Items related to The Better to Eat You with: Fear in the Animal World
At dawn on a brutally cold January morning in 1998, Joel Berger crouched in the icy grandeur of the Teton Range. It had been three years since wolves were reintroduced to Yellowstone after a sixty-year absence, and members of a wolf pack were approaching a herd of elk. To Berger's utter shock, the elk ignored the wolves as they went in for the kill. The brutal attack that followed - swift and bloody - led Berger to hypothesize that after only six decades, the elk had forgotten to fear a species that had survived by eating them for hundreds of millennia.Berger's fieldwork that frigid day raised important questions that would require years of travel and research to answer: Can naive animals avoid extinction when they encounter reintroduced carnivores? To what extent is fear culturally transmitted? And how can a better understanding of current predator-prey behavior help demystify past extinctions and inform future conservation?"The Better to Eat You With" is the chronicle of Berger's search for answers. From Yellowstone's elk and wolves to rhinos living with African lions and moose coexisting with tigers and bears in Asia, Berger tracks cultures of fear in animals across continents and climates, engaging readers with a stimulating combination of natural history, personal experience, and conservation. Whether battling bureaucracy in the statehouse or fighting subzero wind chills in the field, Berger puts himself in the middle of the action, and "The Better to Eat You With" invites readers to join him there. The thrilling tales Berger tells reveal a great deal not only about survival in the animal kingdom but also about the process of doing science in forbidding conditions and hostile environments.
"synopsis" may belong to another edition of this title.
Review:
"The Better to Eat You With offers a very novel, important, and global view of the complex interrelationships between predators and prey. Science, culture, and practical issues meet head on, as they must, in a book that surely will change existing views about the role of fear in the evolution of behavior. Only world-renowned and indefatigable field biologist Joel Berger could pull off such a comprehensive analysis of how past and present must be studied as we try to figure out how all animals-nonhuman and human-will be able to share harmoniously our one and only planet in the future. Berger's book is a landmark contribution to the study of behavior and conservation."-Marc Bekoff, author of The Emotional Lives of Animals
"When ecologist Berger noticed that elk in Yellowstone were no longer afraid of wolves, who had been absent from the ecosystem for 60 years, it sparked a quest to answer three major questions: Can naive prey avoid extinction when their predators are reintroduced? To what extent can animals learn fear? And what can current behavior teach us about past extinctions and future conservation efforts? We follow Berger as he attempts to answer these questions by radio-collaring moose in below-zero temperatures in Grand Teton National Park and comparing how bison mothers in areas with wolves, areas without wolves, and areas with new wolf packs react to wolf calls. . . .The excitement and drudgery of fieldwork, combined with the author's discoveries on how fear of predators changes the behavior of their prey, make for a book that teaches and thrills equally."-Booklist
"The Better to Eat You With builds upon the canon of important natural history literature that includes the writings of Leopold, the Muries, the Craigheads, George Shaller, E. O. Wilson, and Jacques Cousteau. . . . The book is that fine a read." -- Tom Wilkinson "Jackson Hole News & Guide" (11/19/2008)
"A lumnius account of animal individuality and emtion."-Barbara J. King, Times Literary Supplement -- Barbara J. King "Times Literary Supplement"
“The complex and nuanced interplay between predator and prey is an essential thread in the fabric of nature. Joel Berger’s substantial contributions to this emerging world view have been rendered through simplicity and elegance—by observing prey and their predators across global landscapes in a purposeful way. This book, delivered in the personalized style of a life’s journey, tells an absorbing story of how big animals alter their behavior so as to manage the risk of being eaten.”—James A. Estes, Professor of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of California, Santa Cruz
--James A. Estes, Professor of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Cal
“How long do the ghosts of monsters linger before their misty essence evaporates? And when the monster itself (wolf, tiger, men) returns with meat hunger, how long before prey rediscover terror? What created the singular fleetness and visual acuity of pronghorn antelope? How necessary are predators and the fear of them in maintaining the resilience of wild places? Joel Berger has written a stirring adventure of wildness, prey naiveté, animal culture, and science.”—Michael Soulé, Research Professor Emeritus in Environmental Studies, University of California, Santa Cruz
--Michael Soul, Research Professor Emeritus in Environmental Studies, University
“"The Better to Eat You With "offers a very novel, important, and global view of the complex interrelationships between predators and prey. Science, culture, and practical issues meet head on, as they must, in a book that surely will change existing views about the role of fear in the evolution of behavior. Only world-renowned and indefatigable field biologist Joel Berger could pull off such a comprehensive analysis of how past and present must be studied as we try to figure out how all animals—nonhuman and human—will be able to share harmoniously our one and only planet in the future. Berger’s book is a landmark contribution to the study of behavior and conservation.”—Marc Bekoff, author of "The Emotional Lives of Animals"
--Marc Bekoff, author of The Emotional Lives of Animals
“Joel Berger is a world-class conservation scientist with a rare ability to transform knowledge into conservation action. In "The Better to Eat You With" he conveys the mysteries and wonder of wildlife behavior in a fast-paced narrative that both informs and inspires.”—Bill Weber, author of "In the Kingdom of Gorillas"
--Bill Weber, author of In the Kingdom of Gorillas
"Berger’s research involved majestic hardships and eccentric practices that included pitching carnivore dung baseball-style at browsing moose to see if they responded to the scent. He is the hairy-arsed action-man academic whose experience comes not from the lab but from the wild world. Culture is not something that divides us from the animal world: it is one more thing that links us."—Simon Barnes, "Times "(UK)--Simon Barnes"Times (UK)" (11/07/2008)
""The Better to Eat You With "offers a very novel, important, and global view of the complex interrelationships between predators and prey. Science, culture, and practical issues meet head on, as they must, in a book that surely will change existing views about the role of fear in the evolution of behavior. Only world-renowned and indefatigable field biologist Joel Berger could pull off such a comprehensive analysis of how past and present must be studied as we try to figure out how all animals--nonhuman and human--will be able to share harmoniously our one and only planet in the future. Berger's book is a landmark contribution to the study of behavior and conservation."--Marc Bekoff, author of "The Emotional Lives of Animals"
--Marc Bekoff, author of The Emotional Lives of Animals
About the Author:
"When ecologist Berger noticed that elk in Yellowstone were no longer afraid of wolves, who had been absent from the ecosystem for 60 years, it sparked a quest to answer three major questions: Can naive prey avoid extinction when their predators are reintroduced? To what extent can animals learn fear? And what can current behavior teach us about past extinctions and future conservation efforts? We follow Berger as he attempts to answer these questions by radio-collaring moose in below-zero temperatures in Grand Teton National Park and comparing how bison mothers in areas with wolves, areas without wolves, and areas with new wolf packs react to wolf calls. . . .The excitement and drudgery of fieldwork, combined with the author's discoveries on how fear of predators changes the behavior of their prey, make for a book that teaches and thrills equally."-Booklist
"The Better to Eat You With builds upon the canon of important natural history literature that includes the writings of Leopold, the Muries, the Craigheads, George Shaller, E. O. Wilson, and Jacques Cousteau. . . . The book is that fine a read." -- Tom Wilkinson "Jackson Hole News & Guide" (11/19/2008)
"A lumnius account of animal individuality and emtion."-Barbara J. King, Times Literary Supplement -- Barbara J. King "Times Literary Supplement"
“The complex and nuanced interplay between predator and prey is an essential thread in the fabric of nature. Joel Berger’s substantial contributions to this emerging world view have been rendered through simplicity and elegance—by observing prey and their predators across global landscapes in a purposeful way. This book, delivered in the personalized style of a life’s journey, tells an absorbing story of how big animals alter their behavior so as to manage the risk of being eaten.”—James A. Estes, Professor of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of California, Santa Cruz
--James A. Estes, Professor of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Cal
“How long do the ghosts of monsters linger before their misty essence evaporates? And when the monster itself (wolf, tiger, men) returns with meat hunger, how long before prey rediscover terror? What created the singular fleetness and visual acuity of pronghorn antelope? How necessary are predators and the fear of them in maintaining the resilience of wild places? Joel Berger has written a stirring adventure of wildness, prey naiveté, animal culture, and science.”—Michael Soulé, Research Professor Emeritus in Environmental Studies, University of California, Santa Cruz
--Michael Soul, Research Professor Emeritus in Environmental Studies, University
“"The Better to Eat You With "offers a very novel, important, and global view of the complex interrelationships between predators and prey. Science, culture, and practical issues meet head on, as they must, in a book that surely will change existing views about the role of fear in the evolution of behavior. Only world-renowned and indefatigable field biologist Joel Berger could pull off such a comprehensive analysis of how past and present must be studied as we try to figure out how all animals—nonhuman and human—will be able to share harmoniously our one and only planet in the future. Berger’s book is a landmark contribution to the study of behavior and conservation.”—Marc Bekoff, author of "The Emotional Lives of Animals"
--Marc Bekoff, author of The Emotional Lives of Animals
“Joel Berger is a world-class conservation scientist with a rare ability to transform knowledge into conservation action. In "The Better to Eat You With" he conveys the mysteries and wonder of wildlife behavior in a fast-paced narrative that both informs and inspires.”—Bill Weber, author of "In the Kingdom of Gorillas"
--Bill Weber, author of In the Kingdom of Gorillas
"Berger’s research involved majestic hardships and eccentric practices that included pitching carnivore dung baseball-style at browsing moose to see if they responded to the scent. He is the hairy-arsed action-man academic whose experience comes not from the lab but from the wild world. Culture is not something that divides us from the animal world: it is one more thing that links us."—Simon Barnes, "Times "(UK)--Simon Barnes"Times (UK)" (11/07/2008)
""The Better to Eat You With "offers a very novel, important, and global view of the complex interrelationships between predators and prey. Science, culture, and practical issues meet head on, as they must, in a book that surely will change existing views about the role of fear in the evolution of behavior. Only world-renowned and indefatigable field biologist Joel Berger could pull off such a comprehensive analysis of how past and present must be studied as we try to figure out how all animals--nonhuman and human--will be able to share harmoniously our one and only planet in the future. Berger's book is a landmark contribution to the study of behavior and conservation."--Marc Bekoff, author of "The Emotional Lives of Animals"
--Marc Bekoff, author of The Emotional Lives of Animals
Joel Berger is the John J. Craighead Professor of Wildlife Conservation at the University of Montana and senior scientist with the Wildlife Conservation Society. He is coauthor of Horn of Darkness and the author of Wild Horses of the Great Basin, the latter published by the University of Chicago Press.
"About this title" may belong to another edition of this title.
- PublisherUniversity of Chicago Press
- Publication date2014
- ISBN 10 0226043649
- ISBN 13 9780226043647
- BindingPaperback
- Number of pages358
- Rating
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