan escape artists who foiled their keepers at every turn. Mostly I couldn't help but marvel at the awareness and intellect that can be seen in all of these stories. Even being an animal lover to begin with, my next visit to a zoo will carry with it a whole new respect for the animals within.

I have been reading popular science books for an assignment in school and already reported on two others I really enjoyed-- Ants at Work and Nabokov's Blues. This was the third book I read and it was fascinating. I have two pets at home and have always had the feeling they were smarter than, just...animals. Mr. Lindens accounts are wonderful and make we wonder how he was able to track down so many incredible and insightful tales. My science teacher recommended each of these books. It was wonderful to learn more about butterflies, and science in general (even how scientists fight among themselves) in the Nabokov's Blues book, and the fascinating world of ants in Ants at Work. Yet, Parrot's Lament was even closer to home, not only because of the question of animal intelligence and ingenuity but it rekindling the sense of this I'd always had in animals anyway. Thanks Mr. Linden for a great Thanksgiving vacation read! Each of these books is great but since I can see you've written several I think you know where I'll be going for my Christmas reading project!