Photo Album
Photo by Linda Carpenter
Do you think I'm left footed?
Do you want to guess again whether I'm left footed?
Arielle transmits a basic message. Her gesture means: "Please pick me up!"
She makes herself understood. If her message is misunderstood, or if the response is too slow, she vocalizes repeatedly until she gets her way. By chanting "Come up! Come up! Come up!" or "Want up! Want up! Want up!" she annoys her companion human and succeeds at obtaining her goal.
Arielle composed the sentiment expressed on her own ... click "play" to hear her words.
If, after hearing her speech, you are unsure of what Arielle said, the transcription and explanation appear in a yellow box near the bottom of this page.
One of Arielle's favorite places is the playground at a nearby park. She enjoys climbing up and down over the ladder upon which she stands. She often explores the adjacent bridge and the climbing towers too.
She is especially fond of little children, and she investigates anyone who might be doing something interesting near her. From time to time, Arielle perches upon a person's arm if he or she expresses interest in her. She has made a great number of friends along our walks over nineteen years.
Arielle said, "He loves me."
Her words are not taught because she is female and because her owner would not refer to her as "he." This is an example of a macaw using words in an appropriate fashion. Importantly, she expresses a concept of self when she freely refers to herself as "me." Arielle has a "Theory of Mind;" she is one of the few nonhuman animals exhibiting consciousness through speech. Note than in addition to the other complexities, she has correctly adjusted the verb form to match the subject "he."
If one contends that Arielle does not understand what she says, then how does one explain her statement?
Arielle's First Egg
(January 2012, Arielle ~20+ yrs.)
Below are two pictures from the book Another Kind of Mind
