Aesop's Animals by Jo Wimpenny

Despite originating more than two-and-a-half thousand years ago, Aesop's
Fables are still passed on from parent to child, and are embedded in our
collective consciousness. The morals we have learned from these tales
continue to inform our judgements, but have the stories also informed how we
regard their animal protagonists? If so, is there any truth behind the
stereotypes? Are wolves deceptive villains? Are crows insightful geniuses?
And could a tortoise really beat a hare in a race?
In Aesop's Animals, zoologist Jo Wimpenny turns a critical eye to the fables to
discover whether there is any scientific truth to Aesop's portrayal of the animal
kingdom. She brings the tales into the twenty-first century, introducing the
latest findings on some of the most fascinating branches of ethological
research - the study of why animals do the things they do. In each chapter she
interrogates a classic fable and a different topic - future planning, tool use,
self-recognition, cooperation and deception- concluding with a verdict on the
veracity of each fable's portrayal from a scientific perspective.
By sifting fact from fiction in one of the most beloved texts of our culture,
Aesop's Animals explores and challenges our preconceived notions about
animals, the way they behave, and the roles we both play in our shared world.
Come for the fables and stay for the behavioral research in thisjam-packed
but delightful collection . . . Aesop's Animals is both anintense and playful
look at how humans - storytellers and scientists alike - consider the mysteries
inside the creatures with whom we share this planet." - Scientific American
"Every once (...)
Author Bio
Jo Wimpenny is a zoologist and writer, with a research background in animal
behaviour and the history of science. She studied Zoology at the University of
Bristol, and went on to research problem-solving in crows for her DPhil at
Oxford University. After postdoctoral research on the history of ornithology at
Sheffield, she co-authored the book Ten Thousand Birds: Ornithology Since
Darwin with Tim Birkhead and Bob Montgomerie, which won the 2015 PROSE
award for History of Science, Medicine and Technology.
Jo writes for BBC Wildlife and has previously presented at the BA Festival of
Science, Science Oxford, the Royal Society Summer Science Fair and

Bloomsbury
On Sale: Nov 28/23
5.32 x 8.5 • 368 pages
9781472966926 • $24.00 • pb
Psychology / Animal & Comparative Psychology