“ As we were driving from Jackson, Wyoming, towards the entrance of the park, I was in the passenger seat, Charlie was driving and I saw a bison and I'll never forget it. I grabbed him so hard on the arm and I screeched, “BISON!” It was the first bison I'd ever seen in the wild. We stopped the car and we were a good distance from the bison. But we could see it unimpeded with the windshield and just let it walk and do what he was doing. And I don't know, something in my heart turned over.” – Barbara King

 

 

Barbara King is emerita professor of anthropology at William & Mary and a freelance science writer and public speaker and the author of seven books. She is an expert on animal cognition and emotion.

 

Barbara has been on the podcast before to talk about how animals grieve and love. If you haven’t heard that episode, take a listen.  

 

She is back to talk about her 7th book, Animals’ Best Friends: Putting Compassion to Work for Animals in Captivity and in the Wild.

 

There are many reasons that I love this book, but mostly because Barbara delves into and shares how we can be better humans to all other animals on this planet. Her work helps us better understand and advocate for the rights of animals. The more that humans know about animal’s intelligence and emotional lives, the harder it becomes to harm them. 

 

Barbara is a storyteller and through the stories of the individual animals as well as her own personal accounts, she makes us care.