Wild Animal Story

At the beginning of the twentieth century, the i??Wild Animal Storyi?? emerged in Canadian literature as a distinct genre, in which animals pursue their own interests - survival for themselves, their offspring, and perhaps a mate, or the pure pleasure of their wildness. Bringing together some of the most celebrated wild animal stories, Ralph H. Lutts places them firmly in the context of heated controversies about animal intelligence and purposeful behavior. Widely regarded as entertaining and educational, the early stories - by Charles G. D. Roberts, Ernest Thompson Seton, John Muir, Jack London and others - had an avid readership among adults and children. But some naturalists and at least one hunter - Theodore Roosevelt - discredited these writers as "nature fakers," accusing them of falsely portraying animal behavior. The stories and commentaries collected here span the twentieth century. As present day animal behaviorists, psychologists, and the public attempt to sort out the meaning of what animals do and our obligations to them, Ralph Lutts maps some of the prominent features of our cultural landscape. Tales include: i??The Springfield Foxi?? by Ernest Thompson Seton, i??The Sounding of the Calli? ? by Jack, i??London Stickeeni?? by John Muir, and i??Journey to the Seai?? by Rachel Carson. Other selections include essays by Theoore Roosevelt, John Burroughs, Margaret Atwood, and Ralph H. Lutts. Author note: Ralph H. Lutts, Associate Faculty, Goddard College Off-Campus BA./MA Program and Adjunct Faculty, University of Virginia, Division of Continuing Education, is the author of i??The Nature Fakers: Wildlife, Science, and Sentimenti??.