Human-animal communication in captive species: Dogs, horses, and whales

Author

Mackenzie K. Kelley, James Madison UniversityFollow

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 License.

Date of Graduation

Spring 2015

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Bachelor of Arts (BA)

Department

School of Writing, Rhetoric, and Technical Communication

Advisor(s)

Shelley Aley

Abstract

My hopes for this project are to collect and analyze the current research in the field of animal communication. In the first part, my goal is to define animal communication, specifically within human contexts. I will look at how the history of humans and certain species have intertwined to result in their modern day relationships. I will also explain why we should care about animal communication. In the second part, I will look at three specific species I have chosen to study: dogs, horses, and cetaceans. I will provide a brief history of our roles as humans in the evolution of their contemporary domestic counterparts, as well as make a few comparisons to their wild counterparts. Mainly, I want to compare the wild and the domesticated in order to illustrate the immense effect human communication has had on their development. Finally, I hope to make some of my own conclusions on what the future could hold for whale and dolphin species, as well as any other species held in human captivity.

Recommended Citation

Kelley, Mackenzie K., "Human-animal communication in captive species: Dogs, horses, and whales" (2015). Senior Honors Projects, 2010-2019. 18.
https://commons.lib.jmu.edu/honors201019/18