From the Atlantic: Alex Madrigal’s compassionate and profound piece about the whale eye, its visual perception and whale consciousness is here. The photos alone are worth the price of the ride. But this is also one of the best articles about animal cognition that I’ve read in some time. Read it all.
Category: Whales
Whale brains and cognition
Reading Charles Sibert’s wonderful article in yesterday’s Sunday NYT Magazine, I was reminded by my own encounter with an Orca on the north shore of San Juan Island close to twenty years ago. I had been told that if I showed up at the rocky outcropping around 10 in the morning, I’d run into a pod of the huge creatures face to face.
This was no exaggeration. Pretty much exactly on time, I was face-to-face with a huge intelligent eye gazing across the species barrier. It’s a moment I’ve never forgotten. Read the entire article. The end is the most moving.
So how smart are whales? I think that’s a very interesting question. Certainly the fact that they possess the spindle neurons that humans and the great apes also have makes the question neurobiologically relevant.
Jim
Discoverers and Discoveries 