Fox Talk: How Some Very Special Animals Helped Scientists Understand Communication by LE Carmichael Book Cover

Fox Talk: How Some Very Special Animals Helped Scientists Understand Communication

Grade 4+
Released in 2015
Reading Level:

When you talk to a dog, does the dog talk back?

Many people think so. But for a long time, scientists didn’t know how our furry friends learned to communicate with people.

Luckily, Russian scientist Dmitri Belyaev had a plan. If he could tame wild red foxes, he could learn how dogs first came from wolves. By studying the way these foxes changed during domestication, the mystery of communication would be solved at a last.

More than 50 years after the experiment began, Belyaev’s foxes have become so tame, you can have one as a pet! Packed with eye-popping photos and first-hand research, Fox Talk reveals the story of these amazing animals… and everything they’ve taught us about wolves, dogs, and communication.

Note: Fox Talk has gone out of print, but used copies may still be available online.


Reviews

  The book is full of information, all told in a child-friendly way... highly recommended as an excellent introduction to communication, inheritance, and the power of DNA.  
— Helen Mason, Resource Links
  Fox Talk is a great introduction of recent discoveries in domesticated behavior of canids.  
— Anna Kukekova, fox researcher and PhD
  For kids who love animals, and want to know more about what makes wild animals wild, and pets pets - and about people's relationships with both - this book is a winner!  
— Helaine Becker, award-winning author
  This is exactly the kind of book I love to read. It will appeal to anyone who wants to understand how and why.  
— Joan Marie Galat

Awards