Wild Echoes: Encounters with the Most Endangered Animals in North America

by Charles A Bergman

Overview

In Wild Echoes, environmentalist and photographer Charles Bergman chronicles his experiences tracking down and interacting with the few remaining members of nine of North America’s most endangered species.

Bergman soars in the company of two of the last remaining California condors, swims with manatees, assists in the capture and release of a Florida panther, and comes face to face with the last remaining dusky seaside sparrow, a species now extinct.

As he relates these and other poignant encounters, Bergman describes the factors, both manufactured and natural, that have led to the animals’ endangerment. He also examines the efforts of those who hope to pull species back from the brink of extinction.

Wild Echoes was originally published in 1990; this 2003 edition contains a new introduction and substantial updates on the good news and the bad concerning the current status of the species Bergman discusses.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780252071256
Publisher:	University of Illinois Press
Publication date:	02/25/2003
Edition description:	First Edition
Pages:	360
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x 0.80(d)

About the Author

Charles Bergman is a professor of English at Pacific Lutheran University in Tacoma and a dedicated environmentalist whose writings—and photographs—have appeared in a number of periodicals, including National Geographic, Smithsonian, Natural History, Audubon, and National Wildlife. He is the author of Orion's Legacy: A Cultural History of Man as Hunter and Red Delta: Fighting for Life at the End of the Colorado River.
 

Table of Contents

	Introduction to the Illinois Paperback	ix
	Acknowledgments	xvii
	Introduction	1
1.	Hunger Makes the Wolf	11
2.	The Fall of a Sparrow	45
3.	Carrion for Condors	56
4.	A Panther in a Swamp	92
5.	Sirens	106
6.	Guns and Parrots	127
7.	Green Eyes at Night	162
8.	"So Ignoble a Leviathan"	177
9.	Rumors of Existence	217
10.	The Back Door	243
Appendix 1.	Partial List of Extinctions in the United States and U.S. Territories	249
Appendix 2.	Organizations Concerned with Wildlife, Extinctions, and the Environment	267
Appendix 3.	Updated Status of Featured Species	281
	Select Bibliography	287
	Index	315

Editorial Reviews

This is a very personal, affecting account of one man’s endeavor to come to grips with the fact that humans in the twentieth century are causing extinctions at an unprecedented rate.” — Publishers Weekly

"Beautifully composed natural history . . . simply superb."—Kirkus

"Despite its litany of stark truths, Wild Echoes is anything but an oppressive book. Bergman's prose is rich and lively, his search becomes a shared adventure, his affection for ‘broken creatures' rings clear, and his perspective elevates hope above desperation."—Orion

From the Publisher

This is a very personal, affecting account of one man's endeavor to come to grips with the fact that humans in the 20th century are causing animal extinctions at an unprecedented rate. Bergman, professor of English at Pacific Lutheran University in Washington, goes into the wild to observe some of our most endangered species--among them the California condor, the black-footed ferret and the little-known dusky seaside sparrow--and he also studies the men and women working to preserve them. Drawing from his literary background, he examines attitudes toward animals throughout history and tries to understand why we are alienated from the rest of the natural world. He reflects on what it means to live in an era when humans so completely dominate other species that even the people who try to stop destruction have to manipulate animal lives to such an extent that they are no longer truly wild. Illustrations not seen by PW. (Nov.)

Publishers Weekly - Publisher's Weekly

Bergman's account of his experiences with the gray wolf, dusky seaside sparrow, California condor, Florida panther, manatee, Puerto Rican parrot, black-footed ferret, right whale, and trumpeter swan (as well as an unsuccessful hunt for the probably extinct ivory-billed woodpecker) is a combination of exciting adventure narrative, sound scientific knowledge, and provocative speculation on the nature of human-wild animal relationships. Bergman finds both theology and biology wanting, and raises more questions than he answers, but he is a gifted and perceptive writer who consistently compels the reader's attention, even in his most pessimistic moments. A sadly long list of extinctions in the United States and its territories, a directory of conservation organizations, and a bibliographic essay are appended. Recommended.-- Paul B. Cors, Univ. of Wyoming Lib., Laramie

Library Journal