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Barbara J. King

@bjking.bsky.social

10K followers 1.7K following 1.5K posts

Anthropologist; animal advocate; science writer, next book coming on cats; caretaker of aging cats. Books include How Animals Grieve; Animals' Best Friends: Putting Compassion to Work for Animals; see www.barbarajking.com for more.

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Barbara J. King @bjking.bsky.social · Aug 21

Nice piece by @katewong.bsky.social @sciam.bsky.social on why we humans aren't as unique as some of us like to think... Great examples here from primates, fish, insects, and more. A nice shout-out to my work on animal grief too. #animals #nature #anthropology #evolution 🧪

Whales Mourn, Birds Show Self-Awareness, Plants Remember—Are Humans Really So Special?

Other species exhibit capabilities that were once thought to be exclusive to Homo sapiens

www.scientificamerican.com

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Barbara J. King @bjking.bsky.social · 1h

Acoustic analysis aided by community science shows how many birds burst into a dawn chorus in the aftermath of the 2024 total solar eclipse- very cool! #birds #birding #nature #elipse #animalcommunication #animalbehavior 🧪

Total solar eclipse triggers dawn behavior in birds: Insights from acoustic recordings and community science

On 8 April 2024, a total solar eclipse disrupted light-dark cycles for North American birds during the lead-up to spring reproduction. Compiling more than 10,000 community observations and artificial ...

www.science.org

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Reposted by Barbara J. King

Carole Cadwalladr @carolecadwalla.bsky.social · 1d

My colleagues & I have taken a huge gamble to set up @thenerve.news We’re trying to build a new independent publication from the ground up. Social media is our only distribution for now.

Sharing this article in your networks would make a huge difference. Thank you! 🙏🙏🙏

Carole Cadwalladr @carolecadwalla.bsky.social · 2d

NEW: The British politician, his Russian intelligence handler & a Kremlin plot against the US & Ukraine.

My new piece about Nathan Gill and Nigel Farage for @thenerve_news in which we ask:

Why, even now, is no-one asking questions?

t.co/BUTtpK9C4S

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Barbara J. King @bjking.bsky.social · 21h

Viewing beautiful Native art at the Muscarelle Museum on the campus of William & Mary. This piece by artist Preston Singletary is called 'Standing Canoe'. #IndigenousPeoplesDay #art #museum

The piece is a curved standing shape, in deep blue and black colors in Native design, made from glass.

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Barbara J. King @bjking.bsky.social · 2d

Birders are "dealers in wonder and awe, masters of birds and ecosystems, and, despite the many stereotypes we can muster, one should never underestimate the power, joy and influence of the birdwatcher." YES! By Natalie Kyriacou. #birds #birding #nature #naturewriting

Here’s to the birdwatchers! Optimistic, slightly eccentric custodians of wonder and joy and passion and love

At its heart, birdwatching is an act of quiet rebellion, says Natalie Kyriacou. It is the gentle act of noticing – the willingness to see the world around you

www.theguardian.com

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Barbara J. King @bjking.bsky.social · 2d

Thank you Diane Keaton, for your brilliant acting and for your animal advocacy. You spoke out for the Big Cat Public Safety Act, for dog adoption, for eating plants rather than animals. (PS- animals are not voiceless! They do express their wishes to live.) #DianeKeaton #animals #activism

Diane Keaton, actress and animal advocate, has died, aged 79

Fame, for Diane Keaton, was never an excuse to look away. In a profession built on performance, she turned her gaze outward—to the voiceless and the overlooked. While audiences remember her for Annie ...

news.mongabay.com

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Reposted by Barbara J. King

Jenny Croft @jenniferlcroft.bsky.social · 5d

I took this picture of Olga and László in London in 2018. Congrats to Krasznahorkai and his translators, including George Szirtes and @ottiliemulzet.bsky.social, and long live a Central Europe free of dictators (foreign and domestic) and full of magnificent minds like these!

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Barbara J. King @bjking.bsky.social · 3d

We were away four days/three nights and are in the process now of being forgiven. Tuxedos can be very generous....sometimes! #Caturday

A tuxedo cat named Marie lays on her side with big eyes and outstretched paws. She is resting on a zebra-patterned bed sheet.

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Barbara J. King @bjking.bsky.social · 4d

Always handsome. #birds #birding #nature

A male red cardinal stands on a branch in a green bush. His head is turned so we see the red beak, one eye, and slightly raised crest. He is shades of red from bright to less bright.

Barbara J. King @bjking.bsky.social · 4d

In Setauket, Long Island, for a book event tonight- I'm talking about animal emotions like grief and love, and ethics of animal-human relating. Went on a peaceful nature trail to relax before the event, and saw beautiful mute swans. #birds #birding #nature

Two white-light brown swans together on grass. One is sitting still, the other self-grooming.

An old stone building behind a fence, with water wheel in the side.

Barbara J. King @bjking.bsky.social · 5d

"The mistake, however, is to presume – a priori – that animal communication is anything like ours. All too often we try to crowbar animal communication into a human-centric framework..." By Helen Pilcher @theguardian.com, with great examples. #animalcommunication #language #nature #anthropology

Dogs name toys while elephants name each other. Animal language is more complex than we imagine | Helen Pilcher

If we really want to grasp what animals are ‘saying’, we need to understand their communication on their terms, not ours, says science writer Helen Pilcher

www.theguardian.com

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Barbara J. King @bjking.bsky.social · 6d

A good side-by-side internet photo comparison should help, between the two. Red-headed has an entirely crimson red head, Red-bellied a more limited red stripe on the top and back of the head; Red-bellied have distinct black-and-white barring on their backs and wings.

Barbara J. King @bjking.bsky.social · 6d

I wasn't aware there's a field called veterinary epidemiology! Experts in that + related fields adding to the scarce existing research "on how environmental toxins and pollutants affect our animal companions." Piece by @emilyanthes.bsky.social #cats #dogs #multispecies #pets #pollution #veterinary

In a Toxic World, Pets Could Be Vital Health Watchdogs

www.nytimes.com

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Barbara J. King @bjking.bsky.social · 6d

It's definitely red-bellied!

Barbara J. King @bjking.bsky.social · 7d

Red-bellied woodpecker foraging way, way high up in our backyard canopy. So fun to have spotted this! #woodpecker #birds #birding #nature

The bird perches on the side of a tree with an open cavity hole at top. The red head is visible, and white breast plus black and white feathers. Something small, tan, and round is in the bird's mouth.

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Reposted by Barbara J. King

Scripps Institution of Oceanography @scrippsocean.bsky.social · 7d

🌿 🌊 Kelp forests are vital habitats that support marine life, buffer our coasts, and keep our oceans healthy, and Scripps Oceanography scientists are dedicated to protecting them!

🌏 This #WorldHabitatDay, thank #KelpForests for all they do for our planet.

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Barbara J. King @bjking.bsky.social · 7d

To friends who send me octopus gifts- you are the best! I always weave stories of how to protect octopuses into my public writing and speaking about animals. (No octopus farming!) #octopus #cephalopod #nature

The cover of this writer's journal features a bright orange-red octopus with 8 unfurled arms.

A white teapot sits on a counter. Its handle is made to be an orange-red octopus arm with suckers and the other arms unfurl around the pot.

Barbara J. King @bjking.bsky.social · 8d

Big congratulations to Mary E. Brunkow, Fred Ramsdell and Shimon Sakaguchi on their Nobel Prize win. Their research relates to regulatory T cells and immune responses in the body. #medicine #NobelPrize #science #womeninSTEM #womeninscience 🧪

The medicine Nobel Prize goes to 3 scientists for work on peripheral immune tolerance

Mary E. Brunkow, Fred Ramsdell and Shimon Sakaguchi were honored for research into how the body helps the immune system avoid attacking your own tissues instead of foreign invaders.

www.npr.org

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Barbara J. King @bjking.bsky.social · 8d

Keeping the orb-weavers, corvids, and cephalopods around is more than adequate!

Barbara J. King @bjking.bsky.social · 8d

I can imagine not....! That sentence just really sings.

Reposted by Barbara J. King

Christian Bauman @christianbauman.bsky.social · 9d

Back to Graham Greene again for my #sundaysentence this week: "Writing is a form of therapy; sometimes I wonder how all those who do not write, compose, or paint can manage to escape the madness, the melancholia, the panic fear which is inherent in the human situation."

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Barbara J. King @bjking.bsky.social · 9d

Barbara frowned, looking up at the ceiling, where there was nothing to see save a row of fluorescent lights, of the type that made everyone look like they'd just been released from hospital while still profoundly ill. - Elizabeth George, A Slowly Dying Cause (Lynley series) #SundaySentence #Booksky

The cover image shows a lonely rural road with an old building in the distance. The words "A Lynley novel" appear in-between the author name and title.

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Barbara J. King @bjking.bsky.social · 10d

Today and everyday, we can honor Dr. Goodall's memory by following her outspoken urging of us to eat way more plants than animals, in honor of other animals' lives and of our Earth. #WorldAnimalDay #JaneGoodall #vegan #vegetarian #reducetarian

An inscription in a book dated April 1988 to me reads: "For Barbara, wishing you all the luck in the world with baboons and pigs. Jane Goodall."

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Reposted by Barbara J. King

Daryll Marie @daryllmarie.bsky.social · 10d

The Marine Life feed has hit a whopping 2k likes 😱 so my friends, POST CELEBRATORY SEA CRITTERS. Birds Feed folks, seabirds count 😉🪶 come join us in the feed if you are a lover of ocean life!
bsky.app/profile/did:...

A dolphin above the surface of the ocean, mid-leap.

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Barbara J. King @bjking.bsky.social · 11d

I enjoyed the Oscar-winning animated film FLOW- and because of the cat character in it, adoptions of black cats are on the rise. In my forthcoming book, I write a lot about the love I've shared with black cats in my life. #cats #adoptdontshop #pets #animals #movies

Black Cat Adoptions Are on the Rise Thanks to a Cartoon Cat

An animated film following a beloved black cat has had the unexpected benefit of increasing the stigmatized felines’ adoption rates.

www.vice.com

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Barbara J. King @bjking.bsky.social · 11d

Please join me in following here @panworks.bsky.social, a fabulous center for animal ethics focused on animals' wellbeing, where I am honored to be a Research Fellow. This piece by @pablopcastello.bsky.social is a don't-miss read! #animals #anthropology #multispecies #ethics

PAN Works @panworks.bsky.social · 17d

In this new article, PAN Works Research Fellow, Pablo P. Castelló, PhD, invites us to experience the vibrant multipspecies tapestry that is the foundation of our democratic communities.

#animals #ethics #wellbeing #compassion #empathy #multispecies #justice #communities #intrinsicvalue #democracy

When Animals Sustain the Fabric of Our Democracies

By Pablo P. Castelló, PhD.

panworks.medium.com

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