Ethologist

/ɛˈθɒlədʒɪst/ noun

Definition

A scientist who studies animal behavior and how animals naturally act in their environments.

Etymology

From Greek ēthos (character, nature) + -logia (study of) + -ist (one who practices). The field professionalized in the 1930s with pioneers like Konrad Lorenz and Niko Tinbergen.

Kelly Says

Three ethologists—Lorenz, Tinbergen, and von Frisch—won the Nobel Prize for discoveries like how bees dance to communicate location of flowers, showing animal communication is far more sophisticated than we thought.

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