Mama's Last Hug

When in school I commented that my dog seemed angry with me, my teacher replied: “Don’t be anthropomorphic by erroneously ascribing human emotions to animals.”

The view of animals as unemotional automatons was the prevailing scientific view for decades, although we pet owners suspected otherwise. Then observers such as Jane Goodall and de Vaal showed that we were right all along, as shown in many of De Vaal’s books.

Mama’s Last Hug begins with an account of the mutual emotions expressed by de Vaal and the chimpanzee matriarch Mama when she hugged him from her death bed. The book recounts… show more.

The renowned primatologist sums up his views, which I share, about how similar to us are the great apes. The book begins with a story that nobody who reads it will ever forget. I will not spoil it for you, but read the first few pages and see if you come away with dry eyes.

Frans de Waal is rightly considered the world expert on primates. And reading this book will show you why and what he has learned. Actually, it’s not that hard to summarize: they are very similar to us. But if that is so, what are the… show more.