Finding several orphaned musk oxen less than one year old in the days following the discovery of a slaughtered herd underscores the lack of knowledge relating to these animals. The adults were beheaded, but it is unknown who did it or for what purpose. What will happen to the juveniles without adults to protect them or teach them how to survive in the Arctic tundra? Joel Berger takes the reader to unfamiliar territories – both in terrain and in conservation efforts – throughout the world as he emphasizes the challenge of studying in habitats that are inhospitable to humans but rapidly evolving due to climate change.
John Muir, noted naturalist and the “Father of the National Parks,” commented that “observation is what science is all about.” But observation is anything but easy in the environments inhabited by the species Berger chooses to study. Lack of accessibility to modern conveniences means...
University of California Press