Controversy
Interspecies communication is a field of considerable debate as there is no concrete definition of what constitutes communication. Does it involve a full comprehension of language or are knowing simple words enough? For instance, while it’s questionable that Koko really understands the English language, is she still communicating because she knows how to sign for things she wants? Is this the same as a dog learning to bark for food? It is also important to make a distinction between this and signaling. Signaling implies a tacit exchange of information usually in the forms of color, odor, and gesture but the definition is certainly not limited to this interpretation. The species listed in this paradigm may not be representative of all interspecies communication simply because they are all vertebrates and of certain social interaction. It has been documented that bacteria, pathogens, plants, and fungi engage in transfers of information. There is no reason why the categories stated in this article are more accurate than other theories and so leaves open the question of semantics.
Another example of human-animal interaction is animal telepathy, where human psychics claim to communicate with animals by reading their minds. There is no scientific evidence supporting these claims.
Read more about this topic: Interspecies Communication
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