From birdsong to wolf howls, from dolphins’ clicks and whistles to gibbons’ whoops and wows, the natural world is filled with a myriad of animal vocalisations that are as varied as they are numerous. But what is their purpose? How did they evolve? And will we ever be able to understand them?

In this episode we catch up with Dr Arik Kershenbaum, a zoologist based at the University of Cambridge and author of the new book Why Animals Talk.

He tells us why some animals are chattier than others, how wolves have regional accents and how dolphins give themselves names.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices