chatted with van der Wal about the complex relationships some humans form with wildlife—and what we can do to protect them. This interview has been edited for clarity and length.Q: How do humans use birds to find honey?Our main field site is in northern Mozambique, where people still depend on wild honey as a source of income.
Once it arrives, the bird responds with a chattering call that it uses only in that context. It flies from tree to tree, urging the person to follow. While the bird is chattering, the human will continue making a sound—they go “brrr-hm!” It’s really a conversation between these two species that is interconnected and quite intimate.
When the bird reaches a bees’ nest, it falls quiet. The honey hunter will then normally subdue the bees using smoke and use an ax or a machete to get out the honey. After that, the honeyguide feeds on the beeswax that’s left behind—and the bee larvae as well. Honeyguides can rarely access these resources on their own, so cooperating with humans is really helpful for them. The only other active example we know of are with dolphins corralling schools of fish for people in Brazil and Myanmar.
But whatever interventions we use need to be designed together with the help of participating communities. We need to make sure these are things they themselves want and need. These practices are beneficial to both the human and the wildlife. But beyond that, studying these examples can give insights into the diverse ways that our ancestors interacted with the natural world in the past. There’s so much indigenous, ecological, and cultural knowledge that we need to keep for future generations.
There’s always been this big gap between conservation managers and the local communities they’re serving, and a topic like this could actually help close that gap. It is such a precious cultural heritage that I think needs to be at least documented, if not protected, for future generations.