Wild Roots: A Series
Episode Two
The Languages of Life
Featuring naturalist and linguist Jeff Reed, The Languages of Life is a story of sound and his journey to understand it. The dawn chorus, the soundscape, animal language—call it what you will—but there is a symphony, thousands of notes in unison, all around us. The Languages of Life moves us to reconnect with this precious ‘sonic culture’, of which we are a part, and ask the difficult question: Have we taken it for granted? The harmony thins with each passing year. The time to listen and to act is now.
Sit. Listen.
To the howl of the wolf. The song of the Nuthatch. The drumming of a Grouse…The Languages of Life.
Wild Roots: A Series
Episode Two
The Languages of Life
Featuring naturalist and linguist Jeff Reed, The Languages of Life is a story of sound and his journey to understand it. The dawn chorus, the soundscape, animal language—call it what you will—but there is a symphony, thousands of notes in unison, all around us. The Languages of Life moves us to reconnect with this precious ‘sonic culture’, of which we are a part, and ask the difficult question: Have we taken it for granted? The harmony thins with each passing year. The time to listen and to act is now.
Sit. Listen.
To the howl of the wolf. The song of the Nuthatch. The drumming of a Grouse…The Languages of Life.
Join The Journey
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The Series
Wild Roots: A Journey to Rediscovering the Wisdom of the Wilds is a series of short films
exploring the deep, timeless connections between humans and the natural world, and our rediscovery of lost wisdoms from wild places.
Who is Jeff Reed?
Decoding the Language of the Wild
Dr Jeffrey Reed lives his life as a feral linguist, inventing conservation tech in the mountains of Montana. With a doctorate in computational linguistics focused on decoding ancient languages, Reed spent three decades in the world of Silicon Valley building machines that replicate human language before turning his attention to the living voices of the wild—from wolf howls to elk bugles.
He co-founded The Cry Wolf Project, the world’s largest database of wild wolf vocalizations, and founded Grizzly Systems, pioneers of low-cost technology for wildlife research and remote security monitoring. A lifelong outdoorsman and conservation advocate, Reed co-founded the Wild Livelihoods Business Coalition, a collaborative effort to protect Montana’s last wild places while sustaining its local economies.
His forthcoming book, Howl: What Yellowstone’s Wolves Reveal About Language, Dogs, and Our Wild Selves (Little, Brown) explores the science and soul of wolf communication.
He lives with his amazing pack, his wife, Robin, and three talkative dogs, Ozzie, Huck, and Shiloh, on their farm in southwest Montana.
His work has been featured by HBO, TED, Nvidia, PBS News Hour, NPR, Washington Post, Inc Magazine, Animal Planet, SFGate, Montana Outlaw, Colossal Biosciences (of dire wolf fame), Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History, and others. For three years, Dr. Jeffrey Reed listened to a one-eyed wolf named 907. What he recorded helped become the world’s largest database of wild wolf vocalizations. His book Howl (Little, Brown) asks the question her voice raised: what are wolves actually saying? And what does it reveal about language, dogs, and our wild selves.
A Wolf Connection Production
Wolf Connection is the global innovator in facilitating the restorative human-animal relationship with a unique focus on Wolf Therapy®. We are a 501c3 nonprofit organization and wolf sanctuary, empowering all beings to believe in their worthiness, their inner capacity for personal growth, and the power of the pack.
Wolf Connection is the global innovator in facilitating the restorative human-animal relationship with a unique focus on Wolf Therapy®. We are a 501c3 nonprofit organization and wolf sanctuary, empowering all beings to believe in their worthiness, their inner capacity for personal growth, and the power of the pack.
A Partnership with Jacques Marie Mage
Supported through the patronage of Jacques Marie Mage
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