I Talk to Animals…They Communicate with Me

My mother liked to recall how, when I was in first grade, I received a low mark on a “test” because I was supposed to put a tick by pictures of animals that could talk. I, of course, ticked all living animals. The “correct” answers were supposed to be only human animals: the guy with the hat and pipe, the little girl with the puppy, etc. Happily I knew better than that both then and now!

In the picture above you will see me having a heart-to-heart…or perhaps nose-to-nose with Bullwinkle. That’s Rocky in the background. They are chevres nains or “pygmy goats.” I prattle away to the boys every day–particularly at feeding times. That’s when I do most of the talking. However, it is when I simply take time to be with the goats that they really communicate with me. They each have different needs which they communicate in their own unique ways. For example, Bullwinkle likes to use my back to reach leaves and fruit which are out of his reach. (At the withers, both goats come to my knees.) Whenever Bully wants to hop aboard, he taps me with one hoof. Once on my back he taps when he wants me to move–usually towards lush greenery. He continues tapping until he can reach his desired food. What about Rocky? I hear you ask. Rocky uses various head tosses or positions to indicate where he wants to be scratched: a dipped head means “between the horns, please.” (They have been taught their manners.) Head back means neck and back scratch. Head cocked to one side means chin, beard and flank strokes. They communicate all this and more without one word. All animals can communicate and most humans can understand if they take the time to watch and observe. (I had a budgerigar who loved Ray Charles!–especially “Baby What’d I Say?” People refused to believe it until they saw it for themselves.)

Humans are slowly–albeit reluctantly–discovering that we are not the only creatures with consciousness and the ability to communicate. And when it comes to animals using ‘tools’–have you seen videos on Facebook or YouTube lately? We continue to be surprised when animals do acts of kindness or actions that we consider “human.” Animals haven’t changed, but our human-centric view of the world is beginning to change.

I learned decades ago that if I went into the woods and sat still for at least 30-40 minutes, various forest denizens would come check me out: squirrels, raccoons, deer, etc. Deer, for instance, usually come within 2-3 metres, then stamp the ground and snort a bit. When I remain still, they then come to have a good sniff. Once satisfied that I mean them no harm, they go about their business. This has happened numerous times in different countries. And, of course, via the Internet one can find more incredible stories of human/animal encounters than mine. But the rub for greedy humanity is that, as we come to recognise that other animals are sentient, it challenges us to treat them differently. They aren’t in existence just to be killed for our pleasure. Hell, many of my fellow white people have a hard enough time accepting multi-coloured humanity as sentient and deserving of their acceptance!

Well…maybe Mrs. Stroup was right in giving me a low mark for saying animals could “talk” like us humans. But one thing is patently clear: all animals can certainly communicate if we only use our God-given senses to take notice.