Elephants : NPR

An elephant in Kenya's Tsavo East National Park, home to some 13,000 of these remarkable animals. Ivan Lieman/AFP/Getty Images hide caption

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Ivan Lieman/AFP/Getty Images

Getting The Point

October 18, 2013 • Pointing, when you think about it, is a remarkable communicative act and understanding pointing is no mean feat. So it's somewhat remarkable, says commentator Alva Noë, that elephants seem to be able to understand humans when we make meaningful gestures.

When Animals Mourn: Seeing That Grief Is Not Uniquely Human

An elephant at the Emmen, Netherlands, zoo stands at the edge of a ditch in 2009, a day after another elephant fell into the ditch and died. Olaf Kraak/AFP/Getty Images hide caption

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Olaf Kraak/AFP/Getty Images

When Animals Mourn: Seeing That Grief Is Not Uniquely Human

April 11, 2013 • When animals die, their close relatives and friends may be plunged into mourning. Commentator Barbara J. King writes about animal grief in her new book, citing examples seen in animals large and small. She finds solace in the knowledge that humans are not the only animals who feel loss.

The arrival of African elephants at a Tucson zoo prompted a call for the zoo's fans to contribute leafy snacks. This file photo shows African elephants at the Pittsburgh Zoo & PPG Aquarium in 2011. Gene J. Puskar/AP hide caption

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Gene J. Puskar/AP

The Two-Way

Zoo Tells City: Please Feed The Animals

April 17, 2012 • The Reid Park Zoo in Tucson finds itself in a unique situation: it has five new elephants — but the facility does not have enough leafy food to keep the large animals happy. "What we're looking for... I think the word 'snacks' came up," says zoo curator Jim Schnormeier.

Zoo Tells City: Please Feed The Animals

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