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
· Aug 21
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
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 🧪
Paleogenomics: "Nearly two-thirds of modern dog breeds, including even Chihuahuas, contain traces of recent wolf DNA." #dogs #wolves #paleogenomics #evolution
Is There a Little Wolf in Your Chihuahua?
www.nytimes.com
November 25, 2025 at 3:24 PM
Paleogenomics: "Nearly two-thirds of modern dog breeds, including even Chihuahuas, contain traces of recent wolf DNA." #dogs #wolves #paleogenomics #evolution
November 24, 2025 at 6:43 PM
Hurray, @npr.org's "Books We Love" end-of-year book coverage is up! An annual joy. Here's the link to the whole thing: apps.npr.org/best-books/#... #Booksky #books #amreading #writerscommuniity
Books We Love
Here are 380+ great reads from 2025 handpicked just for you by NPR staffers and trusted critics.
apps.npr.org
November 24, 2025 at 3:38 PM
Hurray, @npr.org's "Books We Love" end-of-year book coverage is up! An annual joy. Here's the link to the whole thing: apps.npr.org/best-books/#... #Booksky #books #amreading #writerscommuniity
From Ann Packer's Some Bright Nowhere, among the most beautiful death and dying fiction: For a while he would be at risk of reducing her to a collection of excellent qualities. #SundaySentence #Booksky #deathstudies
November 23, 2025 at 4:27 PM
From Ann Packer's Some Bright Nowhere, among the most beautiful death and dying fiction: For a while he would be at risk of reducing her to a collection of excellent qualities. #SundaySentence #Booksky #deathstudies
Reposted by Barbara J. King
New from me: I talked to CDC staffers about the new vaccines and autism page. They said things like:
“The best way I can put it is it feels like we’re on a hijacked airplane.”
“I think people are starting to see that we can’t fulfill our mission here.”
“The best way I can put it is it feels like we’re on a hijacked airplane.”
“I think people are starting to see that we can’t fulfill our mission here.”
“Embarrassing” and “horrifying”: CDC workers describe the new vaccines and autism page
"The best way I can put it is it feels like we're on a hijacked airplane."
www.motherjones.com
November 21, 2025 at 5:41 PM
New from me: I talked to CDC staffers about the new vaccines and autism page. They said things like:
“The best way I can put it is it feels like we’re on a hijacked airplane.”
“I think people are starting to see that we can’t fulfill our mission here.”
“The best way I can put it is it feels like we’re on a hijacked airplane.”
“I think people are starting to see that we can’t fulfill our mission here.”
So good, by @cammy-06.bsky.social @sapiens.org: "Selkie stories often centered female autonomy. Female selkies choose their partners, return to the sea leaving families behind..Giving voice to women’s agency, these narratives shape reality, empowering human women" #Orkney #anthropology #multispecies
Connections and Conflicts With Seals in a Scottish Archipelago
An environmental archaeologist investigates deep-time, mythical, and contemporary relations between seals and Orkney Islanders.
www.sapiens.org
November 21, 2025 at 4:00 PM
So good, by @cammy-06.bsky.social @sapiens.org: "Selkie stories often centered female autonomy. Female selkies choose their partners, return to the sea leaving families behind..Giving voice to women’s agency, these narratives shape reality, empowering human women" #Orkney #anthropology #multispecies
"A strain of bird flu never seen in humans has infected a Washington state resident and left the person hospitalized, state health authorities said." He had a backyard "poultry" flock exposed to wild birds. #avianflu #birdflu #birds #publichealth
Patient hospitalized after first human case of bird flu linked to rare strain of virus
The patient is older and has underlying health conditions, according to Washington state health authorities.
www.usatoday.com
November 20, 2025 at 4:49 PM
"A strain of bird flu never seen in humans has infected a Washington state resident and left the person hospitalized, state health authorities said." He had a backyard "poultry" flock exposed to wild birds. #avianflu #birdflu #birds #publichealth
When did kissing, broadly defined, evolve? Which animals kiss? Did Neanderthals kiss? New research from @matildabrindle.bsky.social et al. #anthropology #primates #evolution #Neanderthal
First kiss dates back 21 million years, say scientists
A new study looks at how the mouth-on-mouth smooch came into being, and concludes that Neanderthals also kissed.
www.bbc.com
November 19, 2025 at 3:12 PM
When did kissing, broadly defined, evolve? Which animals kiss? Did Neanderthals kiss? New research from @matildabrindle.bsky.social et al. #anthropology #primates #evolution #Neanderthal
Reposted by Barbara J. King
tapping my sign, please health philanthropists, hustle this tech to market
www.stlpr.org/health-scien...
www.stlpr.org/health-scien...
WashU engineers make microwave-size bird flu detector amid outbreak
The researchers say the device could keep farmers from having to cull their flocks when they detect the contagious virus, which has affected more than 5 million birds in Missouri since 2022.
www.stlpr.org
November 18, 2025 at 8:23 PM
tapping my sign, please health philanthropists, hustle this tech to market
www.stlpr.org/health-scien...
www.stlpr.org/health-scien...
First known tool use in wolves: check out the video here! "A wolf was observed pulling a buoy attached to a crab trap to the shore to eat the bait from the trap in Heiltsuk territory of the central coast of British Columbia." #wolves #wildlife #animalcognition #ethology #anthropology
Video Reveals How Far Wolves Will Go to Steal a Meal
www.nytimes.com
November 18, 2025 at 2:54 PM
First known tool use in wolves: check out the video here! "A wolf was observed pulling a buoy attached to a crab trap to the shore to eat the bait from the trap in Heiltsuk territory of the central coast of British Columbia." #wolves #wildlife #animalcognition #ethology #anthropology
Reposted by Barbara J. King
"Quiet! Quiet, Piggy."
November 18, 2025 at 2:54 AM
"Quiet! Quiet, Piggy."
YES to this from @jeffvandermeer.bsky.social. There's *so* much fear projected around these coyotes- I see/hear it frequently, and compared to actual coyote behaviors it's way overblown, as if all pets and children in a mile radius will be coyote-disappeared within days. #coyotes #wildlife #nature
Personally, I think off-leash dogs whose owners who have zippo control over them are a much, much bigger problem than, say, urban coyotes.
November 17, 2025 at 3:43 PM
YES to this from @jeffvandermeer.bsky.social. There's *so* much fear projected around these coyotes- I see/hear it frequently, and compared to actual coyote behaviors it's way overblown, as if all pets and children in a mile radius will be coyote-disappeared within days. #coyotes #wildlife #nature
Reposted by Barbara J. King
A whale caught in crab nets is fighting for her life on the Oregon Coast near Yachats, with so many people rushing there before official help arrives at dawn. The whale is vocalizing distress, asking for help. It's devastating. We have to find a way to stop entanglements. Unconscionable.
November 16, 2025 at 12:06 PM
A whale caught in crab nets is fighting for her life on the Oregon Coast near Yachats, with so many people rushing there before official help arrives at dawn. The whale is vocalizing distress, asking for help. It's devastating. We have to find a way to stop entanglements. Unconscionable.
I learned about this May Sarton novel from #SundaySentence so here I pay it forward- fierce, fabulous, an elderly woman trapped in neglectful care and... not going gently.... "It is the innocent, not the guilty, who live in Hell, I heard myself say." #Booksky
November 16, 2025 at 5:11 PM
I learned about this May Sarton novel from #SundaySentence so here I pay it forward- fierce, fabulous, an elderly woman trapped in neglectful care and... not going gently.... "It is the innocent, not the guilty, who live in Hell, I heard myself say." #Booksky
Waking up to the news of Alice Wong's death, and very sad. She was, and remains, a force. Interview from early 2025: "To be a disabled oracle is someone who tells their truths in a hostile ableist world that does not believe you." #AliceWong #disability #disabilitycommunity #longCOVID
Disability advocate Alice Wong on resistance in the new year: ‘Life is a dumpster fire, but I’m not alone’
The activist, who received a 2024 MacArthur ‘genius’ grant, reflects on a moment that changed her life – and why she finds hope in sci-fi
www.theguardian.com
November 15, 2025 at 1:33 PM
Waking up to the news of Alice Wong's death, and very sad. She was, and remains, a force. Interview from early 2025: "To be a disabled oracle is someone who tells their truths in a hostile ableist world that does not believe you." #AliceWong #disability #disabilitycommunity #longCOVID
Maybe the explosion of diversity among dogs didn't really start in the Victorian era! "Now, a new analysis of canine skulls spanning the last 50,000 years suggests that even early dogs came in an array of shapes and sizes." #dogs #bioarchaeology #archaeology #anthropology
The Dogs of 8,000 B.C. Were Amazingly Diverse
www.nytimes.com
November 14, 2025 at 8:31 PM
Maybe the explosion of diversity among dogs didn't really start in the Victorian era! "Now, a new analysis of canine skulls spanning the last 50,000 years suggests that even early dogs came in an array of shapes and sizes." #dogs #bioarchaeology #archaeology #anthropology
Thanks to @markpetersphoto.bsky.social for this splendid book (text and images) on the wonderful personalities and emotions of cows. Yes my praise is on the back! #cows #animalsanctuary #plantbased #Booksky
November 13, 2025 at 2:39 PM
Thanks to @markpetersphoto.bsky.social for this splendid book (text and images) on the wonderful personalities and emotions of cows. Yes my praise is on the back! #cows #animalsanctuary #plantbased #Booksky
Where to start? With equation of "obesity" as poor health or the overarching inhumanity towards immigrants? "Foreigners seeking visas to live in the U.S. might be rejected if they have certain medical conditions, including diabetes or obesity" under administration directive. #health #immigration
Immigrants with obesity, diabetes and other health problems may be denied visas
New guidance from the Trump administration directs visa officers to consider common health ailments, including obesity and diabetes, when would-be immigrants seek to enter the U.S.
www.npr.org
November 12, 2025 at 4:46 PM
Where to start? With equation of "obesity" as poor health or the overarching inhumanity towards immigrants? "Foreigners seeking visas to live in the U.S. might be rejected if they have certain medical conditions, including diabetes or obesity" under administration directive. #health #immigration
Find here the link to live-stream Jane Goodall's memorial service today, 11am Eastern, in Washington's National Cathedral #JaneGoodall #NationalCathedral #chimpanzees #primates #anthropology #conservation
Cathedral to Host Funeral Service for Dr. Jane Goodall, DBE
Initially recognized for her groundbreaking work with chimpanzees, Dr. Goodall’s observation of tool-use in non-human animals is known as the moment that “redefined humankind.” This finding was follow...
cathedral.org
November 12, 2025 at 2:12 PM
Find here the link to live-stream Jane Goodall's memorial service today, 11am Eastern, in Washington's National Cathedral #JaneGoodall #NationalCathedral #chimpanzees #primates #anthropology #conservation
Clare Young, contemporary graphic designer and artist who works with collage - paper and fabric #WomensArt
November 11, 2025 at 6:58 PM
