Like language and our sometimes-maddening sense of time and self-awareness, empathy was long considered one of those human traits biologists thought separated us from the animal kingdom. But that’s changed over the years, as more scientific research has focused on studying empathy both in humans and across species. Animals from primates to mice have been observed consoling each other when one is in pain, and birds, rabbits and whales are known to mourn the loss of a companion, or member of their community. And we can attest to this in our own pets - most dog and cat owners have a story of their four-legged companion comforting them during a moment of sadness, anxiety, or grief.
Then there’s the story of Lawrence Anthony, a conservationist who founded the Thula Thula Reserve in South Africa. Giving refuge to protected and endangered species like the white rhinoceros and leopard, Anthony gained a reputation for being able to comfort African bush elephants when they arrived at the reserve, almost as if he’d learned to communicate with them. In 2012, when Anthony died of a heart attack, the herd of elephants visited his house on the edge of their reserve night after night, as if they were paying their respects.
On this week's episode of Something I Heard, Tomás Baiza reads Sherman Alexie's poem, “The Limited." Alexie is a native American novelist, poet, and screenwriter living in Seattle, Washington, best known for his books, The Lone Ranger and Tonto Fistfight in Heaven, and the semi-autobiographical novel, The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian.
Our writer-curator this month is Tomás Baiza. Baiza is the author of the novel, Delivery, and the mixed-genre collection, A Purpose to Our Savagery. Baiza’s manuscript, Mexican Teeth, will appear on Inlandia Press in 2026.
