Barbara J. King
@bjking.bsky.social
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.
Pinned
Barbara J. King
@bjking.bsky.social
· Dec 1
Why Won’t Nora The Leopard Seal Abandon Her Dead Pups? | Defector
In the fall of 2021, Renato Borras-Chavez, a marine mammal ecologist at the University of Rhode Island, spotted a leopard seal on an ice floe. Borras-Chavez was on a research expedition to a glacial f...
defector.com
Thanks to @sabs.bsky.social for inviting my thoughts on leopard-seal moms' behaviors at pup death, reported by Sperou et al.; I ask, shouldn't maternal grief (not only post-mortem attention) be considered in peer-reviewed science? #animalemotion #pinnipeds #wildlife #polarbiology #multispecies 🧪
"We have become a country where people are disappeared by a paramilitary force that hunts them down in their apartments, on city streets and country roads.. a country where a person can be summarily executed in public for protesting that paramilitary force." by @mashagessen.bsky.social. #ICEout
Opinion | One Year of Trump. The Time to Act Is Now, While We Still Can.
www.nytimes.com
January 18, 2026 at 5:01 PM
"We have become a country where people are disappeared by a paramilitary force that hunts them down in their apartments, on city streets and country roads.. a country where a person can be summarily executed in public for protesting that paramilitary force." by @mashagessen.bsky.social. #ICEout
January 18, 2026 at 1:29 PM
A good day here in Blue Virginia. Congratulations Governor @abigailspanberger.com! #Virginia #BlueWave
I am honored to serve as the 75th Governor of Virginia.
It is with a profound sense of duty to all Virginians that I assume the Governorship and pledge myself to work tirelessly on behalf of our Commonwealth — our home.
It is with a profound sense of duty to all Virginians that I assume the Governorship and pledge myself to work tirelessly on behalf of our Commonwealth — our home.
January 17, 2026 at 9:58 PM
A good day here in Blue Virginia. Congratulations Governor @abigailspanberger.com! #Virginia #BlueWave
January 17, 2026 at 2:36 PM
Congratulations to @tobykiers.bsky.social: "The awards feel like an award for the invisible, the parts of the world that are challenging to understand, and a celebration of decentralized ways of thinking and operating that fungi have mastered.” #fungi #womeninscience #nature #climate
Toby Kiers, World Champion of Fungus
www.nytimes.com
January 16, 2026 at 4:24 PM
Congratulations to @tobykiers.bsky.social: "The awards feel like an award for the invisible, the parts of the world that are challenging to understand, and a celebration of decentralized ways of thinking and operating that fungi have mastered.” #fungi #womeninscience #nature #climate
Reposted by Barbara J. King
Stunning photos from Minneapolis, including this one by John Locher for the Associated Press. www.theatlantic.com/photography/...
January 15, 2026 at 7:22 PM
Stunning photos from Minneapolis, including this one by John Locher for the Associated Press. www.theatlantic.com/photography/...
This biography of George Schaller by Miriam Horn- a doorstep of a book and so far in my reading, immersive- publishes in April. I'm learning a lot. #Booksky #primatology #anthropology #conservation #wildlife #nature
January 15, 2026 at 5:46 PM
This biography of George Schaller by Miriam Horn- a doorstep of a book and so far in my reading, immersive- publishes in April. I'm learning a lot. #Booksky #primatology #anthropology #conservation #wildlife #nature
Reposted by Barbara J. King
That is what was relayed
January 15, 2026 at 4:09 AM
That is what was relayed
January 14, 2026 at 3:53 PM
"This is the first medical evacuation of the International Space Station in its 25-year history." Best wishes to the astronaut coping with something medical- and to the whole team putting this unexpected protocol into effect. #ISS #InternationalSpaceStation #space 🧪🪐
NASA set to bring astronaut (and the rest of Crew-11) home early for medical reasons
In an unprecedented move, NASA is bringing an astronaut crew home early from the International Space Station because one astronaut has an undisclosed medical condition.
www.npr.org
January 14, 2026 at 1:58 PM
"This is the first medical evacuation of the International Space Station in its 25-year history." Best wishes to the astronaut coping with something medical- and to the whole team putting this unexpected protocol into effect. #ISS #InternationalSpaceStation #space 🧪🪐
By Oliver Kruger et al., on sea lions who nurse well past sexual maturity. "'The fact that this is happening in a species producing such costly, lipid-rich milk as sea lions makes it all the more remarkable,' said Sarah Blaffer Hrdy, retired anthropologist." #pinnipeds #anthropology #nature
The Sea Lions of the Galápagos Are Not Ready to Stop Nursing
www.nytimes.com
January 13, 2026 at 2:38 PM
By Oliver Kruger et al., on sea lions who nurse well past sexual maturity. "'The fact that this is happening in a species producing such costly, lipid-rich milk as sea lions makes it all the more remarkable,' said Sarah Blaffer Hrdy, retired anthropologist." #pinnipeds #anthropology #nature
Thanks to Matt Prescott: "In extolling meat and dairy, Mr. Kennedy’s not just offering lifestyle advice, but signaling approval for some of the most climate-intensive industries on earth. Eating less meat remains one of the fastest, easiest and cheapest ways to cut emissions." #climate #plantbased
Opinion | The New Food Pyramid, Brought to You by Big Meat
www.nytimes.com
January 12, 2026 at 6:14 PM
Thanks to Matt Prescott: "In extolling meat and dairy, Mr. Kennedy’s not just offering lifestyle advice, but signaling approval for some of the most climate-intensive industries on earth. Eating less meat remains one of the fastest, easiest and cheapest ways to cut emissions." #climate #plantbased
If Sonia scattered her being into an ocean of stories, could they, like waves, bring her to another shore? - by Kiran Desai in The Loneliness of Sonia and Sunny, a book I'm using the second week in a row for #SundaySentence. I finished it and it's magnificent. #Booksky
January 11, 2026 at 5:41 PM
If Sonia scattered her being into an ocean of stories, could they, like waves, bring her to another shore? - by Kiran Desai in The Loneliness of Sonia and Sunny, a book I'm using the second week in a row for #SundaySentence. I finished it and it's magnificent. #Booksky
Special regards on this Caturday to all cats struggling with health, and to their humans. This is Marie, recovering we hope from a nasty Mycoplasma infection that caused significant wheezing. #Caturday
January 10, 2026 at 3:58 PM
Special regards on this Caturday to all cats struggling with health, and to their humans. This is Marie, recovering we hope from a nasty Mycoplasma infection that caused significant wheezing. #Caturday
Research shows some dogs "can learn the names of new toys not only through direct instruction but also by eavesdropping on the conversations of their owners." Study by Shany Dror et al., scicomm by @emilyanthes.bsky.social #dogs #animalcognition #animalcommunication #language #anthrozoology
Dogs Build Their Vocabularies Like Toddlers
www.nytimes.com
January 9, 2026 at 2:27 PM
Research shows some dogs "can learn the names of new toys not only through direct instruction but also by eavesdropping on the conversations of their owners." Study by Shany Dror et al., scicomm by @emilyanthes.bsky.social #dogs #animalcognition #animalcommunication #language #anthrozoology
Reposted by Barbara J. King
the spectrum of queer experience is vast and complex, and none of us know what's going on inside families that are not our own
but my feed is full of media outlets describing a woman with a very-much-living-and-in-the-picture wife first and foremost as though she was a man's widow, and I just
but my feed is full of media outlets describing a woman with a very-much-living-and-in-the-picture wife first and foremost as though she was a man's widow, and I just
January 8, 2026 at 10:06 PM
the spectrum of queer experience is vast and complex, and none of us know what's going on inside families that are not our own
but my feed is full of media outlets describing a woman with a very-much-living-and-in-the-picture wife first and foremost as though she was a man's widow, and I just
but my feed is full of media outlets describing a woman with a very-much-living-and-in-the-picture wife first and foremost as though she was a man's widow, and I just
We know the truth and we mourn her murder. #ReneeGood #ReneeNicoleGood
Video: Videos Contradict Trump Administration Account of ICE Shooting in Minneapolis
An analysis of footage from three camera angles shows that the motorist was driving away from — not toward — a federal officer when he opened fire.
www.nytimes.com
January 8, 2026 at 2:17 PM
We know the truth and we mourn her murder. #ReneeGood #ReneeNicoleGood
Late to this, but Robin Kuehn of @panworks.bsky.social asks key questions in this piece relevant to anyone who cares for captive carnivores. #animals #nature #zoo #animalsanctuary #nature #naturewriting
What, or rather, who should a meat-eater eat in captivity? PAN Works Fellow Robin Kuehn, MS, explores the moral baggage of caring for captive predators in this fascinating piece.
#animals #ethics #wellbeing #compassion #conservation #empathy #multispecies #justice #communities #intrinsicvalue
#animals #ethics #wellbeing #compassion #conservation #empathy #multispecies #justice #communities #intrinsicvalue
Death for Dinner
The moral baggage in feeding captive predators.
panworks.medium.com
January 7, 2026 at 5:25 PM
Late to this, but Robin Kuehn of @panworks.bsky.social asks key questions in this piece relevant to anyone who cares for captive carnivores. #animals #nature #zoo #animalsanctuary #nature #naturewriting
When there's serious debate about whether crabs count as animals, you know things are truly off the rails in a context of animal welfare or animal rights. (Cephalopods ARE animals, since 2004.) #crustaceans #cephalopods #animallaw #animalwelfare #animalrights #sentience
Are crabs animals and should we experiment on monkeys? Major review of Australia’s research code to mull tough questions
Ending use of animals in teaching and limiting surgery in research settings to veterinarians among suggested changes
www.theguardian.com
January 7, 2026 at 3:29 PM
When there's serious debate about whether crabs count as animals, you know things are truly off the rails in a context of animal welfare or animal rights. (Cephalopods ARE animals, since 2004.) #crustaceans #cephalopods #animallaw #animalwelfare #animalrights #sentience
Could we please remember that getting vaccinated and wearing masks in indoor public settings are ways to help other Individuals and families, not only ourselves? This US flu map is staggering. #flu #health #publichealth #vaccine #masking
January 6, 2026 at 4:48 PM
Could we please remember that getting vaccinated and wearing masks in indoor public settings are ways to help other Individuals and families, not only ourselves? This US flu map is staggering. #flu #health #publichealth #vaccine #masking
Reposted by Barbara J. King
This is why you read a little Virginia Woolf every day, friends. You never know what you might learn.
He drew pictures of animals as fat as we could demand them.
—Virginia Woolf, remembering her father when she and her siblings were kids
—Virginia Woolf, remembering her father when she and her siblings were kids
January 5, 2026 at 5:55 PM
This is why you read a little Virginia Woolf every day, friends. You never know what you might learn.
Some fuss about AI-generated text in Rie Qudan's novel Sympathy Tower Tokyo, translated by Jesse Kirkwood. Those passages however are minimal, easily distinguished- the ideas about language and architecture and society's response to "criminals" are fabulous. #Booksky #amreading #Japaneseliterature
January 5, 2026 at 6:43 PM
Some fuss about AI-generated text in Rie Qudan's novel Sympathy Tower Tokyo, translated by Jesse Kirkwood. Those passages however are minimal, easily distinguished- the ideas about language and architecture and society's response to "criminals" are fabulous. #Booksky #amreading #Japaneseliterature
New analysis by SA Williams et al.: "We consider the evolution of bipedalism to be a process rather than an event, one in which bipedal behavior increased over evolutionary time...Sahelanthropus may represent an early form of habitual, but not obligate, bipedalism." #paleoanthropology #anthropology
Earliest evidence of hominin bipedalism in Sahelanthropus tchadensis
Limb bones of the earliest known hominin, Sahelanthropus, are chimpanzee-like in shape but demonstrate adaptations for bipedalism.
www.science.org
January 5, 2026 at 3:42 PM
New analysis by SA Williams et al.: "We consider the evolution of bipedalism to be a process rather than an event, one in which bipedal behavior increased over evolutionary time...Sahelanthropus may represent an early form of habitual, but not obligate, bipedalism." #paleoanthropology #anthropology
He thought how after a day when everything was at odds-full of obstacles and irritations- dusk in India felt always settled, ancient, a civilization that had come to fullness. - Kiran Desai in The Loneliness of Sonia and Sunny. (Halfway through and fully immersed!) #SundaySentence #Booksky
January 4, 2026 at 2:37 PM
He thought how after a day when everything was at odds-full of obstacles and irritations- dusk in India felt always settled, ancient, a civilization that had come to fullness. - Kiran Desai in The Loneliness of Sonia and Sunny. (Halfway through and fully immersed!) #SundaySentence #Booksky
Yes! Please scientists, journalists, really anyone who seeks professional credibility: check out this thread. It's right on target. #science #journalism #media #AI #generativeAI
Same with scientists. Each "fun" generative AI thing shared makes me a little less confident in the quality of your research.
Deleted a repost of a thread.
Looking closer, the person is comfortable sharing AI images & video. Was the thread also AI? Was it accurate?
I’d rather not take the chance and share it.
Journalists, keep this in mind. “Fun” AI videos & images undercut your credibility.
Looking closer, the person is comfortable sharing AI images & video. Was the thread also AI? Was it accurate?
I’d rather not take the chance and share it.
Journalists, keep this in mind. “Fun” AI videos & images undercut your credibility.
January 4, 2026 at 2:00 PM
Yes! Please scientists, journalists, really anyone who seeks professional credibility: check out this thread. It's right on target. #science #journalism #media #AI #generativeAI