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If Animals Could Talk

If animals could talk, what would they say? Hermione Cockburn explores the noisy world of animal communication to discover what the animals are saying to each other.

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If animals could talk, what would they say to each other? We know that animals communicate, think of birdsong, a dog barking or a dolphin whistling. Hermione Cockburn explores the noisy world of animal communication to try and discover what the animals are saying to each other.

It's 90 years since Hugh Lofting published The Story of Dr. Dolittle, a fictional character who could talk to the animals. However in reality we need science to help us work out the complexities of animal communication. From the simple and beautiful sounds of birdsong to the complex pyows and hacks of primates, we are starting to understand far better the exact meaning of the sounds we hear around us every day. As we learn more about animal communication we are also able to learn more about the evolution of human communication and consider when, or if, we humans may ever really be able to talk to the animals.

30 minutes

Last on

Sun 31 Jul 2011 06:03

Broadcasts

  • Wed 8 Sep 2010 11:30
  • Sun 12 Sep 2010 10:30
  • Tue 28 Dec 2010 12:00
  • Wed 27 Jul 2011 14:05
  • Sun 31 Jul 2011 00:02
  • Sun 31 Jul 2011 06:03