Youth Talk

I feel like animals understand us more than we do them. While each animal will have their own characteristic signs and tell tales they use to communicate with their own species and others, these are often missed by us, and sometimes only ever properly understood by animal behavior experts.

It doesn’t have to be this way, for a little learning can help one better understand the animals they live with – a dog’s wagging tale almost always signifies contentedness, whereas, a cat thumping its tail, means that it is annoyed and better left alone.

Pets and farm animals certainly do get us – studies have shown that dogs are able to recognise and respond to the facial expressions of their owners, as do horses.

Another recent study in this direction, published in the Royal Society Open Science, tested around 20 goats in a sanctuary in the UK to find out if they could differentiate between a picture of a smiley face and a photo of a person frowning. Turns out, goats prefer it when people are smiling! What might seem as a no-brainer for some, I’m pretty sure that most domesticated animals can tell when we are feeling friendly or angry, although it may come as a surprise for others?

Alan McElligott, an associate professor of animal behaviour at the University of Roehampton in London who led the study, explained that people often underestimate the ‘cognitive ability of livestock — cows, sheep and pigs and goats. We assume they’re not particularly clever or perceptive’. But as this study shows, this is untrue. 

Perhaps after early domestication and years living alongside humans, some animals have come to recognise the way in which we express ourselves. It’s time we returned the favour.