Murderous Trees, Hungry Bears, Flower Vandals, Drunk Elephants, Thieving Monkeys, and Unflappable Albatrosses...Oh My!

Deciding what book to read next is sometimes challenging, even when you have a TBR* list that is a mile long. I knew I would be on a plane for 7 hours this week so it was imperative to find a good book or two to read during the flight. As I was searching for my next read, I found an article about Mary Roach’s new book - Fuzz: When Nature Breaks the Law. I was immediately delighted and knew this would be my next read because I LOVE Mary Roach’s work. She is my favorite science writer. She’s funny, witty, articulate, and sucks her readers in without warning.

“Two thousand species in two hundred countries regularly commit acts that put them at odds with humans.”

What happens when there is a murder and the killer isn’t human? (Hint: probably call a Predator Response Team)
Is it ethical to give monkeys birth control? What about conducting gene drives on rats?
How does The Vatican humanely stop their Easter Sunday flowers from being vandalized? (Hint: fancy lasers)
What do you do when there is a B&E (break and enter) at your home but the culprit is a bear? (Hint: not much, apparently)
Did you know 90% of leopard attacks in North Bengal happen on tea estates? How do we stop that?
I know an inebriated bull elephant in musth probably isn’t on your list of things to avoid at all costs...but it should be.
Have you ever wondered why deer “freeze” when a car is heading toward them at 60 mph? (Hint: evolution)
What happens when the military can’t outsmart albatrosses? (Hint: give up)
What’s to be done about arboreal manslaughter?
Did you know that jet aircraft engines are given a “bird ingestion” test? (Hint: It's not pretty)

If that list doesn’t raise your eyebrows and prompt your curiosity, I don’t know what would.

“The black bear is a ridiculously lovable species. There’s a reason kids have teddy bears, not teddy goats or teddy eels.”

My curiosity was thoroughly satisfied while reading Fuzz but a part of me was also quite sad. Conservation did not hold the same meaning as it does today until the 80s. We have caused most of our problems when it comes to human-wildlife conflict.

“Generally speaking, translocation is a better tool for managing the public than it is for managing bears.”

Roach does an excellent job at explaining how complex human-wildlife resolution can be. Throughout the book, Roach interviews a motley crew of folks. Bear research scientists, bear biologists, wildlife managers, wildlife conflict prevention specialists, awareness camp directors, village farmers, tea estate managers, mountain lion researchers, wildlife biologists, mountain lion activists, macaque researchers, airport biologists, and falling supervisors...just to name a few. The majority of them seem to be walking the fine line of keeping big agriculture, the public, and the government content. I'm not jealous of the position they are in with this task.

It’s difficult to review a book by Mary Roach. I realized this when I read Stiff in 9th-grade biology. Roach investigates the far corners of science that we have rarely ever thought about. I love recommending books to friends who also love to read, but how do I recommend a book about what happens to our bodies when we are dead? At least it's a great conversation starter. Fuzz also falls into this category. Who doesn’t want to talk about the bears of Aspen having a penchant for the finer things in life? Who wouldn’t want to know about The Vatican’s rat problem? Who wouldn’t want to know about the contents of animal scat and stomachs? Final thoughts: Read the book, learn a lot, then reassess how you interact with the animals, insects, and plants around you.

"Supermarkets and chain stores don’t poison shoplifters; they come up with better ways to outsmart them."

*TBR - a bookish acronym meaning "to be read".
Author Bio: https://maryroach.net/maryroach-bio.html