The Eye of the Sandpiper: Stories from the Living World

266 Pages·2017·2.152 MB·English

by  Brandon Keim

THE EYE OF THE SANDPIPER

TH E E Y E O F TH E
SA N DPI PER
STORIES FROM THE LIVING WORLD
BRANDON KEIM
Comstock Publishing Associates
A division of
Cornell University Press
Ithaca and London
Copyright © 2017 by Cornell University
All rights reserved. Except for brief quotations in a review,
this book, or parts thereof, must not be reproduced in any
form without permission in writing from the publisher. For
information, address Cornell University Press, Sage House,
512 East State Street, Ithaca, New York 14850.
First published 2017 by Cornell University Press
Printed in the United States of America
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Names: Keim, Brandon, 1976– author.
Title: The eye of the sandpiper : stories from the living world /
Brandon Keim.
Description: Ithaca : Comstock Publishing Associates, a division
of Cornell University Press, 2017. | Includes bibliographical
references and index.
Identifi ers: LCCN 2016056233 (print) | LCCN 2016056974
(ebook) | ISBN 9781501707728 (pbk. : alk. paper) |
ISBN 9781501712647 (epub/mobi) | ISBN 9781501712654 (pdf)
Subjects: LCSH: Natural history—Anecdotes.
Classifi cation: LCC QH45.5 .K45 2017 (print) |
LCC QH45.5 (ebook) | DDC 508—dc23
LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2016056233
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information, visit our website at www.cornellpress.cornell.edu.
TO MOM AND DAD
. . . by retaining one’s childhood love of such things
as trees, fi shes, butterfl ies and—to return to my fi rst
instance—toads, one makes a peaceful and decent
future a little more probable. . . .
— George Orwell —
CONTENTS
Acknowledgments xi
Introduction: Trees of Life 1
Part I. Dynamics 5
Organized Chaos Makes the Beauty of a Butterfl y 7
Chickadees, Mutations, and the Thermodynamics of Life 11
The Photosynthetic Salamander 14
Human Evolution Enters an Exciting New Phase 17
“Parallel Universe” of Life Described Far beneath the
Bottom of the Sea 22
At the Edge of Invasion, Possible New Rules for Evolution 26
A Mud-Loving, Iron-Lunged, Jelly-Eating Ecosystem Savior 29
Redeeming the Lamprey 32
Decoding Nature’s Soundtrack 37
Part II. Inner Lives 45
Being a Sandpiper 47
viii(cid:2)(cid:2)CONTENTS
Monogamy Helps Geese Reduce Stress 58
What Pigeons Teach Us about Love 60
Chimps and the Zen of Falling Water 67
How City Living Is Reshaping the Brains and Behavior
of Urban Animals 71
Reconsider the Rat: The New Science of a Reviled Rodent 75
Monkeys See Selves in Mirror, Open a Barrel of Questions 84
The New Anthropomorphism 88
Honeybees Might Have Emotions 102
Part III. Intersections 105
A Day in the Life of NYC’s Hospital for Wild Birds 107
New Yorkers in Uproar over Planned Mass Killing of Swans 1(cid:3)1(cid:3)1
An Eel Swims in the Bronx 115
On Waldman’s Pond 119
The Return of the River 123
A Chimp’s Day in Court: Inside the Historic Demand for
Nonhuman Rights 132
Chimpanzee Rights Get a Day in Court 147
Medical Experimentation on Chimps Is Nearing an End.
But What about Monkeys? 151
I, Cockroach 156
Part IV. Ethics 163
The Improbable Bee 165
The Ethics of Urban Beekeeping 167
The Wild, Secret Life of New York City 170
Earth Is Not a Garden 181
CONTENTS(cid:2)(cid:2)ix
Add a Few Species. Pull Down the Fences. Step Back. 194
Feral Cats vs. Conservation: A Truce 198
Should Animals Have a Right to Privacy? 201
When Climate Change Blinds Us 205
To Bring Back Extinct Species, We’ll Need to Change Our Own 209
September 11, Fall Migration, and Occupy Wall Street 212
Making Sense of 7 Billion People 216
References 219
Index 247