I am fascinated by the topic of migration
expansion and urban integration of wild animals. I became particularly
interested in coyotes after discovering that a family of perhaps a dozen or
more had taken up residence on a vacant and overgrown piece of property in my
town, not far from where I live.
This led me to seek out books on coyote
behavior. Coyote America is written by a retired
University of Montana history professor who now lives in Santa Fe, New Mexico.
Flores has penned what I think is the definitive book on the history of
coyotes, how they came to migrate across America, and how they have not only
adapted to but thrived in urban environments.
Flores has done a remarkable
amount of research on coyotes and has managed to assemble it all into a
page-turner that reads like an epic story.
With its uncanny night howls, unrivaled ingenuity, and amazing resilience, the coyote is the stuff of legends. In Indian folktales it often appears as a deceptive trickster or a sly genius. But legends don't come close to capturing the incredible survival story of the coyote. As soon as Americans--especially white Americans--began ranching and herding in the West, they began working to destroy the coyote. Despite campaigns of annihilation employing poisons, gases, helicopters, and engineered epidemics, coyotes didn't just survive, they thrived, expanding across the continent from Anchorage, Alaska, to New York's Central Park. In the war between humans and coyotes,…
I bought Coyote Settles the South a couple of years ago and decided to reread it again this year. The author, John Lane (an English professor at Wofford
College, Spartanburg, South Carolina), became intrigued by coyotes
when he encountered them living near his home.
He eventually begins seeking
them out during hikes from his home and begins observing and chronicling their
habits. This book tells his story of studying coyotes and figuring out what these very intelligent and mostly misunderstood creatures
are all about.
John Lane is an engaging writer, and this is a thoroughly enjoyable read.
One night, poet and environmental writer John Lane tuned in to a sound from behind his house that he had never heard before: the nearby eerie and captivating howls of coyote. Since this was Spartanburg, South Carolina, and not Missoula, Montana, Lane set out to discover all he could about his new and unexpected neighbors.
Coyote Settles the South is the story of his journey through the Southeast, where he visits coyote territories: swamps, nature preserves, old farm fields, suburbs, a tannery, and even city streets. On his travels he meets, interrogates, and observes those who interact with the animals-trappers,…
I’ll admit, I was drawn to Where Bigfoot
Walks because of “Bigfoot”
in the title. And while Pyle cites Bigfoot as an impetus for his expedition,
this book is really about his choice to commit to an extensive solo hike
through the “Dark Divide” wilderness region in southwestern Washington State,
between Mount Rainer and Mount Adams.
Pyle is not a bigfoot expert, but rather
a lepidopterist: an expert on butterflies and moths, and he spends quite a bit
of time on the hike finding and studying a variety of those that he comes
across.
Ultimately, this bookis about introspection and how his
adventure impacted Pyle’s life perspective. It is a very personal read, and I
felt great empathy for him.
The inspiration for the film The Dark Divide starring David Cross and Debra Messing, one of America’s most esteemed natural history writers takes to the hills in search of Bigfoot―and finds the wildness within ourselves.
Awarded a Guggenheim Fellowship to investigate the legends of Sasquatch, Yale-trained ecologist Dr. Robert Pyle treks into the unprotected wilderness of the Dark Divide near Mount St. Helens, where he discovers both a giant fossil footprint and recent tracks. On the trail of what he thought was legend, he searches out Indians who tell him of an outcast tribe, the Seeahtiks, who had not fully…
This 4th edition of the Visiting Small-Town
Florida features 79 charming, eclectic, and historic towns, tiny
villages, and crossroads. Readers can tour historic districts, museums,
galleries, and antique shops and find quaint lodging, great local cuisine diners, and hole-in-the-wall bars and grills.
They can also learn about each
town’s history and meet a few of the endearing characters that live in these
places. Simultaneously, a guidebook, history book, and travelogue, this guide lets the reader experience the flavor of
Florida’s back road burgs while having all the pertinent visitor information
at their fingertips.
