The Inimitable Tiff

In our last episode of Radiolab, Animal Minds, we asked whether it was possible for one animal to know what is going on in another animal’s mind. For us, it was a really about whether we, as humans, can really share a meaningful moment with an animal. In this podcast, we take that question a step further. Can an animal know what’s in our heads so well that they can manipulate and deceive us? To answer that question, reporter Ben Calhoun took us back to the 1960s to tell the story of a showdown between zookeeper Jerry Stones and a wily orangutan named Fu Manchu. Then, to help us get a grip on the science behind animals and deception, Ben talks to primatologist and orangutan expert Rob Shumaker of the Great Ape Trust.

A friend of mine is an architect for a firm specializing in exhibits and enclosures for zoos and such. About 5 years ago this friend told me this *exact story* from the point of view of the zoo and enclosure designers, which they learned when the zoo sought to verify the enclosure specifications were up to snuff. Same zoo, same story, same awesome outcome.

It remains my favorite party anecdote, now even more so.

(I hopped around my room adding details out loud as the show played, smiling like an idiot and trying to impress my sleeping dog.)