American Serengeti

America s Great Plains once possessed one of the grandest wildlife spectacles of the world, equaled only by such places as the Serengeti, the Masai Mara, or the veld of South Africa Pronghorn antelope, gray wolves, bison, coyotes, wild horses, and grizzly bears less than two hundred years ago these creatures existed in such abundance that John James Audubon was moved to write, it is impossible to describe or even conceive the vast multitudes of these animals In a work that is at once a lyrical evocation of that lost splendor and a detailed natural history of these charismatic species of the historic Great Plains, veteran naturalist and outdoorsman Dan Flores draws a vivid portrait of each of these animals in their glory and tells the harrowing story of what happened to them at the hands of market hunters and ranchers and ultimately a federal killing program in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries The Great Plains with its wildlife intact dazzled Americans and Europeans alike, prompting numerous literary tributes American Serengeti takes its place alongside these celebratory works, showing us the grazers and predators of the plains against the vast opalescent distances, the blue mountains shimmering on the horizon, the great rippling tracts of yellowed grasslands Far from the empty flyover country of recent times, this landscape is alive with a complex ecology at least 20,000 years old a continental patrimony whose wonders may not be entirely lost, as recent efforts hold out hope of partial restoration of these historic species.Written by an author who has done breakthrough work on the histories of several of these animals including bison, wild horses, and coyotes American Serengeti is as rigorous in its research as it is intimate in its sense of wonder the most deeply informed, closely observed view we have of the Great Plains wild heritage. New Download American Serengeti author Dan Flores For Kindle ePUB or eBook – kino-fada.fr Hugely depressing account of the Serengeti that used to be on our Great Plains, although that in no way detracts from the book s quality It s well researched and the author does not shy from having a strong opinion, which is refreshing Each chapter presents the case of a different animal from the Plains and I didn t even know some of them were and sometimes are there The quotes from historical travelers add to the narrative an exciting, majestic quality in their awe at scenes of wildlife I Hugely depressing account of the Serengeti that used to be on our Great Plains, although that in no way detracts from the book s quality It s well researched and the author does not shy from having a strong opinion, which is refresh...Phenomenal book I wish they would have taught this history in school rather than the boring crap they taught us.Once upon a time, the Great Plains of the western U.S resembled the Serengeti of Africa, a vast prairie inhabited by abundant wildlife Each year, during the wet season, grasslands produce farnew biomass than forests do, per unit of land The greenery converts sunlight into carbohydrates, nutrients necessary for the existence of animal life in the ecosystem Thus, the usually sunny plains are a vast array of solar collectors that generate food for the vast array of animal life Bison meat Once upon a time, the Great Plains of the western U.S resembled the Serengeti of Africa, a vast prairie inhabited by abundant wildlife Each year, during the wet season, grasslands produce farnew biomass than forests do, per unit of land The greenery converts sunlight into carbohydrates, nutrients necessary for the existence of animal life in the ecosystem Thus, the usually sunny plains are a vast array of solar collectors that generate food for the vast array of animal life Bison meat is highly concentrated solar energy.Dan Flores is an environmental historian, and he specializes in Big History, which focuses on entire ecosystems, and regards humans as just one group of the many actors on the stage Each species of plant and animal plays a role in the living drama In this book, American Serengeti, Flores described the dram...a moving snapshot of what we had on the Great Plains and a hanging by a thread dream of what we might have again Dan doesn t resort to name calling, rather he paints a picture and in the process gives us a treasure none of u...Would hope that every school kid living from Montana to Texasincluding ColoradoreadsInformative, but very sad It makes me ashamed of our species I truly don t understand why so many humans have an obsession to kill other creatures simply because they exist This slaughter on the Great Plains was not done primarily for food or even to clear a space for farms and ranches, although some killing was done for these reasons, of course The most disturbing aspect was the wholesale murder of millions of animals in the most i...After reading another of Dan Flores s books, Coyote America, I was so enthused I sought out this one I can t say enough good things about this book I don t know of another writer in the natural sciences that brings to the table what Flores does in his books He is an excellent writer and storyteller He makes it a treat to read about ecology and history and nature and anthropology, engaging the reader and using his writerly tools to make readers care about what he s writing about I myself hav After reading another of Dan Flores s books, Coyote America, ...Interesting perspective on the Great Plains Takes the reader all the way back to early animal life and all the way up to the present day I had no idea of the size and scope of animal herds at different time periods and what elements impacted various animal populations There is a chapter on each of the former large animals that were brought to near extinction...This is a really interesting look at the loss of a hugely important uniquely American ecosystem and the many species that once occupied it Before starting this I had listened to a lot of podcasts with the author, and I may have learned too much from said podcasts It was nice to getdetail from the book though I especially enjoyed the chapters on brown bears and the wolves I also read his coyote book recently, which I enjoyed immensely, which also kind of tainted how much I liked this bo This is a really interesting look at the loss of a hugely important uniquely American ecosystem and the many species that once occupied it Before starting this I had listened to a lot of podcasts with the author, and I may have learned too much from said podcasts It was ni...Today the Great Plains doesn t capture our attention as anythingthan flyover country with troubling political divisions Dan Flores resurrects a much different landscape before it was skinned by market imperatives an American Serengeti populated with millions of bison, horses, antelope, wolves, and grizzly bears that inspired reverence among the native inhabitants and artistic exuberance among American artists from Georgia O Keefe to Willa Cather This is no eulogy, however Flores argu Today the Great Plains doesn t capture our attention as anythingth...

• English
• 10 August 2017
Dan Flores
• Hardcover
• 222 pages
• 0700622276
• Dan Flores
• American Serengeti