Mr. Ward’s The Social Lives of Animals explores, in extensive and often exhilarating detail, the many ways in which animals, like humans, 'hate to be alone' ... A fish researcher by training, Mr. Ward is particularly good about aquatic creatures, but he has an irrepressible and infectious interest in virtually everything that creeps, crawls, climbs, swims, jumps, runs or flies, from bumblebees to baboons to African elephants ... Reading Mr. Ward’s book is like entering a maze, too, with surprises awaiting the reader at every turn. What holds it all together is the author’s natural gift for storytelling and penchant for punchy, provocative one-liners ... Here, too, strength lies in numbers—the number of facts, that is, likely to give pause even to the most die-hard believer in human superiority.
Vampire bats 'have each other’s backs', according to one of the extraordinary stories in this fascinating book ... Ward...draws very few explicit connections between animal behaviour and our own, and is cautious about ascribing emotions or motivations to the creatures he studies—even in tear-jerking anecdotes about how elephants and wolves appear to mourn. But it’s hard not to take from some of his stories the idea that humans could learn a lot from social animals ... Ward describes this book as his attempt 'to distil the wonder that I still feel in the company of animals', and it certainly does that ... Some thought-provoking chapters about baboons, bonobos and chimpanzees show how humans could learn from our closest relatives, too.
Ward has a good eye for details...and he writes vividly ... This is a survey, not a memoir, but you catch likeable glimpses of the author ... This book does get a little lost in the wonders of animal behaviour. There isn’t much of a thesis. Ward does make one very striking observation, though. He points out that herd behaviour does not have a good reputation. We dismiss 'groupthink' and deride 'sheeple'. Yet the evolution of intelligence depended on emulation and imitation as much as on innovation. Civilisation is founded on co-operation—on the social instincts we evolved and share with fellow animals.
Apart from all we learn from this fascinating book about the myriad ways in which different species of animals survive and thrive by living together, The Social Lives of Animals is a reminder of why the damage to human lives caused by the COVID-19 pandemic goes way beyond the physical impact of the highly contagious virus ... an enthralling book that will enrich the reader’s understanding of why and how we and the other major social species live together and interact in the way we all do.
The Social Lives of Animals...gets off to a rocky start. Not only does Ward indulge in the kind of navel-gazing that whimsy absolutely requires...but he indulges the very signature of whimsy: the inclusion of direct-address 'dear reader' in non-ironic prose. Fortunately, he mostly gets it out of his system early. The bulk of The Social Lives of Animals turns the focus exactly where it belongs: on the social lives of animals ... all relationship-webs are complex, probably more complex than humans have traditionally credited. Ward aptly describes many examples hinting at this, and many of his cases are strengthened because he’s intentionally chosen animals with bad PR ... Readers who were generally unaware of the extent and complexity of the 'web of relationships' in nonhuman animals (much less those who were indoctrinated in childhood to believe such relationships are the sole province of humans) will find Ward’s book eye-opening. It’s also more than a little bittersweet, learning so much about how complex our fellow Earthlings are just as we’re herding so many of them into extinction, but although Ward’s tone throughout is one of upbeat, fascinated involvement, it’s thankfully not blithe. Readers will be likewise fascinated by how much we’ve learned.
... [a] smart, funny and thoroughly engaging book ... Professor Ward writes beautifully, though sometimes you might wish he wasn’t quite so vivid ... If we can draw any lessons from nature (and this is always debatable), perhaps it means that at least we should choose our leaders wisely.
Ward’s lively and oftentimes surprising observations and quirky and wry writing will appeal to readers. The juxtaposition of animal and human behavior will linger long after readers have turned the last page.
Ward’s enthusiasm keeps things moving, and his account is well researched and fascinating as he covers locust swarms, infanticide in chimpanzees, and humbug fish harems. This is catnip for animal enthusiasts.
