Michael's Comments:"In her latest book, Lyanda Lynn Haupt seeks to turn around our usually negative impressions of urban animals and see them as neighbors and visitors worthy of our attention. 'The Urban Bestiary: Encountering the Everyday Wild' is a defense of animals that essentially share our homes with us: from coyotes and moles and raccoons to pigeons and crows and owls (as Haupt describes them, The Furred and The Feathered). Each chapter shares general natural history, worldly mythology, and encourages us to be kind to our 'gracious co-inhabitants.'...Haupt drives home that urban animals are simply doing what is natural: being animals."
Publisher CommentsFrom the bestselling author of Crow Planet, a compelling journey into the secret lives of the wild animals at our back door.
In The Urban Bestiary , acclaimed nature writer Lyanda Lynn Haupt journeys into the heart of the everyday wild, where coyotes, raccoons, chickens, hawks, and humans live in closer proximity than ever before. Haupt's observations bring compelling new questions to light: Whose "home" is this? Where does the wild end and the city begin? And what difference does it make to us as humans living our everyday lives? In this wholly original blend of science, story, myth, and memoir, Haupt draws us into the secret world of the wild creatures that dwell among us in our urban neighborhoods, whether we are aware of them or not. With beautiful illustrations and practical sidebars on everything from animal tracking to opossum removal, The Urban Bestiary is a lyrical book that awakens wonder, delight, and respect for the urban wild, and our place within it.
Review"Animals are all around us, especially the most interesting birds of all that live with us. We can all watch them and enjoy and learn. Why go to South America and search for a quetzal sitting in a tree? Want to see real birds? Just put up a bird box and spread some seeds and watch sparrows in your back yard. The Urban Bestiary is a great read. It will get folks out there having fun." Bernd Heinrich, author of Mind of the Raven and Life Everlasting
Review"The challenge of our time is the movement from rural villages to big cities where nature seems gone. Haupt's brilliant book restores nature in our lives and uplifts that relationship with stories full of wonder, awe and love." David Suzuki, author of The Sacred Balance: Rediscovering Our Place in Nature
About the AuthorLyanda Lynn Haupt has created and directed educational programs for Seattle Audubon, worked in raptor rehabilitation in Vermont, and is a seabird researcher for the Fish and Wildlife Service in the remote tropical Pacific. She is the author of Crow Planet, Pilgrim on the Great Bird Continent, and Rare Encounters with Ordinary Birds (winner of the 2002 Washington State Book Award). Her writing has appeared in Image, Open Spaces, Wild Earth, Conservation Biology Journal, Birdwatcher's Digest, and the Prairie Naturalist . Winner of the 2010 Sigurd F. Olson Nature Writing Award, she lives in West Seattle with her husband and daughter.
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