We lurched along an unpaved road in the night, walls of trees and knotted vines on either side. In the open back of a pickup truck, two wildlife spotters stood in front of me, whirling their flashlights. To my right stood my father, whose lifelong obsession with wildlife had inspired my own. Mammal watching is superficially similar to bird-watching: trying to see as many different wild species as possible. It is hard — mammals can be elusive — but rewarding, as the most interesting mammals dwell in the earth’s wildest and most vulnerable places.

Source: International New York Times November 26, 2024 05:36 UTC