The Carnivore Way
Coexisting with and Conserving North America's Predators
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- 6,49 €
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- 6,49 €
Beschreibung des Verlags
What would it be like to live in a world with no predators roaming our landscapes? Would their elimination, which humans have sought with ever greater urgency in recent times, bring about a pastoral, peaceful human civilization? Or in fact is their existence critical to our own, and do we need to be doing more to assure their health and the health of the landscapes they need to thrive? In The Carnivore Way, Cristina Eisenberg argues compellingly for the necessity of top predators in large, undisturbed landscapes, and how a continental-long corridor—a “carnivore way”—provides the room they need to roam and connected landscapes that allow them to disperse. Eisenberg follows the footsteps of six large carnivores—wolves, grizzly bears, lynx, jaguars, wolverines, and cougars—on a 7,500-mile wildlife corridor from Alaska to Mexico along the Rocky Mountains. Backed by robust science, she shows how their well-being is a critical factor in sustaining healthy landscapes and how it is possible for humans and large carnivores to coexist peacefully and even to thrive. University students in natural resource science programs, resource managers, conservation organizations, and anyone curious about carnivore ecology and management in a changing world will find a thoughtful guide to large carnivore conservation that dispels long-held myths about their ecology and contributions to healthy, resilient landscapes.
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Using personal anecdotes of encounters with North American predators, supplemented by the results of a number of studies, Eisenberg (The Wolf's Tooth) makes a case for the place of carnivores in the wild. She points out their usefulness in thinning herds of deer and elk that destroy woods and gardens, as well as removing the weak and sick, thus improving the health of the remaining animals. Chapters on the habits of individual species grizzlies, cougars, wolves, lynxes, wolverines, and jaguars introduce readers to their lives, and she shows how projects at Yellowstone and Denali National Parks demonstrate the feasibility of safely managing the wolf and grizzly populations. Given the potential threat to humans, some will not appreciate Eisenberg's pro-predator argument. Similarly, her suggestion that one should "speak to bears politely" might not work as well as her admonition to carry pepper spray. Nevertheless, her moral is that people need to "make better choices about how they interact with wildlife." While her section on ranchers seeking ways to better manage livestock could use some expansion, Eisenberg presents interesting information and her goals are laudable, but it remains an uphill battle to change the opinions of those unhappy about sharing their space with predators.
