In my last post, I talked about a class debate I set up on animal intelligence. Some students pointed out that many of the examples involved animals showing an intelligence that can be of use to humans: bomb sniffing dogs or dogs that could predict seizures. This involved heightened animal perceptions that can be used by humans for their own benefit.

The students wanted to know what animals do in their own world. In answer to this, we went to the “60 Minutes” website and watched “The Secret Language of Elephants.” This video shows the work of Andrea Turkalo, a scientist who lives with elephants in Africa and studies their language — the varied sounds they use to communicate with each other.  She and scientists at Cornell are working on a dictionary of elephant language.  Students also searched the internet for reports of primates using sticks as tools, even sharpening them for hunting, and of communication among birds. This was a very fruitful discussion that we hope will lead to better essays with more examples and support.