Scientists are now 
asking very interesting 
questions about
animal emotions, animal
minds and cognition, 
animal communication, 
even animal virtue. 
Do animals have 
similar feelings of love, 
happiness and sadness 
as humans? 
Are there animals who 
possess superior memories 
than humans? 
How do some animals 
seem able to predict 
natural phenomena 
before they occur?
Halo, kind viewers. 
Let’s discover 
the answers to 
these questions and more 
on Animal World: 
Our Co-Inhabitants 
as we explore 
the intriguing inner world 
of animals. 
International 
#1 bestselling author 
of the books, 
“The Birds in My Life,” 
“The Dogs in My Life” 
and “The Noble Wilds,” 
Supreme Master Ching Hai 
has often spoken about 
the highly sentient 
and noble beings 
we call animals. 
Animals are extremely 
intelligent. Intelligent. 
There is no doubt, 
and we know that, too. 
Even pigs, house pets, 
they are known for their 
quality of faithfulness, 
loyalties, friendliness, 
and helpfulness 
in time of trouble. 
In your newspapers, 
printed everyday 
some miracles done 
by animals. 
Like dogs rescue children 
from burning house, 
pig runs many miles 
to rescue his owner. 
Horses stay with 
the tomb of his master 
until his death. 
He never eats anything. 
Or some dog never leaves 
the tomb of his master, 
etc., etc. 
So many, many things. 
So it is not funny 
that the humans 
sometimes think animals 
are better than us, yes? 
It could be, 
in some aspects, 
it could be true. 
After all, all beings are 
created by God anyhow, 
so why not they have 
the God spark inside them 
like we do? 
It’s just because they are 
in a different form and 
they use different languages
doesn't mean 
they are in any way 
less worthy than us. 
Through further studies 
and observations, 
humans are gaining 
a greater understanding 
of the sophisticated 
social systems, 
depth of cognition 
and dignified principles 
of the furry, finned 
and feathered residents 
of this planet.  
Our 3-part series features 
Dr. Jonathan Balcombe, 
a leading behavioral 
research scientist 
and author of
“The Use of Animals 
in Higher Education: 
Problems, Alternatives 
and Recommendations,” 
“Pleasurable Kingdom: 
Animals and the Nature 
of Feeling Good” 
and “Second Nature: 
The Inner Lives 
of Animals.” 
A new book 
by Dr. Balcombe 
will be released in May 
titled, “The Exultant Ark 
– A Pictorial Tour 
of Animal Pleasure.” 
As a respected speaker, 
Dr. Balcombe has travelled 
around the globe, 
giving presentations and 
raising awareness about 
the values, psychology, 
intelligence and emotions 
of our animal friends. 
He has written 
numerous scientific 
papers and articles 
published in prestigious 
academic journals 
and magazines such as 
the “Journal of 
Applied Animal 
Welfare Science,” 
“British Medical Journal,” 
“Journal of 
Consciousness Studies,” 
“Animal Behavior,” 
“Canadian Field-Naturalist” 
and many others.  
Dr. Balcombe has said, 
“As science continues 
to make new discoveries 
about animal minds 
and feelings, 
I hope it strikes a chord 
for more considerate, 
ethical treatment 
of animals.”
In my opinion, 
the only difference 
between a human 
and an animal 
is same as the difference 
between a pig and a cow, 
or chicken and starling. 
They’re different species. 
So I think we need to 
recognize and celebrate 
the diversity of life and 
recognize that all species 
have their own values. 
While growing up, 
Dr. Balcombe had always 
found himself being 
fascinated by animals. 
But it was during 
a biology class 
at York University 
in Toronto, Canada, 
that he determined 
his life's purpose.
We had crossbred fruit flies, 
drosophila melanogaster, 
bearing 
different phenotypes. 
And it was time 
to record the distribution 
of characteristics 
in the next generation. 
Counting the number 
of flies with white 
versus red eyes 
required exposing them 
to ether to immobilize them. 
The flies were then 
sprinkled onto a sheet 
of white paper to be 
examined and counted. 
When the data collection 
was complete, 
the flies had no further use 
to genetics. 
And our instructions 
were to tip them into 
a small glass dish of oil 
placed at the center 
of each desk. 
The "morgue" 
as it was called was to be 
diminutive drosophila's 
final resting place. 
Well, rocking the boat 
never came easily to me, 
but I was having 
none of this. 
Once my little pile of 
dipterans had been counted, 
I pushed them off 
the edge of the paper 
where they were 
camouflaged against 
the black desktop. 
As we recorded our data, 
I kept one eye on them. 
The ember of life 
soon rekindled and 
within minutes the pile was 
twitching and humming 
as tiny legs and wings 
beat their way 
out of the ether fog. 
They staggered onto 
their spindly legs before 
regaining their senses 
and launching forth. 
I was thrilled 
as they took flight. 
The flies were my first step 
in refusing to conduct 
scientific research that 
treated non-human life 
as dispensable. 
They also charted a path 
for the values 
I want to bring 
to the study of animals. 
As I became more aware 
of institutionalized 
abuses of animals, 
I identified a niche 
for my future: 
animal protection.
During his many years 
of research, Dr. Balcombe 
came across numerous 
scientific studies 
indicating that animals 
have a high level of 
intelligence, sometimes 
even exceeding 
that of a human being. 
Chimpanzees 
have been shown to have 
far better spatial memory, 
certainly short term, 
and perhaps long term. 
You can watch these 
on these videos 
on YouTube these days. 
Chimpanzees, 
young chimpanzees 
shown a monitor, 
these have learned 
to interact with 
computer monitors. 
And if the numbers 1 to 9 
are scattered randomly 
and they appear 
on that screen 
for 1 second or less, 
the chimpanzee casually 
points to each rectangle 
in the correct sequence, 
1 through 9, 
and gets a little treat. 
That’s the motivation, 
has a little treat. 
Humans,
with about 1 second to 
see the array of numbers, 
we might get to 3 or 4 if 
we are having a good day. 
In fact, one chimpanzee 
named Ayumu, if he has 
one fifth of a second, 
so it’s about that long, 
to see the nine numbers, 
he remembers them all, 
90% of the time. 
So these animals have 
an incredible 
spatial intelligence 
that is far beyond our own. 
So we can’t even claim 
to be at the pinnacle of 
all forms of intelligence 
as we often do. 
An article printed in 
The Washington Post 
titled, “It’s Music to 
These Monkeys’ Ears – 
And Also Their Hearts” 
written by Rob Stein, 
showed the enlightening 
results of a study 
in which scientists 
created “animal” music 
for tamarin monkeys 
to observe their reactions 
rather than testing 
how they are affected 
by human music, 
which in previous studies 
did not provide 
conclusive results. 
True enough, 
soothing music 
was observed 
to have a calming effect 
while harsh music seemed 
to make the monkeys 
more restless, 
similarly to how humans 
are stimulated by 
different types of songs. 
This opens the door 
to re-examining 
other misconceptions 
humans have 
of the innate intelligence 
of animals. 
For a long time, 
we thought chimpanzees 
had very poor 
face recognition skills, 
until someone had 
the bright idea 
to actually test them 
on chimpanzee faces 
instead of human faces. 
Once chimps were tested 
on chimpanzee faces, 
they did very, very well, 
about as well as we do. 
And what’s more, 
they do better than us 
on upside-down faces. 
And if you think about 
chimpanzees 
hanging around in trees, 
you might guess 
why they are better at that 
than we are.
Sheep are also very good 
at face recognition. 
A sheep 
who has been removed 
from her own flock 
and put in another flock 
for two years. 
Two years later, 
being shown 
a series of 80, 90, 100 
still photos of sheep, 
some of whom were 
from her original flock, 
and some from alien sheep 
she doesn’t know. 
She can recognize 
up to 50 or so of her 
original flock mates, 
2 years later 
from a single face 
on photograph 
or a profile photograph. 
Also, sheep will 
almost routinely, 
will almost never 
go through a door 
with a photograph 
of a very hungry sheep, 
if there is the other option 
of going through a door 
with a photograph 
of a just fed sheep. 
They look similar to us, 
but they can see 
the sheep is more relaxed 
and more happy, 
and they would rather 
go through that door. 
And sheep much prefer 
a smiling human face 
to a frowning, 
angry looking one.
In his book, 
“Second Nature: 
The Inner Lives 
of Animals,” 
Dr. Balcombe writes: 
“Recent research 
has detected elephants 
using a special acoustic 
technique to track others. 
Their feet are 
beautifully adapted 
for communication and 
listening infrasonically, 
that is, at frequencies 
below human hearing. 
Preliminary studies 
reveal a high density 
of pressure-sensitive 
nerve endings 
at the front of the footpad 
and around the edges. 
This enables them 
to remain in contact 
with each other for weeks 
at a time, even though 
they may be separated 
by miles of savannah. 
It may act as 
an early warning system 
for earthquakes, explaining 
why elephants and 
virtually all large animals 
had already moved 
to higher ground 
when rising water 
from the giant tsunami 
pounded Asian coastlines 
on Dec. 26, 2004.” 
Dr. Balcombe explains 
how this acoustic skill 
gives elephants a unique 
spatial awareness of 
where others in the herd 
are located. 
They live in 
matriarchal groups 
and they often move 
from point A to B 
several miles away. 
They’re going to go to 
a tree that’s fruiting and 
they have good memories 
for that too. 
So, if the scientists 
dig up fresh urine from 
some elephants who are 
walking further ahead, 
a quarter of a mile ahead 
and then quickly 
dump it down again, 
the elephants walking 
behind, on encountering 
that urine, will sniff it 
and check it out 
and then move on. 
But if they take urine 
from elephants who are 
walking somewhere behind 
and quickly start 
and bring it up in front of 
these walking elephants 
and deposit it, 
the elephants react
differently. They show
much more surprise. 
They twist their trunks more, 
they described it 
in the scientific paper. 
It doesn’t fit expectations 
to find fresh urine, 
fresh pee from someone 
who you know 
is behind you. 
So, it’s a way of 
illustrating these animals 
have a mental map. 
They’re aware of 
who is who, 
and who is where. 
And it is actually estimated 
based on this 
and other studies, 
that an elephant 
is keeping mental tabs 
on around 30 other 
individual elephants 
at any one time. 
So, there’s 
a lot of awareness 
in these animals’ minds. 
And should we be surprised? 
This is a big animal, 
huge brain, very long lived, 
emotional, 
very good memory.
With mounting scientific 
evidence indicating 
that animals are 
highly intelligent, 
deeply emotional, and 
complex sentient beings, 
Dr. Balcombe believes 
that we must look at and 
treat our fellow beings 
with respect and dignity.
The animal has 
life worth living, and 
that stems from sentience, 
from the capacity 
to feel things, pleasures 
and pains. 
We understand those feeling 
for our own lives. 
Well, they have 
those feelings as well and 
it is because of sentience 
that they have lives 
that are worth living.
For more information on 
Dr. Jonathan Balcombe, 
please visit: 
It was a pleasure 
having your company 
today for Animal World: 
Our Co-Inhabitants. 
Join us again 
Friday and Saturday 
for part 2 and part 3 
of our program, 
“Exploring the Intriguing 
Inner Lives of Animals with 
Dr. Jonathan Balcombe.” 
Please stay tuned 
to Supreme Master 
Television for 
Enlightening Entertainment, 
coming up next right 
after Noteworthy News. 
May you live in 
Heaven’s grace with 
compassion and wisdom.
They are thinking 
and feeling beings, 
like we are. 
They have good days 
and bad days. 
They have senses. 
They are sentient. 
And so we need 
a new way of thinking 
about animals.
Halo, gentle viewers 
and welcome to 
Animal World: 
Our Co-Inhabitants, 
where we are exploring 
the intriguing inner world 
of animals. 
Through further studies 
and observations, 
humans are gaining 
a greater understanding 
of the sophisticated 
social systems, 
depth of cognition 
and dignified principles 
of the furry, finned 
and feathered residents 
of this planet.  
International 
#1 bestselling author 
of the books, 
“The Birds in My Life,” 
“The Dogs in My Life” 
and “The Noble Wilds,” 
Supreme Master Ching Hai 
has often spoken about 
the highly sentient 
and noble beings 
we call animals. 
The animals come to this 
planet with a special role. 
Many of them are able to 
bring down divine power 
from Heaven, or love, 
just through 
their presence 
because they are 
very connected with 
the Divine at all times. 
Some, like horses 
and rabbits, can protect 
their human caregivers 
from negative influences, 
or boost them with good 
health, good luck, even 
material fortune, joy, 
or spiritual upliftment. 
They watch out for us 
quietly and humbly 
send blessings our way. 
Some of them are 
from higher levels of 
consciousness; 
they only came down 
in animal form to help 
humankind or 
other beings on Earth. 
Our 3-part series features 
Dr. Jonathan Balcombe, 
a leading behavioral 
research scientist 
and author of
“The Use of Animals 
in Higher Education: 
Problems, Alternatives 
and Recommendations,” 
“Pleasurable Kingdom: 
Animals and the Nature 
of Feeling Good” 
and “Second Nature: 
The Inner Lives 
of Animals.” 
A new book 
by Dr. Balcombe 
will be released in May 
titled, “The Exultant Ark 
– A Pictorial Tour 
of Animal Pleasure.” 
As a respected speaker, 
Dr. Balcombe has travelled 
around the globe, 
giving presentations and 
raising awareness about 
the values, psychology, 
intelligence and emotions 
of our animal friends. 
He has written 
numerous scientific 
papers and articles 
published in prestigious 
academic journals 
and magazines such as 
the “Journal of 
Applied Animal 
Welfare Science,” 
“British Medical Journal,” 
“Journal of 
Consciousness Studies,” 
“Animal Behavior,” 
“Canadian Field-Naturalist” 
and many others.  
Dr. Balcombe has said, 
“As science continues 
to make new discoveries 
about animal minds 
and feelings, 
I hope it strikes a chord 
for more considerate, 
ethical treatment 
of animals.”
In an article titled, 
“Jonathan Balcombe: 
‘Stop being beastly to hens’” 
by James Randerson 
in April 2010 
for the United Kingdom’s 
newspaper, “Guardian,” 
the question on whether 
animals have any kind of 
moral responsibility 
was posed to Dr. Balcombe. 
He answered, 
“Absolutely. 
One of the frontiers 
of science is the study 
of virtue in animals: 
increasingly it's coming 
to light that animals have 
a moral awareness, 
or a moral consideration 
about how they behave. 
This is particularly the case 
with social animals, 
who've evolved 
to live in groups. 
Living in groups 
is full of compromise, 
you give and take 
and you want to sustain 
good relationships 
with others or 
you may be an outcast, 
and that's not 
in your self-interest – 
so one can make 
genetic arguments 
for the evolution of virtue 
and moral behavior – 
certainly we manifest it 
in many ways.”
New scientific studies 
show that animals have 
noble qualities. 
If you think about the 
importance of being nice 
when you live in a group, 
you will appreciate 
that other animals need 
to be nice to each other, 
because many animals 
live in groups. 
They live in populations. 
They have communities. 
They have societies. 
It behooves you 
to be polite, 
to be respectful, 
to be restrained, 
to be nice, and to be good. 
And animals show that. 
Animals show consideration 
for each other. 
Studies show that rats, 
for instance, 
will spontaneously, 
without any reward, 
without anyone 
telling them to, 
if they see another rat 
in distress, 
they will act to bring them 
out of that distress. 
If they are in a harness, 
they will help 
to remove them. 
If they are locked out 
of somewhere, they will 
try to open the door 
so they can get through. 
Chimpanzees 
and monkeys also, 
if they work together 
to get something, 
they will share food. 
If you put them in cages, 
which is very sad, 
they will pass food 
through the cage walls 
to each other, 
to make sure the other one 
gets enough food as well. 
It is virtuous behavior.
Increasingly, research 
shows that humans 
are not the only species 
who are guided 
by a moral compass. 
Scientists have observed 
a rat refusing 
to push a lever which 
will release his food 
when he knows 
that a fellow rat will also 
receive an electric shock; 
elephants helping 
an antelope 
to escape an enclosure; 
a monkey helping 
another one 
that hasn’t yet learned 
that a token must be 
inserted into a slot 
for her to receive her food. 
There are also accounts 
of dolphins and whales 
coming to the aid of
humans stranded at sea. 
Birds and fish also 
exhibit altruistic behavior. 
There is over 
three hundred species 
of birds help at the nest, 
where individuals 
who are not going to raise 
any of their own young 
will help other parents 
raise their young. 
Usually they're relatives, 
but not always. 
There are cichlid fish 
in Africa 
who do the same thing, 
not even related 
to the parent fish. 
They help them 
raise their young. 
We also have examples 
of midwifery, 
wet nursing, nannying, 
and babysitting in nature 
among various species. 
We even have a new term 
in biology 
based on the behavior 
of Seychelles warblers, 
which have been shown 
that grandparents will 
help their offspring's young. 
So they're helping 
two generations down. 
So we have a new term 
in biology: “grand chicks.”
Professor Marc Bekoff, 
an ecologist 
at the University 
of Colorado in Boulder 
Colorado, USA, 
stated in the article, 
“Animals Can Tell Right 
from Wrong”: 
“The belief that 
humans have morality 
and animals don’t 
is a long-standing 
assumption, but there is 
a growing amount of 
evidence that is showing us 
that this simply 
cannot be the case. 
Just as in humans, 
the moral nuances 
of a particular culture 
or group will be different 
from another, but 
they are certainly there.” 
As such, the principles 
of fairness and equality 
are also appreciated 
in the animal kingdom.
New studies are showing 
that animals have 
a sense of fairness. 
Two dogs who are asked 
to shake a paw 
with a human 
will happily shake a paw. 
But if you start giving food, 
giving a treat 
to this one dog, 
for shaking the paw 
but not to the other one, 
the one who’s 
not getting the treat 
will soon stop 
and look away, 
essentially showing, 
“I don’t appreciate 
the unfair treatment.” 
So they are aware of 
some sort of unfairness 
here, which is something 
we certainly understand. 
Similarly with monkeys, 
if both monkeys are 
getting cucumbers, and 
they like to eat cucumbers, 
they happily will take them. 
But if you suddenly 
switch to grapes 
with this monkey, 
they really like grapes, 
even better 
than cucumbers, 
this monkey will 
no longer accept cucumber. 
He will hand it back 
or throw it away 
and hold his hands out, 
looking at the other monkey, 
you know, “Why am I 
not getting grapes? 
I am doing the same thing.” 
So these are 
clever biology studies 
that show that animals also 
have a sense of fairness. 
They appreciate 
being treated respectfully 
and fairly and equally 
to others, just as we do. 
Dr. Frans de Waal, 
a primatologist 
from the US-based 
Yerkes Regional 
Primate Research Center 
at Emory University, 
did a long term study on 
a monkey named Mozu 
which revealed 
virtuous behavior 
in animals. 
Mozu was 
a Japanese macaques, 
a monkey similar 
to these animals 
on the cover of my book. 
And Mozu was born 
with a very, very severe 
physical disability. 
She had no hands, 
and she had no feet. 
And you think of a monkey, 
pretty much any animal, 
but certainly a monkey, 
no hands, no feet, 
no climbing, 
no grasping of food. 
This animal is not 
going to live very long. 
Mozu actually lived 
a long life, 
and raised 5 young, 
which is more than 
most females will do 
in macaques society. 
She couldn't have done it 
by herself. 
She relied and benefited 
from the goodness of others 
who helped her, fed her, 
did favors to her. 
Virtuous behavior.  
Animals are often 
thought of as purely 
instinctual creatures 
whose only focus 
is on their survival. 
However, 
this misconception 
is being dispelled 
more and more through 
the numerous studies 
of animal behavior which 
show animals acting out
of charity and kindness.  
Let me just give you 
one story about chickens 
that I think is pretty 
intriguing and revealing. 
One of the calls 
that chickens make, 
it’s made only by roosters. 
It is called 
a food solicitation call 
or a come hither call, and
it’s intended for a hen. 
And it’s been shown 
roosters will 
never make this call 
if there is no hen in sight. 
It’s for their benefit. 
And hens are very tuned in 
to these calls. 
If the hen is nearby, 
she hears this call, 
she comes running. 
And the rooster typically 
only makes this call 
when he has found 
some morsel of food. 
So, the hen comes running 
and the rooster 
very gallantly sort of 
points it out and steps back. 
And often the hen will 
find it and she’ll eat it.
Given that 
scientific evidence prove 
animals to be as noble and 
sentient as humans, 
how can we best show 
our reverence for the lives 
of our fellow beings? 
One of the reasons 
I admire 
Supreme Master Ching Hai, 
is that her message is 
that we need 
a new relationship 
with animals as well. 
We need to 
stop eating them, 
putting them in our mouths, 
we need to respect them 
and love them, 
and celebrate that 
they are also part of this 
rich planet that we live in. 
Going vegan or 
having a plant-based diet 
is the most profound 
and immediate way 
that an individual 
can do right by animals. 
You stop eating them, 
you immediately 
remove yourself from that 
whole factory farming, 
transport, slaughterhouse 
thing that we do. 
If you stop eating eggs 
and milk, well, you’re 
no longer supporting calves 
being removed 
from their mothers 
as soon as they’re born. 
Anne Frank said, 
"Isn’t it wonderful 
that we needn’t wait 
another moment before 
changing the world 
for the better?" 
I love that sentiment, 
because becoming 
vegetarian or vegan 
is an immediate way that 
you can save animals’ lives, 
every day, every week 
of the year. 
For more information on 
Dr. Jonathan Balcombe, 
please visit: 
Thank you for joining us 
today for Animal World: 
Our Co-Inhabitants. 
Join us again Saturday 
for the conclusion 
of our program, 
“Exploring the Intriguing 
Inner Lives of Animals with 
Dr. Jonathan Balcombe.” 
Up next is 
Enlightening Entertainment, 
right after 
Noteworthy News 
here on 
Supreme Master Television. 
May your life 
be filled with wonder, 
respect and gratitude 
for all God’s creations. 
Animals enjoy their food, 
they enjoy 
their social company. 
They have leisure time, 
they can relax. 
Their lives are rich and 
their lives are worth living. 
And that needs 
to affect the way 
we interact with them.
Halo, caring viewers 
and welcome to 
Animal World: 
Our Co-Inhabitants. 
Today we continue with 
the concluding episode 
of our 3-part series, 
“Exploring the Intriguing 
Inner Lives of Animals with 
Dr. Jonathan Balcombe.”
Dr. Jonathan Balcombe 
is a leading behavioral 
research scientist 
and author of
“The Use of Animals 
in Higher Education: 
Problems, Alternatives 
and Recommendations,” 
“Pleasurable Kingdom: 
Animals and the Nature 
of Feeling Good” 
and “Second Nature: 
The Inner Lives 
of Animals.” 
A new book 
by Dr. Balcombe 
will be released in May 
titled, “The Exultant Ark 
– A Pictorial Tour 
of Animal Pleasure.” 
As a respected speaker, 
Dr. Balcombe has travelled 
around the globe, 
giving presentations and 
raising awareness about 
the values, psychology, 
intelligence and emotions 
of our animal friends. 
He has written 
numerous scientific 
papers and articles 
published in prestigious 
academic journals 
and magazines such as 
the “Journal of 
Applied Animal 
Welfare Science,” 
“British Medical Journal,” 
“Journal of 
Consciousness Studies,” 
“Animal Behavior,” 
“Canadian Field-Naturalist” 
and many others.  
Dr. Balcombe has said, 
“As science continues 
to make new discoveries 
about animal minds 
and feelings, 
I hope it strikes a chord 
for more considerate, 
ethical treatment 
of animals.”
There’s a lot of 
really important things 
that humans need to 
understand and respect 
about animals, but 
the key one is this word, 
“sentience.” 
And sentience is the ability 
to feel things, 
to feel good things, 
to feel bad things, 
to feel pain, 
to feel pleasure. 
And so, my message 
about animals 
is that they have lives 
that matter to them. 
And so therefore we need 
to respect their lives. 
And the closer 
we look at animals, 
the more we study them, 
the more we realize just 
how complex they are.
During his research 
while in graduate school, 
Dr. Balcombe studied 
a large group of bats 
who lived together 
inside a small, dark cave. 
Through his observations, 
he noted 
how these animals have 
an amazingly intricate 
communication system. 
I studied these 
flying mammals and 
how they communicate 
with each other, how 
they listen to other bats, 
and get information about 
where to find some food, 
and also 
how they recognize 
each other’s voices, 
as we can, to link up 
when they need to. 
A mother needs 
to find her baby, 
for instance, 
or the baby’s hungry, 
so the baby calls and 
the mother hears the baby, 
and they find each other 
that way.
In his book, 
“Second Nature: 
The Inner Lives 
of Animals,” 
Dr. Balcombe refers to 
many other studies on 
animal communication. 
Dr. Con Slobodchikoff, 
an ethologist 
and biology professor 
from Northern Arizona 
University 
in the United States, 
has studied prairie dogs 
for over 30 years and 
believes they may have 
the most sophisticated 
communication system 
than any other mammal. 
Prairie dogs have over
a 100 calls, with modifiers. 
And poignantly, 
they have a call 
for a man carrying a gun. 
So animals respond to 
our presence, 
and they respond 
in complex, flexible ways. 
We need 
to respect them more. 
We need 
to treat them better. 
We need to be aware 
that they want 
to live their lives too, 
like we do ours. 
In addition to 
learning about 
communication skills, 
many researchers are 
discovering other aspects 
of animal intelligence. 
Dr. Balcombe describes 
a scientific study 
on scrub jays which 
revealed their remarkable 
long term memories.
Scrub jays are 
a relative of crows, 
a North American bird. 
And they have been shown 
to have what’s called 
episodic memory. 
That is, 
they can remember
the what, the when, and 
the where of a past event. 
In this study, a scrub jay 
was given a pile of peanuts 
and they were allowed 
to bury them. 
By the way, 
this is a caching species. 
This is a species 
that buries food and 
comes back to it later. 
The scrub jays were then 
given a much more 
perishable food, 
which they also buried. 
The birds were then 
kept away from the area 
for over a week. 
Upon their return, 
the scrub jays did not 
even bother trying to 
recover the perishable food, 
apparently realizing 
that it would already 
have spoiled. 
Instead they headed 
directly to the side 
where they had hidden 
the peanuts, which 
do not spoil as quickly.
So they remember 
what they buried, 
where they buried it, 
and how long ago it was, 
and how much time 
has elapsed. 
So it’s a pretty impressive 
cognitive feat.
Animals possess 
considerable innate wisdom 
and are able to pass along 
their knowledge 
and culture 
from one generation 
to the next.  
There’s actually 
a term called 
zoopharmacognosy. 
And zoopharmacognosy 
is the specialized study of 
self-medication in animals. 
You know, animals 
live in their habitats, 
they know different plants, 
they know where to find 
certain fruiting trees 
at certain times of year. 
And they also learn 
through trial and error 
over the course of 
evolution and 
cultural evolution, 
they learn which plants 
can make them feel better. 
Chimpanzees use many 
different kinds of plants 
to self-medicate, and 
many other animals do this.
It was once thought 
that animals live only 
in the present 
and their actions 
were all based on 
an instinct to survive. 
However, 
scientific evidence shows 
that animals are 
capable of experiencing 
happiness and sorrow 
just as humans do. 
Baboon mothers 
who lose an infant 
have been found 
to show a physiological 
and a behavioral response 
that mirrors 
those of humans, 
in particular, women 
who have lost an infant. 
We know 
that is a terrible loss. 
We grieve for long periods. 
That’s reflected 
in increased 
glucocorticoid hormones 
in our bloodstream. 
And we can measure that. 
It goes up 
for about a month, 
and it gradually subsides. 
Time is our friend, 
when we are recovering 
from grief and bereavement. 
Well, a baboon mother 
who loses an infant 
shows the same sort of 
hormonal changes. 
It goes up 
for about a month 
and gradually subsides. 
And they also 
respond behaviorally 
by expanding 
their social networks. 
They engage in 
a lot more grooming 
with each other, receiving 
and giving grooming. 
It’s thought 
to be a form of therapy. 
And these are the terms 
the scientists used 
to describe it. 
And it is, I think, 
analogous to the way 
we rally around socially 
when a loved one 
is ill or lost. 
We send flowers, 
we send cards, 
we bring soup over, 
we rally round morally. 
And by the way, 
the baboon mother 
is not the only one 
to show this response. 
These hormones also 
go up to a lesser degree, 
in their closest friends 
and associates in 
the baboon community. 
These studies show 
that they can have 
moods and dispositions, 
emotional tenors 
that last for days 
or weeks or months, 
possibly years.
In his next book, 
“The Exultant Ark – 
A Pictorial Tour 
of Animal Pleasure,” 
Dr. Balcombe seeks 
to show that animals 
not only have emotions, 
but they experience 
pleasure and happiness. 
At times, birds fly 
for the pure pleasure of 
soaring through the skies; 
monkeys help 
groom each other 
because it feels good and 
elephants engage in play 
for the simple joy of it. 
Animals also are 
pleasure seekers. 
They are not just 
pain avoiders. 
There are many ways 
that animals 
experience pleasure, 
through food, 
through touch, 
through their everyday 
communications. 
If you live with 
dogs or cats, you know 
they feel pleasure. 
You rub their belly, 
they come running for it. 
Maybe not a scientific 
study, but it’s pretty clear 
that these animals 
like the touch, and they 
probably enjoy their food 
and other pleasures 
in their lives. 
Well, rats have been shown 
to love touch as well. 
In one study, 
two groups of rats. 
Rats who are expecting 
to be petted on the back 
will come 
to be petted by the hand. 
But rats 
who are expecting to be
flipped on their back 
and tickled on the belly, 
which rats do to each other 
when they’re young, 
and when they play fight, 
they will come running, 
scientists love 
to measure things, 
they will come running 
to the hand four times 
as quickly and 
they will utter about 
on average 7 times 
more ultrasonic chirps 
which are associated 
with positive effect in rats. 
So rats love a belly rub 
as much as cats do 
apparently.
As a vegan himself, 
Dr. Balcombe works for 
the dignified treatment 
of animals and strives to 
raise awareness about 
the sentient and intelligent 
nature of animals.
The way we treat animals 
right now when 
we raise them for food 
and it's not very ethical, 
given the capacities 
that animals have. 
The slave trade, 
civil rights, 
suffragist movement, 
those are largely now 
relegated to 
the history books. 
We've made huge strides 
in conquering those 
past wrongs based on 
“might makes right”. 
Unfortunately, 
we're still in the dark ages 
with animals largely. 
We still legally define them 
as property, and we still, 
kill huge numbers. 
If you want 
to help animals, 
the best way one can do it 
as an individual 
is to stop eating them. 
I'm hopeful that 
we, humans, humankind, 
will look back 
on the 21st century 
as the century 
for the animals. 
From his books, articles 
and seminars, 
Dr. Balcombe presents 
the scientific evidence 
that animals are 
living, emotional, 
cognizant beings, 
with the hopes 
that they will be treated 
compassionately as beings 
with equal rights to 
happiness and freedom.
So, part of my message, 
and part of 
Supreme Master Ching Hai’s 
message about animals, 
is that animals celebrate 
life, animals enjoy life, 
animals have 
positive experiences. 
They enjoy their days. 
They seek out good things.
Supreme Master Ching Hai, 
who has also 
spoken extensively 
about the intelligence 
and dignity of our 
animal co-inhabitants, 
is hopeful for a gentler 
world of kindness 
and compassion, wherein 
the divinity in all beings 
is recognized and respected. 
They are living beings
just like us.
When you look into
the eyes of animals,
sometimes you will realize,
“My God! We are equal.
We are the same.”
And that feeling
will send shivers
all over your body,
and give you
an enlightenment
that you would never
dream of having.
I told you that animals
can also teach you,
flowers and trees
and everything.
In the Bible,
you remember?
God said that,
"I made animals to
help you, as your helper,
as your friend.”
Remember?
That's why we should
never eat them,
not mistreat them.
So, everything
on this planet, including us,
is inter-related
and helping each other
to make our lives here
comfortable and livable.
Our heartfelt thanks, 
Dr. Jonathan Balcombe, 
for sharing your expertise 
on the profound, 
inner lives of our 
animal co-inhabitants. 
We wish you 
every success in 
all your noble endeavors 
as we unite towards a
peaceful and vegan planet 
where all live 
in safety and happiness. 
 
For more information on 
Dr. Jonathan Balcombe, 
please visit: 
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your company today for 
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Our Co-Inhabitants. 
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Blessed be 
your loving heart 
as you walk 
the honorable way of saints.