Carl Safina

Inspired by a life-changing childhood experience, Gaelin Rosenwaks set off on a journey to tell the story of sperm whale families through photography and film. In the waters off Dominica, she observed eye to eye the close bond between mother and child firsthand. What she found is that these animals live in matriarchal family units made up of remarkable females that stay together for generations. Like elephants and humans, they take care of one another. Rosenwaks s years as a marine biologist, diver, and underwater filmmaker and photographer prepared her to tell this beautifully stirring story with never-before-seen photographs of the world s most marvelous ocean species.

Flaco the Eurasian eagle-owl had spent the first twelve years of his life in a small enclosure in the Central Park Zoo, unable to fly, until the night of February 2nd, 2023, when an unknown liberator cut a hole in the steel mesh of his cage and set him free. Flaco eluded the nets and traps of zoo authorities and park rangers who feared that Flaco couldn’t survive on his own, and instead, proved them all wrong, learning to hunt, fly, and make the city his home.With rich imagery and illustrations, FLACO celebrates the work of the photographers who documented Flaco in his favorite city haunts, features works by artists who were inspired by Flaco’s story, and memorializes the objects left at the base of Flaco’s favorite Central Park oak upon his tragic passing.FLACO is the ultimate tribute to the owl whose story captured the imagination and inspired millions around the world.

When ecologist Carl Safina and his wife, Patricia, took in a near-death baby owl, they expected that, like other wild orphans they’d rescued, she’d be a temporary presence. But Alfie’s feathers were not growing correctly, requiring prolonged care. As Alfie grew and gained strength, she became a part of the family, joining a menagerie of dogs and chickens and making a home for herself in the backyard. Carl and Patricia began to realise that the healing was mutual; Alfie had been braided into their world and was now pulling them into hers. Alfie & Me is the story of the remarkable impact this little owl would have on their lives. The continuing bond of trust following her freedom—and her raising of her own wild brood—coincided with the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, a year in which Carl and Patricia were forced to spend time at home without the normal obligations of work and travel. Witnessing all the fine details of their feathered friend’s life offered Carl and Patricia a view of existence from Alfie’s perspective. One can travel the world and go nowhere; one can be stuck keeping the faith at home and discover a new world. Safina’s relationship with an owl made him want to better understand how people have viewed humanity’s relationship with nature across cultures and throughout history. Interwoven with Safina’s keen observations, insight and reflections, Alfie & Me is a work of profound beauties and magical timing harboured within one upended year.

In the spring of 2019, ecologist Carl Safina and his wife, Patricia, took in little Alfie, a bedraggled Eastern Screech Owl chick who quickly became part of their family. With the Safinas’ care and expertise, the little owl grew, learned to hunt on her own and eventually found her own family in a mate and chicks. As time passed, Carl realised that his bond with Alfie was greater than just saving her life—it offered wisdom, joy and magic to him in return. Carl Safina lends an insightful and expert voice to Alfie’s tale, providing readers with a perspective that is simultaneously informative and deeply personal. With eye-catching, intimate photographs chronicling Alfie’s healing and growth, Owls in Our Yard! is the heartfelt story of an animal/human friendship rooted in trust, care and respect for the natural world.

Kashelott õpib, kellega koos ta rändama hakkab, aara heidab himustava pilgu oma kaunile naabrile, shimpans õpib mängust kasu saama. Kultuur loob hiigelhulgal kavandamata ja planeerimata teadmisi. Kogu maailm räägib, laulab ja vahetab salasõnumeid.Kultuur ei ole midagi niisugust, mida inimene endale ainuomaseks saab pidada. Carl Safina juhatab meid teistesse kultuuridesse. Lugeja ees avaneb kashelottide, uhkete selvalindude aarade ja meie lähimate looduslike sugulaste shimpanside elu nende oma kultuuris. Koos Safinaga saame kaasa mõtelda, mis on üldse kultuur. Kultuur on looduses ürgsem kui inimese enda genotüüp, mille me anname koos oma kultuuriga edasi oma järglastele. Kultuur on osa kogu Suure Looduse arengust ja olemisest. See raamat on erakordne retk maailmameredele, Lõuna-Ameerika selvasse ja Uganda ürgmetsa.Carl Safina (1955) on Ameerika ökoloog ja tunnustatud autor. Ta on Stony Brooki ülikooli loodus- ja inimkonnateaduste professor ning mittetulundusliku Safina Keskuse asutaja. Tema uurimused on pälvinud mitmeid auhindu ja preemiaid. Lisaks artiklitele ajakirjades The New York Times, TIME, The Guardian, Audubon, Yale e360 ja National Geographic on Safina avaldanud kümme raamatut. Tema esimesest raamatust "Song for the Blue Ocean" (1998) on nüüdseks kujunenud klassika, "Beyond Words: What Animals Think and Feel" (2015) jõudis New York Timesi edetabeli tippu ja rahvusvahelise tunnustuse tõi 2020. a ilmunud "Metsikuks saamine"."Safina pöörab pea peale inimeste nägemuse loomakultuuridest. "Metsikuks saamine" nõuab, et me ärkaksime ja mõistaksime, et oleme oma mitteinimestest naabritega loomuomaselt ja lahutamatult seotud." - The Telegraph"Safina ühendab meisterliku kirjastiili imepäraste faktidega, selgitades meile teemasid, mis on ühtaegu olulised ja köitvad." - The Washington Post

When ecologist Carl Safina and his wife, Patricia, took in a near-death baby owl, they expected that, like other wild orphans they’d rescued, she’d be a temporary presence. But Alfie’s feathers were not growing correctly, requiring prolonged care. And soon Carl and Patricia began to realise that the healing was mutual. Alfie & Me is the story of the remarkable impact this little owl would have on their lives. The continuing bond of trust following her freedom—and her raising of her own wild brood—drew Carl and Patricia across the boundary into Alfie’s world, allowing them a view of existence from Alfie’s perspective. Interwoven with Safina’s reflections on humankind’s relationship with the living world across cultures and throughout history, Alfie & Me is a work of profound beauties and magical timing harboured within one upended year.

What do chimpanzees, macaws, and whales all have in common? Some believe that culture is strictly a human phenomenon. But that's not true! Culture is passed down from parent to child in all sorts of animal communities. It is the common ground that three very different animals - chimps, macaws, and whales - all share! Peek behind the curtain of life on Earth, to witness through the lives of chimpanzees in Uganda, scarlet macaws in Peru, and sperm whales in the Caribbean how they - and we - are all connected. A smart, accessible, superbly fascinating look into the lives of three distinct animals we share the Earth with, by New York Times bestselling and award-winning author Carl Safina.

Marooned in Los Angeles by the pandemic, a marine biologist rediscovers the delights and wonders of the natural world in her own backyard."Stranded reminds us of what we all too easily forget: the sustaining delights of finding beauty and wonder all around us." —Florence Williams, author of The Nature Fix and HeartbreakConservationist and marine biologist Maddalena Bearzi made her career studying the wild creatures of the deep, but when COVID-19 made landfall on the California coast this seafaring scientist found herself shuttered up ashore, her wide blue world constricted by pandemic lockdown. Never good at sitting idle, she despaired at the confines of her Los Angeles flat—until she began to find wonder in the wilderness of her own backyard.Stranded charts Bearzi’s discovery of both rapture and resilience in the unsung wildlife of urban LA. With a green thumb and a canine sidekick named Genghis, she finds as much to marvel at in her garden’s singing blackbirds, night-blooming cacti, and industrious wasps as in the whales, dolphins, and sea lions at the center of her maritime adventures. Discovering in the quotidian an antidote to the grief occasioned by captivity and climate chaos, Bearzi reveals how each of us can take heart, find courage, and discover inspiration in the thrumming systems of life that surround us. With a scientist’s precision and a poet’s instinct, she invites us to look at, listen to, and revel in the everyday grandeur of the natural world—and to embrace, with urgency, our responsibility to sustain it.

This deep dive into the wonderful world of insects teaches us to love the tiny, seemingly terrifying creatures all around us.For many people, cockroaches are the most pesky of pests. Not so for entomologist Frank Nischk. In this funny and fascinating book, Frank reveals his love and admiration for so-called “nasty” creatures like cockroaches, crickets, and more. He shows us that even seemingly terrifying insects are beautiful in their own way—and essential to all life on Earth.Frank never planned to study cockroaches. But when researching hummingbirds fell through, he switched to cockroach feces—and soon fell in love. Cockroaches are incredible survivors, devoted parents, and adapt to almost any environment. Nischk even answers the age-old question of whether a cockroach would survive a nuclear explosion. After reading such eye-opening and warm-hearted stories, you’ll think twice before stepping on one!From cockroaches to crickets, Nischk travels to Ecuador to record cricket sounds, where he finds jungles bursting with a riot of insect life (including bullet ants whose stings are surprisingly painful). As Nischk narrates his (mis)adventures as an entomologist, he shares stories about intriguing insect discoveries, from damselflies who lay eggs deep underwater, to zombie fungi that invade the brains of ants. Brimming with fascinating facts, incredible stories, and unbelievable anecdotes, Of Cockroaches and Crickets will intrigue anyone who has ever loved—or hated!—bugs.

Inspired by a life-changing childhood experience, Gaelin Rosenwaks set off on a journey to tell the story of sperm whale families through photography and film. In the waters off Dominica, she observed eye to eye the close bond between mother and child firsthand. What she found is that these animals live in matriarchal family units made up of remarkable females that stay together for generations. Like elephants and humans, they take care of one another. Rosenwaks s years as a marine biologist, diver, and underwater filmmaker and photographer prepared her to tell this beautifully stirring story with never-before-seen photographs of the world s most marvellous ocean species.

A young readers adaptation of the New York Times-bestselling book Beyond Words which focuses on consciousness and self-awareness in wolves and dogs. Eye-opening, wise, and filled with triumphant and heartbreaking stories about the wolf population at Yellowstone (as well as some personal anecdotes about dogs), Carl Safina's Beyond Words: What Wolves and Dogs Think and Feel accessibly explores the mysteries of animal thought and behavior for young readers. Weaving decades of field research with exciting new discoveries about the brain, and complete with astonishing photos, Beyond Words offers an extraordinary look at what makes these animals different from us, but more importantly, what makes them similar, namely, their feelings of joy, grief, anger, and love. These similarities between human and nonhuman consciousness and empathy allow the reader to reexamine how we interact with animals as well as how we see our own place in the world.

A New York Times Notable Book of 2020 ‘Bracing and enlightening’ Science Culture is something exclusive to human beings, isn’t it? Not so, says intrepid researcher Carl Safina. Becoming Wild reveals the rich cultures that survive in some of Earth’s remaining wild places. By showing how sperm whales, scarlet macaws and chimpanzees teach and learn, Safina offers a fresh understanding of what is constantly going on beyond humanity, and how we’re all connected. ‘Becoming Wild demands that we wake up’ Telegraph

A leader in the fields of animal ethics and neurology, Dr. Aysha Akhtar examines the rich human-animal connection and how interspecies empathy enriches our well-being.Deftly combining medicine, social history and personal experience, Our Symphony with Animals is the first book by a physician to show how deeply the well-being of humans and animals are entwined. Interwoven throughout is Dr. Akhtar’s own story of being a young girl who was bullied in school and sexually abused by her uncle. Feeling abandoned by humanity, it was only when she met Sylvester, a dog who had also been abused, that she found strength for both of them. Against the backdrop of her inspiring story, Dr. Akhtar asks, what do we gain when we recognize our kinship with animals? She travels around the country to tell the stories of a varied cast of characters—including a former mobster, an industrial chicken farmer, a Marine veteran—and comes face to face with a serial killer. Through storytelling that is entertaining, profound, and touching, Dr. Akhtar reveals what happens when we both break and forge bonds with animals. She demonstrates how humans are neurologically designed to empathize with animals, and how violence against them goes against our nature. In equal measure, the love and friendship we give to other species biologically reverberates back to us. Humanity’s compassion for animals is the next step in our species’ moral evolution and a vital component of our own health. Our Symphony with Animals is the definitive account for why our relationships with animals matter.

A middle-grade nonfiction adaptation of Carl Safina's New York Times bestseller Beyond Words, which weaves decades of field observations about elephants and whales into an intimate look at animal behavior and consciousness. Follow researcher Carl Safina as he treks with a herd of elephants across the Kenyan landscape, then travel with him to the Pacific Northwest to track and monitor whales in their ocean home. Along the way, find out more about the interior lives of these giants of land and sea--how they play, how they fight, and how they communicate with one another, and sometimes with us, too. Weaving decades of field research with exciting new discoveries about the brain and featuring astonishing photographs taken by the author, Beyond Words: What Elephants and Whales Think and Feel gives readers an intimate and extraordinary look at what makes these animals different from us, but more important, what makes us all similar.

A NEW YORK TIMES NOTABLE BOOK OF 2020"In this superbly articulate cri de coeur, Safina gives us a new way of looking at the natural world that is radically different."--The Washington Post New York Times bestselling author Carl Safina brings readers close to three non-human cultures--what they do, why they do it, and how life is for them. A New York Times Notable Books of 2020 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.

THE NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER I wanted to know what they were experiencing, and why to us they feel so compelling, and so close. This time I allowed myself to ask them the question that for a scientist was forbidden fruit: Who are you? Weaving decades of field observations with exciting new discoveries about the brain, Carl Safina's landmark book offers an intimate view of animal behavior to challenge the fixed boundary between humans and animals. Travelling to the threatened landscape of Kenya to witness struggling elephant families work out how to survive poaching and drought, then on to Yellowstone National Park to observe wolves sort out the aftermath of one pack's personal tragedy, the book finally plunges into the astonishingly peaceful society of killer whales living in the crystalline waters of the Pacific Northwest. Beyond Words brings forth powerful and illuminating insight into the unique personalities of animals through extraordinary stories of animal joy, grief, jealousy, anger, and love. The similarity between human and nonhuman consciousness, self-awareness and empathy calls us to re-evaluate how we interact with animals. Wise, passionate, and eye-opening at every turn, Beyond Words is ultimately a graceful examination of humanity's place in the world.

The Gulf of Mexico is one of the most important ecological regions in the world for birds. The mosaic of diverse habitats in the region provides numerous niches for birds. There are productive salt marshes, barrier islands, and sandy beaches for foraging and nesting; a direct pathway between North and Central and South America for migrating; and warm, tropical waters for wintering. Many species are residents all year around, some migrate through, and still others spend the winter along the shores. The Gulf Coast is home to a significant portion of the world’s population of Reddish Egret and Snowy Plover and a significant portion of the US breeding populations of certain birds, including the Sandwich Tern, Black Skimmer, and Laughing Gull. In total, there are more than 400 bird species that rely on the Gulf at some time during the year.Drawing on decades of fieldwork and data research, renowned ornithologist and behavioral ecologist Joanna Burger provides detailed descriptions of birdlife in the Gulf of Mexico. Burger records trends in bird population, behavior, and major threats and stressors affecting birds in the region, including the effects of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill in 2010. While some of this data exists in journal articles, research papers, and government reports, this is the first volume to weave together a comprehensive overview of the birds and related natural resources found in the Gulf of Mexico.Illustrated with over 900 color photographs, charts, and maps, this landmark reference volume will be immensely important for researchers, conservationists, land managers, birders, and wildlife lovers.