Fuzz: When Nature Breaks the Law
3.8
Mary Roach
One of Bookpage's Most Anticipated Nonfiction Books of 2021 Join "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.
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"Informative, hilarious, and captivating. I loved how Roach approaches her research with an open mind and gives us her reactions to various situations. I was only one chapter in when I started recommending this book to my husband, who is an avid hunter. I loved pausing throughout the book and reading him various sections and discussing them more. Also, I loved how she transitioned between chapters/topics. Brilliant. I can't wait to pick up another of Roach's books!"
"I'm caught between 3 and 4 stars, so 3.5 officially. This was a great read, insightful, informative, and yes, at times, hilarious. The title could've given a little insight into the trajectory of the book. At first, it started off with animals breaking laws and then slowly morphed into discussions on certain pests and how to handle them ethically. Either way, I was entertained, and I would certainly recommend it."