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nationalgeographic t1_j9lkm8h wrote

Reply to comment by ___Teacher in AskScience AMA Series: I'm Dr. Christine Wilkinson, National Geographic Explorer, carnivore ecologist, human-wildlife interactions specialist, and performer. Want to know why a coyote wanders through your city? What happens when hyenas chew your tires during research? How to get into SciComm? AMA! by AskScienceModerator

I haven't heard of nor can I endorse incorporating oneself into a hyena clan, but I do think that there's evidence social animals (particularly social mammals) are more amenable to forming some type of connection with humans. We, also as social mammals, have brains that work similarly to other social mammals- could be a factor.

As far as body language- some researchers study this for entire careers depending on the study species. I mean, take a look at what Dr. Tom Seeley did with decoding honeybee body language and social behavior- absolutely amazing!

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