If we could talk to the animals, would they empathize?

Marc Bekoff, professor of Biology at the University of Colorado, Boulder, is in Australia to give a series of public talks on the emotional lives of animals.

Bekoff says scientists have moved on from the presumption that the way animals act is the result of programmed behaviour.

"It's not a question of if they have emotions but why they have evolved," he says.

Animals also have personalities, he says.

Bekoff says research has shown that elephants can experience grief, mice feel empathy, rats get excited about playing with a friend, sharks get mad and koalas have likes and dislikes.

Crocodile mums care for their kids, squid can be shy, fish can have addictive personalities and even coyotes get the blues.

"There are shy animals, bold animals, risk-takers ... some animals wake up in the morning depressed and some wake up raring to go," he says.

Bekoff says there is even evidence that animals possess a morality and have a unique "point of view on the world", he says.

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For more animal-esque music, news, and issues, tune in to Kitty Mowmow's Animal Expo online at www.thecapstone.ua.edu, Sunday nights 8-10 central.