Nature Season 1, Episode 9

The Discovery of Animal Behavior: In Praise of God · PBS · Sunday, December 5

Theologians and clerics in the 17th and 18th centuries were among the first to study animal behavior. John Ray began in the 1600's to catalog "the work of the Creation," starting with plants and later including birds. Sir Francis Willoughby continued this work. Rev. Gilbert White studied bird songs, Charlie LeRoy experimented with wolves and deer, and Charles Waterton wrote about jungle animals.