Check out if you are intrigued by human/nature interactions or just enjoy wildlife stories.
I got really excited for this one to come out, not only because I enjoy Mary Roaches approachable, quirky writing style, but also because I am just really keen on wildlife stories. (If you couldn’t already tell from some of my other posts such as Owls of the Eastern Ice by Jonathan C. Slaght or The Falcon Thief by Joshua Hammer)
This one is different in that it is a study of different animal’s around the world, not just one species or even order. Roach researches by getting out into the field for some first hand experience. Which gives the book her own unique point of view as well as those of the specialists she encounters. It makes the reader consider that sometimes humans create problems not just by encroaching on wildlife’s territory but by unknowingly making it worse. And that solutions that could be so simple end up extremely complicated and frustrating because humans are lazy, or dirty, or cheap, or concerned with image, or many other things. Conflicts highlighted include flower eating pigeons and crows, thieving macaques, breaking-and-entering bears, even murdering trees (yes I know, not an animal) just to name a few.
If you decide to try this one out expect to giggle quite a few times, and to walk away with more understanding of the difficult situations humans have caused by just being human. I rate this one as: thoroughly enjoyed.
