Becoming Wild: How Animal Cultures Raises Families, Creates Beauty and Achieve Peace by C. Safina

 

Summary (Amazon): Some believe that culture is strictly a human phenomenon. But this book reveals cultures of other-than-human beings in some of Earth’s remaining wild places. It shows how if you’re a sperm whale, a scarlet macaw, or a chimpanzee, you too come to understand yourself as an individual within a particular community that does things in specific ways, that has traditions. Alongside genes, culture is a second form of inheritance, passed through generations as pools of learned knowledge. As situations change, social learning―culture―allows behaviors to adjust much faster than genes can adapt.

Becoming Wild brings readers into intimate proximity with various nonhuman individuals in their free-living communities. It presents a revelatory account of how animals function beyond our usual view. Safina shows that for non-humans and humans alike, culture comprises the answers to the question, “How do we live here?” It unites individuals within a group identity. But cultural groups often seek to avoid, or even be hostile toward, other factions. By showing that this is true across species, Safina illuminates why human cultural tensions remain maddeningly intractable despite the arbitrariness of many of our differences. Becoming Wild takes readers behind the curtain of life on Earth, to witness from a new vantage point the most world-saving of perceptions: how we are all connected.

Reviews: 

Washington Post: https://www.washingtonpost.com/outlook/a-radically-different-view-of-animal-cultures/2020/05/14/349209d4-742d-11ea-87da-77a8136c1a6d_story.html

NPR: https://www.npr.org/2020/04/15/834307724/in-becoming-wild-carl-safina-takes-us-inside-the-cultures-of-animals

Author's Website: https://www.carlsafina.org/

(NYTimes)

Videos and Interviews:

1. TNS: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bOWyKjDZofw

2. Saw Mill River Audubon Interview: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4lk56iPAehA

3. Audubon Everglades: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QkEX_1oyNqg

Discussion Questions 

(IOE.org)

The Soul of an Octopus by Sy Montgomery

Summary and Reviews: (From the Publisher):

Finalist for the National Book Award for Nonfiction * New York Times Bestseller * Starred Booklist and Library Journal Editors’ Spring Pick * A Huffington Post Notable Nonfiction Book of the Year * One of the Best Books of the Month on Goodreads * Library Journal Best Sci-Tech Book of the Year * An American Library Association Notable Book of the Year

“Sy Montgomery’s The Soul of an Octopus does for the creature what Helen Macdonald’s H Is for Hawk did for raptors.” —New Statesman, UK

“One of the best science books of the year.” —Science Friday, NPR

Another New York Times bestseller from the author of The Good Good Pig, this “fascinating…touching…informative…entertaining” (Daily Beast) book explores the emotional and physical world of the octopus—a surprisingly complex, intelligent, and spirited creature—and the remarkable connections it makes with humans.

In pursuit of the wild, solitary, predatory octopus, popular naturalist Sy Montgomery has practiced true immersion journalism. From New England aquarium tanks to the reefs of French Polynesia and the Gulf of Mexico, she has befriended octopuses with strikingly different personalities—gentle Athena, assertive Octavia, curious Kali, and joyful Karma. Each creature shows her cleverness in myriad ways: escaping enclosures like an orangutan; jetting water to bounce balls; and endlessly tricking companions with multiple “sleights of hand” to get food.

Scientists have only recently accepted the intelligence of dogs, birds, and chimpanzees but now are watching octopuses solve problems and are trying to decipher the meaning of the animal’s color-changing techniques. With her “joyful passion for these intelligent and fascinating creatures” (Library Journal Editors’ Spring Pick), Montgomery chronicles the growing appreciation of this mollusk as she tells a unique love story. By turns funny, entertaining, touching, and profound, The Soul of an Octopus reveals what octopuses can teach us about the meeting of two very different minds.

Author's Site: http://symontgomery.com/soul-of-an-octopus/

Film on Netflix: My Octopus Teacher: https://www.netflix.com/in/title/81045007

Interviews:

1. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nz7oSf8EQ6o

2. Ted Talk: Do Animals Think and Feel: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aI4II5AbjPA

3. https://tinhouse.com/soul-naturalist-interview-sy-montgomery/

Discussion Questions will come from this Reading Group Guide:

Reading Group Guide: http://www.symontgomery.com/wp-content/media/soul-of-an-octopus-reading-group-guide.pdf?_ga=2.212988816.541194412.1636055565-1698158523.1636055565

 

An Elephant in my Kitchen by Françoise Malby-Anthony

 

Summary (modified from Amazon): Sequel to The Elephant Whisperer, which was written by Lawrence Anthony, in this book, his wife Françoise writes about her experiences after she has to carry on after his death. She never expected to find herself responsible for a herd of elephants with a troubled past. A chic Parisienne, she with Lawrence founded a game reserve but after his death, Françoise faced the daunting responsibility of running Thula Thula without him. Poachers attacked their rhinos, their security team wouldn’t take orders from a woman and the authorities were threatening to cull their beloved elephant family. On top of that, the herd’s feisty new matriarch Frankie didn’t like her.

In this heart-warming and moving book, Françoise describes how she fought to protect the herd and to make her dream of building a wildlife rescue centre a reality. She found herself caring for a lost baby elephant who turned up at her house, and offering refuge to traumatized orphaned rhinos, and a hippo called Charlie who was scared of water.

(https://www.anelephantinmykitchen.com/the-story)

Reviews:

1. http://www.poachingfacts.com/resources/book-reviews/an-elephant-in-my-kitchen-review/

2. Kirkus Reviews: https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/francoise-malby-anthony/an-elephant-in-my-kitchen/

Website for the book: https://www.anelephantinmykitchen.com/

One of the Authors' Websites: http://www.katjawillemsen.com/home.html

(https://www.thulathula.com/south-african-safari/)

Thula Thula Game Preserve: https://www.thulathula.com/

Groups to support:

1. South African Conservation Fund: https://www.saconservation.fund

2. Four Paws International: https://www.four-paws.org/

3. My Baby Rhinos - Children Book: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-0NKp7SyhKA; https://www.facebook.com/mybabyrhinos/

4.Elephant Orphanage in Kenya, which Cheryl shared: https://www.sheldrickwildlifetrust.org/

Other:

1. African Lullaby: Thula Baba: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5cLFlKcXmSk

2. Poaching Rhinos Article: https://www.reuters.com/world/africa/rhino-poachers-are-back-after-south-africa-eases-lockdown-restrictions-2021-05-03/

Interviews:

1. From Thula Thula Wildlife Reserve: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8_-Sa826KwA

2. https://anglophone-direct.com/an-elephant-in-my-kitchen/

3. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7a8F1znHP3c

Videos:

1. Video with Lawrence: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UTtcz8Vuor0

Discussion Questions: (John will be leading the discussion.)

(Reader's Digest)

Eager: The Surprising, Secret Life of Beavers and Why They Matter by Ben Goldfarb

Summary (Amazon): In Eager, environmental journalist Ben Goldfarb reveals that our modern idea of what a healthy landscape looks like and how it functions is wrong, distorted by the fur trade that once trapped out millions of beavers from North America’s lakes and rivers. The consequences of losing beavers were profound: streams eroded, wetlands dried up, and species from salmon to swans lost vital habitat. Today, a growing coalition of “Beaver Believers”—including scientists, ranchers, and passionate citizens—recognizes that ecosystems with beavers are far healthier, for humans and non-humans alike, than those without them. From the Nevada deserts to the Scottish highlands, Believers are now hard at work restoring these industrious rodents to their former haunts. Eager is a powerful story about one of the world’s most influential species, how North America was colonized, how our landscapes have changed over the centuries, and how beavers can help us fight drought, flooding, wildfire, extinction, and the ravages of climate change. Ultimately, it’s about how we can learn to coexist, harmoniously and even beneficially, with our fellow travelers on this planet.

Reviews:
Kirkus Review: https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/ben-goldfarb/eager-goldfarb/

Christian Science Monitor: https://www.csmonitor.com/Books/Book-Reviews/2018/0801/Eager-is-a-passionate-captivating-love-letter-to-the-beaver

Washington Post: https://www.washingtonpost.com/outlook/how-beavers-can-save-the-world-from-environmental-ruin/2018/07/26/7d7f9caa-53c9-11e8-a551-5b648abe29ef_story.html

(NY Times) 

Videos:
Overview: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PhdfRWuqdSw

Author's Website: http://bengoldfarb.com/

Interesting Articles:
1. From 1974, New York Times: https://www.nytimes.com/1974/12/15/archives/lets-hear-it-for-the-eager-beaver-once-near-doom-in-new-york-this.html

2. Outside: https://www.outsideonline.com/2326991/ben-goldfarb-eager

Beaver Information and Sites:

1. Agate Fossil Beds National Monument in Nebraska: https://www.nps.gov/agfo/index.htm

2. Tulalip Tribes Natural Resources: Beaver: https://nr.tulaliptribes.com/Programs/Wildlife/Beaver

3. Worth a Dam: Heidi Perryman's site: https://www.martinezbeavers.org/wordpress/tag/heidi-perryman/ ("Because the beaver isn't just an animal, it's an ecosystem"

(https://www.fossilfreeway.net/agate.php)

Discussion Questions: (Donna will be leading the discussion and please find her questions below)

1.      Margaret Atwood states that “Canada was built on dead beavers.”  How does the fur trade affect U.S. history?  How did it affect Native Americans?  Talk about some of the players in this saga, from pilgrims, Lewis and Clark, Roosevelt, Hudson Bay Co. etc.

2.     The subtitle “surprising, secret life of beavers” suggests that we might learn some amazing new facts about the natural history of these rodents.  Is this the case?   How might you “subtitle” the book? 

3.     The beaver believers include a host of interesting, passionate characters from hydrogeologists, scientists, naturalists, ranchers, native Americans etc.  Discuss your favorite beaver story.

4.     Speaking of characters, Doug Smith is the leading authority on wolf restoration, and his PhD was on beaver behavior. In the chapter “Wolftopia”, the author states that scientists are trying to answer the question “Which keystone mammal did Yellowstone miss more, the apex predator or the hydraulic engineer?” Discuss the relationship between the wolves, elk, beaver, and streams.

5.     “Eager” should be required reading for ANYONE interested in wildlife and watershed management and restoration.  Let’s talk about the many, many benefits of the wetlands created by beavers.

6.     Beaver believers face the same problem many environmentalists face attempting to persuade disbelievers of facts regarding climate change, renewable energies, glyphosate and pesticide dangers, etc.  (asymmetric burden of proof).  How can we get better at combatting this problem?

7.     The sheer numbers of beavers slaughtered over the centuries up through modern times makes me think that if it weren’t for the beaver believers, they’d be gone for good.  Are you hopeful or woeful for their future?

8.     Mr. Goldfarb definitely has a sense of humor.  Did you enjoy his writing style?  Can you recall a favorite passage, incident, metaphor, or word that made you smile?

9.     What a perfect book this was for us to read after Sand County Almanac.  I suspect that Leopold would agree that the beaver is “an animal that doubles as an ecosystem”. What would a conversation between Goldfarb and Leopold sound like?  Refer to page 243:

“the best thing we can do for many landscapes is to turn their salvation over to a mammal whose ecological vision diverges wildly from our own.”

Palaeocastor