One measure of animal consciousness, if not sentience, is their perspective on death. Take the Virginia opossum and its defense tactic to play dead. It requires an understanding of death, and also knowing how predators apprehend death in order to pull of the ruse. These may appear to be simple concepts, yet Susana Monsó takes a deep dive into their fundamental philosophy with a basis in the counterintuitive evolutionary advantages of thanatosis and how it illuminates the complexities of these tiny lives. In a similar vein, there are the thorny questions of, “Do Cats Speak? Of Course. Do They Have Language? Not Exactly….” Cats have scores of vocalizations by which they order around humans, What Professor Susanne Schotz discovered is that it’s not what cats are saying, but how they’re saying it. For one’s own amusement and edification, Ruth Schuster provides video examples of feline communication. We here at The Anomalist also recommend visiting the catswhoyell subreddit for further examples of varying scientific merit. (CS)– Delivered by Feed43 serviceTHE ANOMALIST