southernhybrid
Contributor
https://www.washingtonpost.com/obituaries/2024/03/21/frans-de-waal-apes-empathy-dies/
I was saddened to learn that my favorite non fiction author died. If any of you enjoy reading about Primatology, I suggest you look into some of his books. The man had compassion and a deep interest in learning how much we have in common with the other great apes. I will miss not having a new book of his to look forward to reading.
The moment sparked a lifetime exploration, probing the inner lives of chimps, apes and other species for evidence of empathy, morality and sentient awareness — traits long assumed to exist at high levels only in humans. In other words, Dr. de Waal often said, we are not so special.
“I consider human cognition as a variety of animal cognition,” said Dr. de Waal, who died March 14 at 75 at his home in Stone Mountain, Ga. “We are exceptionally smart, but we are not fundamentally different.”
For more than five decades, Dr. de Waal was distinguished for his wide-ranging curiosity — from studying acts of altruism in chimps to questions of fluid gender roles in primates — as well as his storytelling flair.
In more than a dozen books and frequent talks around the world, Dr. de Waal shared anecdotes and his deadpan humor (often mocking ideas of human exceptionalism) while bringing his work to a wide audience.
“I hate the so-called ‘ivory tower’ of science and feel that I have an obligation to communicate with the general public,” said Dr. de Waal, a longtime professor of psychobiology at Emory University in Atlanta and a research scientist at the school’s Yerkes National Primate Research Center (now the Emory National Primate Research Center.)
One of Dr. de Waal’s favorite tales was about Kuni, a bonobo, a primate found in central Africa. A bird slammed into the walls of her glass enclosure at a British zoo. Kuni gently picked up the stunned bird and took it to the top of the tallest tree in her habitat. She unfolded the bird’s wings and set it loose, like a toy airplane. The bird was still too disoriented, and Kuni watched over it for hours until it could fly away.
“I hate the so-called ‘ivory tower’ of science and feel that I have an obligation to communicate with the general public,” said Dr. de Waal, a longtime professor of psychobiology at Emory University in Atlanta and a research scientist at the school’s Yerkes National Primate Research Center (now the Emory National Primate Research Center.)
One of Dr. de Waal’s favorite tales was about Kuni, a bonobo, a primate found in central Africa. A bird slammed into the walls of her glass enclosure at a British zoo. Kuni gently picked up the stunned bird and took it to the top of the tallest tree in her habitat. She unfolded the bird’s wings and set it loose, like a toy airplane. The bird was still too disoriented, and Kuni watched over it for hours until it could fly away.
I was saddened to learn that my favorite non fiction author died. If any of you enjoy reading about Primatology, I suggest you look into some of his books. The man had compassion and a deep interest in learning how much we have in common with the other great apes. I will miss not having a new book of his to look forward to reading.