Gallery: Animals' Love Lives Look a Lot Like Ours
01parrotlet-in-venezuela
For most of the 20th century, animals weren’t allowed to have emotions. Your dog didn’t actually love you—it (and it was an “it” back then) was just a stimulus–response machine conditioned to act a specific way in a specific situation. Scientists who said otherwise—that animals actually had minds capable of thoughts and emotions—were accused of “anthropomorphizing” and ridiculed by their peers. Even researchers as famous as chimp specialist Jane Goodall spent years sitting on evidence that animals could do more than just salivate at the sound of a bell. But over time, that bias waned. Just consider the first sentence (and the title) of Virginia Morell’s new book, [*Animal Wise: The Thoughts and Emotions of Our Fellow Creatures*](http://www.amazon.com/Animal-Wise-Thoughts-Emotions-Creatures/dp/0307461440/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1360780455&sr=1-1&keywords=virginia+morell): “Animals have minds.” “Not so long ago,” she writes later, “I would have hedged these statements.” After six years of reporting in 11 different countries, the longtime science journalist arrived at the same conclusion that scientists like Goodall have known for a long while: that animals feel. And strongly, it turns out. But how complex are these emotions? Fear and panic are one thing; but do animals lust, even love? We went to Morell for some answers. Animals might not celebrate Valentine’s Day, but their relationships still look a lot like ours. Here are some of her favorite examples. Parrotlets ---------- Parrot porn, anyone? That’s what Morell was treated to in Venezuela, where scientists are studying the calls of green-rumped parrotlets. One of their racier findings? Little birds be bangin’ like mammals: pushing, clawing, clutching, thrusting. But that’s not all. These parrots lead soap opera–ready lives. “They were very, very fun to watch,” Morell said. In one of her favorite stories, a parrot widow gets remarried to a neighbor, only to have her new husband leave her a day later for his first wife. Bad General Parrotreus! All that drama is meticulously documented in a field log, which Morell calls “a parrotlet version of *Desperate Housewives*.” *Photo: Male (right) and female (left) green-rumped parrotlets. [Ninoska Zamora](http://www.flickr.com/photos/14113303@N07/2940760716/)/Flickr.*
02dolphins-in-shark-bay
Dolphins -------- Dolphins depend on bromances: They need other guys to help them overpower the females they likely intend to bed. But the scientists Morell spoke to in Australia haven’t actually observed males and females mate, despite years at sea. What they do see, constantly and exclusively, is male-on-male action. It’s how the dolphins seal their precious alliances: “You do me, I do you, then we might both do her.” (Dolphins give new meaning to friends with benefits.) Morell was surprised by the frequency of the behavior. “While we were out on the boat, researchers would call out what they were witnessing,” she says. “One of more common calls was, ‘Erection!’” Hey, they’re only human. *Photo: Richard Connor*
V. Morell03elephants-in-kenya
Elephants --------- If you still doubt that animals love, read Morell’s chapter on elephants. That baby calf who won’t leave his dead mother’s side? Or that family confused by the call of a dead relative? Don’t look, we’re weeping. But elephants also celebrate life. After an elephant pair finishes mating, the others erupt in trumpets and cheers. Morell was lucky enough to be present for one such performance. “There was joy and pandemonium,” she says. “The female spun around, everybody was urinating; there was a lot of communication going on. It was an extraordinary thing to see.” *Photo: Virginia Morell*
04two-baby-rats
Rats ---- Play is crucial to the social development of mammals. Morell found that out when she visited the laughing rats at Jaak Panksepp’s Washington lab. If you keep a rat isolated from its friends, it won’t grow into a well-adjusted adult. Playtime is so important that it even affects future relationships. Morell cites one researcher who says rats know the difference between good sex and bad. It may be the case, Morell adds, that the most play-experienced rats are also the best in the sack. So ditch the videogame and go run around outside, kids. *Photo: [surprise truck](http://m.flickr.com/#/photos/just1page/417454581/)/Flickr.*
Picasa05cheetah-in-kenya
Cheetahs -------- On a drive through Tanzania’s Serengeti National Park, Morell spotted a cheetah on a small hill. He was pacing and crying out piteously. Her guide said the cheetah was probably looking for his lost friend. If he didn’t find him, he’d likely perish himself; cheetahs need partners to survive. But it’s what the guide said next that stuck with Morell, and convinced her that we’re entering a new age of animal understanding. “Really,” the guide said, “he’ll probably die of a broken heart.” *Photo: Michael McRae*
