Early love of his grandparents' natural world marked Tecumseh Fitch for life. Growing up in Pennsylvania (USA) he was surrounded by forests and wildlife and had one goal: becoming a scientist. Today, Fitch is a cognitive biologist in Vienna and studies how animals communicate and what they think. He records animal calls from many species, and analyses them on computers, to gain insight into how they learn and think.

The researcher also studies the evolution of music, and argues that music evolved in early humans to create lasting social bonds in groups. His research contributes to a better understanding of the evolution of humans and animals, and of their common evolutionary roots.