A few days ago, my 8-month old corgi discovered the bullfrogs in the pond where we’re staying in Vermont. At first, Alfie barked furiously at them. Then, he started sniffing and even nosing them. The frogs would swim away a few feet but then come right back. Sometimes, other frogs would come over to join the party.
By now, Alfie is obsessed with these frogs. He wades into the pond’s edges, wagging his would-be tail and play barking at these little critters.
And the frogs? They remain still, while occasionally letting out a full-throated croak. With their bulging eyes and nearly 180-degree field of vision, they certainly notice Alfie’s every movement as he approaches. But they don’t seem to mind. To my untrained eye, they even appear to enjoy his visits. And I wonder, is it possible for a dog and a frog to play together?
Cross-species encounters are among the world’s great marvels. Of course, not all are so friendly. But every so often, a human encounter with another species, even for a few seconds, can be life-changing. There’s even a name for this transformative experience of looking into the eyes of an animal with fur or feathers and seeing the animal look back: eye-to-eye epiphany. We tell some of these stories in this week’s show "Eye-To-Eye Animal Encounters," and examine the deeper implications about our relationship with the nonhuman world.
—Steve