TIR Library Newsletter: Our Book Recommendation
In its first library newsletter of 2025, the Foundation for the Animal in the Law (TIR) again presents selected new additions such as books, articles and films on animal-related topics. The current issue focuses on the book ‘The Sounds of Life - The Hidden World of Animals and Plants’, which brings the apparent silence of living organisms to life.
April 4, 2025
Thanks to so-called passive acoustic monitoring (PAM), which collects data from three-dimensional space, non-human sounds from living organisms can be recorded in places that are difficult to access. This non-invasive method is very precise, can be used day and night and does not disturb or influence the animals in their activities. It therefore enables real documentation of animal life from a distance, whereas previous observations could only take place on site and at certain times. The sounds recorded can also be used to protect endangered species. On the Atlantic and Pacific coasts of North America, bioacoustic-based monitoring systems are currently being used to determine the position of whales. Ships are even instructed to slow down and a fishing stop is ordered. Acoustic recordings can also serve as deterrent alarm signals. Low-frequency signals, for example, reduce the bycatch of sea turtles, as the animals stay away from the nets due to the corresponding vibrations. Climate change is known to have a significant impact on the oceans, with corals in particular suffering from the higher water temperatures. As a result, this also leads to a life-threatening situation for people, especially in terms of coastal protection. With the help of so-called playbacks and the playing of sounds from intact reefs, fish larvae could be reintroduced to degenerated reefs and a complete die-off prevented.
Another important aim of the book is to raise awareness of the effects of noise pollution on animals and plants.
While the book is scientific at its core, providing clear explanations of bioacoustics, ecoacoustics, infrasound impulses and other similar concepts, it is also poetic and touching with its stories. This is particularly evident in the identification or decoding of communication characteristics with our fellow creatures.
However, the new technologies also harbour the risk that further urgent measures to protect the animals and their habitat will not be implemented, even though they are urgently needed. Instead of just sending out alarm signals to warn sea turtles of nets, the use of trawl nets should be banned and fishing generally reduced. It is also questionable whether these new infrastructures will effectively change our relationship with the earth and all living creatures. It would be desirable for people to develop a better understanding of nature and their fellow creatures through this new way of listening. It is also important that precautions are taken to ensure that digital technology is not misused or exploited, which ultimately harms animals and plants. Technology alone will not help us, writes author Karen Bakker, and argues in favour of more species and climate protection.
Karen Bakker (1971-2023) studied literature and linguistics and completed her doctorate at Oxford University. She was a professor at the University of British Columbia and received numerous honours during her career, including scholarships from Stanford and Harvard University. The work ‘The Sounds of Life - The Hidden World of Animals and Plants’ is available in bookshops or can be viewed by appointment during opening hours in the TIR library, where reading and workstations are available.
Further information:
- Article (in German): Talking Turtles - Junger Forscher entdeckt: Schildkröten können sprechen by Irène Dietschi
- Book: Animals: Art, Science and Sound by Malini Roy, Cam Sharp Jones, Cheryl Tipp Cheryl, David Attenborough (introduction)
- Book (in German): Im Gespräch mit wilden Pferden by Marc Lubetzki
- Article: Common Evolutionary Origin of Acoustic Communication in Choanate Vertebrates by Gabriel Jorgewich-Cohen, William Simon Townsend et al., (Nature Communications (2022) 13: 6089)
- Information OceanCare: Underwater Noise Pollution
No noise: whale songs

Book cover: The Sounds of Life
