An Instant New York Times Bestseller • #1 Los Angeles Times Bestseller • #1 Indie Hardcover Nonfiction Bestseller • Longlisted for the 2022 Andrew Carnegie Medal for Excellence in Nonfiction • A New York Times Editors' Choice • A Washington Post Notable Book of 2021 • A Goodreads Choice Award Finalist • An NPR 2021 Best Book of the Year • A New York Public Library 2021 Best Book of the Year • A BookPage Best Book of 2021, Nonfiction • A Bookshop.org Best Nonfiction Book of 2021 • A Chicago Public Library Best Book of 2021 • A Library Journal Best Science & Technology Book of 2021 • A Publisher's Weekly Best Book of 2021 • Science Best Book of 2021 • A Smithsonian 10 Best Science Book of 2021 • A St. Louis Public Radio Best Book of 2021Join America’s funniest science writer (Peter Carlson, Washington Post), Mary Roach, on an irresistible investigation into the unpredictable world where wildlife and humans meet.What’s to be done about a jaywalking moose? A bear caught breaking and entering? A murderous tree? Three hundred years ago, animals that broke the law would be assigned legal representation and put on trial. These days, as New York Times best-selling author Mary Roach discovers, the answers are best found not in jurisprudence but in science: the curious science of human-wildlife conflict, a discipline at the crossroads of human behavior and wildlife biology.Roach tags along with animal-attack forensics investigators, human-elephant conflict specialists, bear managers, and danger tree faller blasters. Intrepid as ever, she travels from leopard-terrorized hamlets in the Indian Himalaya to St. Peter’s Square in the early hours before the pope arrives for Easter Mass, when vandal gulls swoop in to destroy the elaborate floral display. She taste-tests rat bait, learns how to install a vulture effigy, and gets mugged by a macaque.Combining little-known forensic science and conservation genetics with a motley cast of laser scarecrows, langur impersonators, and trespassing squirrels, Roach reveals as much about humanity as about nature’s lawbreakers. When it comes to problem wildlife, she finds, humans are more often the problem―and the solution. Fascinating, witty, and humane, Fuzz offers hope for compassionate coexistence in our ever-expanding human habitat. 12 illustrations
Fuzz: When Nature Breaks the Law
In "Fuzz: When Nature Breaks the Law," author Mary Roach explores the fascinating and often humorous world of wildlife crime. From poachers who kill elephants for their ivory to smugglers who traffic in endangered species, Roach delves into the illegal activities that threaten our planet's wildlife.
Roach's book is full of memorable characters, including a wildlife detective who tracks down poachers in Africa, a forensic scientist who analyzes animal evidence, and a parrot smuggler who tries to hide his illegal cargo in a suitcase. Roach also takes readers on a journey through the legal system, showing how wildlife crimes are investigated and prosecuted.
"Fuzz" is a must-read for anyone interested in wildlife, crime, or the intersection of the two. Roach's writing is engaging and witty, and she does a masterful job of bringing the world of wildlife crime to life.
Here are some of the topics covered in "Fuzz":
- The illegal wildlife trade
- Poaching
- Smuggling
- Animal fighting
- Wildlife trafficking
- The role of law enforcement in protecting wildlife
"Fuzz" is a thought-provoking and entertaining book that shines a light on the dark world of wildlife crime. Roach's writing is engaging and informative, and she does a masterful job of bringing the stories of the animals and the people who protect them to life.
