Saving Animal Species

A fascinating and unprecedented ethnography of animal sanctuaries in the United States In the past three decades, animal rights advocates have established everything from elephant sanctuaries in Africa to shelters that rehabilitate animals used in medical testing, to homes for farmed animals, abandoned pets, and entertainment animals that have outlived their “usefulness.” Saving Animals is the first major ethnography to focus on the ethical issues animating the establishment of such places, where animals who have been mistreated or destined for slaughter are allowed to live out their lives simply being animals. Based on fieldwork at animal rescue facilities across the United States, Elan Abrell asks what “saving,” “caring for,” and “sanctuary” actually mean. He considers sanctuaries as laboratories where caregivers conceive and implement new models of caring for and relating to animals. He explores the ethical decision making around sanctuary efforts to unmake property-based human–animal relations by creating spaces in which humans interact with animals as autonomous subjects. Saving Animals illustrates how caregivers and animals respond by cocreating new human–animal ecologies adapted to the material and social conditions of the Anthropocene. Bridging anthropology with animal studies and political philosophy, Saving Animals asks us to imagine less harmful modes of existence in a troubled world where both animals and humans seek sanctuary.

Whether you would like to learn how to build a bird box, dig a hedgehog tunnel or implement broader environmental changes in your community, this practical guide to saving our most endangered species will teach you how you can help on an individual, local and national level.

Schaller, Robert W. Shumaker, Sigourney Weaver, Patricia Chapple Wright

Learn how employees at Smithsonian's National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute are working hard to save animal species from extinction. Created in collaboration with the Smithsonian Institution, this Smithsonian Informational Text builds reading skills while engaging students' curiosity about STEAM topics through real-world examples. Packed with factoids and informative sidebars, it features a hands-on STEAM challenge that is perfect for use in a makerspace and teaches students every step of the engineering design process. Make STEAM career connections with career advice from actual Smithsonian employees working in STEAM fields. Discover engineering innovations that solve real-world problems with content that touches on all aspects of STEAM: Science, Technology, Engineering, the Arts, and Math!

Winner of the Sierra Club's 2021 Rachel Carson Award One of Chicago Tribune's Ten Best Books of 2021 Named a Top Ten Best Science Book of 2021 by Booklist and Smithsonian Magazine "At once thoughtful and thought-provoking,” Beloved Beasts tells the story of the modern conservation movement through the lives and ideas of the people who built it, making “a crucial addition to the literature of our troubled time" (Elizabeth Kolbert, author of The Sixth Extinction). In the late nineteenth century, humans came at long last to a devastating realization: their rapidly industrializing and globalizing societies were driving scores of animal species to extinction. In Beloved Beasts, acclaimed science journalist Michelle Nijhuis traces the history of the movement to protect and conserve other forms of life. From early battles to save charismatic species such as the American bison and bald eagle to today’s global effort to defend life on a larger scale, Nijhuis’s “spirited and engaging” account documents “the changes of heart that changed history” (Dan Cryer, Boston Globe). With “urgency, passion, and wit” (Michael Berry, Christian Science Monitor), she describes the vital role of scientists and activists such as Aldo Leopold and Rachel Carson, reveals the origins of vital organizations like the Audubon Society and the World Wildlife Fund, explores current efforts to protect species such as the whooping crane and the black rhinoceros, and confronts the darker side of modern conservation, long shadowed by racism and colonialism. As the destruction of other species continues and the effects of climate change wreak havoc on our world, Beloved Beasts charts the ways conservation is becoming a movement for the protection of all species including our own.

Tigers, orangutans, pangolins, polar bears, fin whales, bees ... there are so many incredible animals that need saving! Join vet, conservationist and children's TV presenter Dr Jess French and take a trip around the world to meet 38 of the most extraordinary creatures on the planet. From the endangered animals we all know and love, like tigers, polar bears, orangutans and rhinos, to the less familiar pangolin, kakapo and vaquita, see these amazing creatures up close in their natural habitats. Visit jungles, mountains, rivers and coral reefs and learn about the threats to these species' survival, as well as the remarkable conservation efforts that are being undertaken to save them. Illustrated in a stunning graphic artwork style, this beautiful gift book is sure to inspire future conservationists and animal lovers of all ages.

"[This book] offers a cutting-edge, comprehensive look at one of science's biggest challenges. Includes a look at the history of the topic, recent breakthroughs, key facts to consider, and questions that remain unanswered."--

Describes the technology that is used to assist in the conservation of animal species, including satellite imagery to identify and stop illegal logging and drones to identify and stop wildlife poaching.

Focusing on wildlife species that are in danger of extinction, the authors examine the struggle to maintain a balance between the needs of humans and animals.

Stresses the importance of saving endangered species and discusses how scientists are using the latest technology to survey animal populations, to track down and arrest those who prey on endangered wildlife, and to breed animals in captivity.