Marc Bekoff
Psychology Today
Boulder, CO, United States
Contact Marc
Discover and connect with journalists and influencers around the world, save time on email research, monitor the news, and more.
| Recent: |
|
| Past: |
|
Past articles by Marc:
Why It's Essential to Rewild the World Before It's Too Late
A new book by Millie Kerr offers a panoply of global rewilding projects. → Read More
Would dogs be better off without us?
A thought experiment tells us a lot about man’s best friend — and ourselves → Read More
What Wolves Tell Us about Our Relationship with Nature
An interview with John Vucetich about his book "Restoring the Balance." → Read More
For the Love of a Ball: Dogs as Conservation Biologists
Dogs have been a great benefit for helping conservation biologists and they enjoy the work. Here is an fascinating interview with Pete Coppolillo of Working Dogs for Conservation. → Read More
Wild Chimpanzee Moms Teach Youngsters to Use Tools: A First
Videos show mothers transferring termite-fishing probes to youngsters to teach them to use these tools to gather food. All criteria for calling it "teaching" are fulfilled. → Read More
Dogs and Humans Process Sounds Similarly
A new study using fMRI shows dogs and humans process sounds similarly. However, it's still not clear why dogs have evolved the ability to differentiate praise and neutral words. → Read More
Psychological and Environmental Aspects of Who We Eat
"Meat Climate Change: The 2nd Leading Cause of Global Warming" highlights the incredible damage agricultural practices do to our planet and psyches and offers viable solutions. → Read More
Captive Whales Deeply Suffer Psychologically, Experts Agree
Experts across the board, including leaders in animal welfare science, agree that captive cetaceans are psychologically ill and cannot adequately be kept in tiny water cages. → Read More
The Psychology of Human-Nonhuman Selfies: Why the Epidemic?
Why do people want pictures of themselves with other animals that harm the animals? The "selfie phenomenon" is getting out of hand and according to some, is an epidemic. → Read More
Hugging a Dog Is Just Fine When Done With Great Care
Dogs are not all unconditional lovers nor sponges for hugs, but saying "Don't ever hug a dog" is over the top given what we know. → Read More
Latest News
The Ongoing Travesty of the Secretly Abducted Swaziland Elephants It’s Not Only “Animal Rights Activists” or “Extremists” Who Care A version of this story appeared in Huffpost Denver I recently wrote an essay called “The Stolen 18: Swaziland Elephants Secretly Shipped to U.S Zoos to Avoid Legal Challenge.” However, it turns out that only 17 elephants were shipped, because according to the zoos… → Read More
How Smart Is that Doggie at My Table? A Measurable Fido IQ
An exciting new study has discovered a generalized intelligence factor for dogs. The researchers found that dogs who did well on one test tended to be better on other tests. → Read More
Your Heart and Brain on Nature: A Scientific Update
Recent research is clearly showing that getting out into nature is good for us in a variety of ways. If being outdoors makes you feel good, then just do it. → Read More
When Gorillas Sing or Hum With a Full Mouth We Should Listen
There's lots to learn when gorillas sing and hum while they eat. What's considered a bad habit in humans seems to have important social functions in our close relatives. → Read More
Ravens Know They're Being Watched: Bird Brain Theory of Mind
A new carefully conducted study shows ravens most likely understand what's going on in another raven's head and that they possess a theory mind. → Read More
Is an Unnamed Cow Less Sentient Than a Named Cow?
An essay called "Is a Cow a ‘Who’ or a ‘Which?’" raises issues about the language we use to refer to nonhumans. Here I argue all animals are a "who" and words really matter. → Read More
Fish Are Sentient and Emotional Beings and Clearly Feel Pain
Fish deserve better treatment based on a review of scientific data on their cognitive and emotional lives. According to the author, "the extensive evidence of fish behavioural and cognitive sophistication and pain perception suggests that best practice would be to lend fish the same level of protection as any other vertebrate." Fish must be included in our moral circle. → Read More