Did you know that a lack of danger is hazardous to the world? It’s true, according to this intriguing and informative book found in the stacks called Where the Wild Things Were: Life, Death, and Ecological Wreckage in a Land of Vanishing Predators. Located on the fourth floor of our library in the stacks at QL758 .S746 2008, this gem offers a provocative new look at the world’s top predators, and the environmental consequences triggered by their disappearance as a result of the superpredators we call humans.
Read about the cougars that leave Zion, a national park in Utah with increased human activity, resulting in thriving mule deer that over forage the land. Or the Shenandoah Mountains in Virginia, where fencing deer out caused a population boom in squirrels, small mammals, and disappearing song birds. In Fontanelle Forest near Omaha, an over-protected forest lacks tree seedlings, birds and butterflies, but thrives in poisonous plants. And no more berries means no more bears. But don’t worry, you’ll also read about some of the wonderful ecological recoveries, lighting some of conservation’s brightest beacons of hope. If you seldom think about disappearing predators, this will give you a world of reason to think again.
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– Jeanne Young