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Animal Societies

How Co-Operation Conquered the Natural World

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Animal Societies

By: Ashley Ward
Narrated by: Ashley Ward
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In our modern world of social media and relentless technological advancement, we are more connected than ever before. Though the scale of this connectivity is new, the instinctive desire to gather with our own kind has ancient roots. We can see the origins of our own societies in the social behaviour of the animals that share the planet with us. What’s more, human characteristics such as altruism, empathy, leadership and language can also be witnessed among animal groups.

Join Biologist Ashley Ward as he takes listeners into the intimate worlds of social animals. Journeying from Aysgarth Falls to the Great Barrier Reef, it becomes clear that animals are not so far removed from us as we might imagine. In a time where humans are struggling to navigate cityscapes, isolation and a loneliness epidemic, Ward shows us that studying the social behaviour of animals offers insights valuable in their own right as well as a window into the evolutionary basis of our own species.

©2020 Ashley Ward (P)2020 Audible, Ltd Anthropology
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I loved this book. It is a beautifully read and written examination of animal societies, ranging through denizens of the oceans, social insects, and land mammals, including our closest relatives, chimpanzees and bonobos. The author, Ashley Ward, balances humour, fact, and his personal experiences with animals with a wonderfully deft touch.

The book has the quality of a David Attenborough documentary series, with slightly more swearing!

Beautiful, deep, and funny

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In the spirit of reconciliation, Audible acknowledges the Traditional Custodians of country throughout Australia and their connections to land, sea and community. We pay our respect to their elders past and present and extend that respect to all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples today.