Coyote America: A Natural & Supernatural History
by Dan Flores
QB 791.3 .R36 2015
New Arrivals Island, 2nd floor
Ooooh, there were so many interesting books on the New Arrivals Island, it was hard to choose just one this week. Warm and fluffy (coyotes) — or cold and scary (dark matter & dinosaurs)? As you can see, the warm fuzzies won out! I’m sure I wouldn’t feel friendly toward coyotes if I were a bunny rabbit. But safe on the porch, I like listening to their eerie howls edging closer and closer to the house.
While some species don’t do well with the encroachment of their habitat, coyotes seem to thrive alongside humans. Dan Flores is an emeritus professor of Western History at the University of Montana and writes about the coyote from a number of perspectives: historical, cultural, scientific – and spiritual (the coyote was a deity to native peoples of the Americas). The author covers popular culture as well, including the ever-popular “underdog,” Wile E. Coyote of Looney Tunes fame.
It’s hard to live in Wisconsin for long without seeing or hearing a coyote. They’re pretty, graceful creatures and fill a useful ecological niche. This book covers the coyote’s entire five-million-year-old history.