"FUZZ: When Nature Breaks the Law" - A conversation with author Mary Roach and Mountain Lion Foundation's own Jessica Janson
December 16, 2021 @ 1:00PM — 2:30PM Pacific Time (US & Canada)
Join us for a conversation with author Mary Roach as she discusses her book - "FUZZ: When Nature Breaks the Law" with Mountain Lion Foundation's own Jessica Janson
“FUZZ: When Nature Breaks the Law” – A conversation with author Mary Roach
December 16, 2021 @ 1:00PM — 2:30PM Pacific Time (US & Canada)
(2:00 PM – 3:30 PM MT, 3:00 PM – 4:30 PM CT, 4:00 PM – 5:30 PM ET)
FUZZ: When Nature Breaks the Law. In her new book
beloved science writer Mary Roach wrangles a question that has defied
satisfactory resolution for centuries: What is the proper course of action when
nature breaks laws intended for people? Roach approaches this question with the
same keen wit she previously applied to sex (Bonk), death (Stiff),
ghosts (Spook), and space (Packing for Mars).
Roach’s globe-spanning survey covers drunken elephants in India, seagull vandals in the Vatican, and our beloved mountain lions in California. She reveals how peace between species is tantalizingly within our reach—if only we could do a better job of keeping respectfully apart.”
Join us for a conversation with author Mary Roach as she discusses her book – “FUZZ: When Nature Breaks the Law” with Mountain Lion Foundation’s own Jessica Janson.
The first half of FUZZ looks at felony crimes: murderous leopards and mountain lions, kitchen-raiding bears, and monkey home-invaders (including one group of urban monkeys that turned up in the Indian prime minister’s residence and—to the delight of newspaper headline writers—the halls of Parliament). The second half of the book considers the less grievous but more widespread points of friction between humans and wildlife—the vandalizing gulls who peck apart floral displays at the Vatican; the jaywalking deer (and moose, and camels) who prove lethal on the roads when they freeze up in the glare of headlights.
As with any Mary Roach book, the laughs on every page are balanced with an equal measure of clarity and scientific rigor. Roach considers the weighty questions facing us as science and technology uncover new means of intervening with the wild: Might it be possible one day to enjoy a peaceful coexistence with bears in our backyard, the way we live with raccoons and skunks? What are the ethical implications of genetically modifying invasive species like mice to control their reproduction? If an animal kills a human out of self-defense, is it absolutely necessary to destroy the animal? Time and again, Roach reveals how peace between species is tantalizingly within our reach—if only we could do a better job of keeping respectfully apart.
About Mary Roach: