In the first episode of this BBC radio series Dr Brandon Wheeler discusses what animal’s possess the inherent ability to deceive.
Everyone’s favourite spy has been serving up glamour, girls and the gadgets on the silver screen for 60 years. In this celebratory BBC radio seires, Emily Knight imagines which of our animal cousins would make the best 007? What qualities of espionage has Bond appropriated from animals?
Animal espionage is all around us in nature: from experts in disguise, camouflaging themselves to avoid detection, to masters of mimicry, pretending to be something they’re not. But true, deliberate deception – what biologists call ‘tactical deception’ – is surprisingly rare in the animal world. It requires high intelligence, social graces, and ‘theory of mind’ – an ability to conceive of yourself through the eyes of another.
‘Deception is thought to be largely unique to humans’.
Through guest Dr Brandon Wheeler we learn that there are some sneaky birds, and some crafty capuchins, who might just have mastered the art of deception. Do these animals know they are lying? Are they intentionally deceptive?