Page 6 - Hobe Sound Reflections- July '24

Page 6, Hobe Sound

Book review

FUZZ: When Nature Breaks the monkey is a representative monkeys that the author discusses in her typical (and quite
of Hanuman.
hilarious) droll manner.
The Law “Deepening the problem: Another example of man vs. nature problems is one much
offerings. Tuesdays and closer to home: the efforts in Texas, Arkansas and elsewhere to
By Nils A. Shapiro Saturdays, the devotees visit literally bomb crows – “black bandits of the air” and “feathered
Author Mary Roach’s Hanuman temples to make gangsters” they were called – and other birds out of the skies
books invariably climb the a puja. To the icons inside, from airplanes with sticks of dynamite! During one winter alone
national bestseller lists. She they present coconuts and 250,000 crows were killed in Illinois.
has earned among her vast fan garlands of marigolds; to the Their crime? Doing what crows do naturally in order to
base a reputation as “our most living representatives hanging survive: They were raiding the nests of waterfowl, devouring
consistently entertaining,” and around outside, samosas and eggs and chicks to the extent that duck hunters would not have
“disturbingly funny journalist” Frooti mango pop. Feeding enough of them to shoot!
with an “infectious awe for wild animals, as we know, is Here is one with a gentler touch befitting the locale – Vatican
quirky science.” the quickest path to conflict. City:
The titles of her earlier The promise of food motivates normally human-shy animals Gulls are very different from crows, and it is sometimes
books are evidence of that: to take a risk. The risk-taking is rewarded, and the behavior necessary to keep them away in certain situations – but in a way
Gulp: Adventures on the Alimentary Canal; Bonk: The Curious escalates. Shyness becomes fearlessness, and fearlessness that does no harm.
Coupling of Science and Sex; Grunt: The Curious Science of becomes aggression. If you don’t hand over the food you’re “If you make a gull sufficiently nervous, it will vomit. While
Humans at War; Spook; Science Tackles the Afterlife; Stiff: The carrying, the monkey will grab it. If you try to hold onto it, unpleasant for biologists who need to handle them, the habit
Curious Lives of Human Cadavers and Packing For Mars: The or push the animal away, it may slap you. Or bite you. The affords easy insight into what the birds have been eating. Here is a
Curious Science of Life in the Void. Times of India put the number of monkey bites reported by partial list of what a herring gull considers edible – that is, things
Her latest work attracted me because of its subject matter: Delhi hospitals in 2018 at 950.” that have been vomited in the general direction of Julie C. Ellis,
a round-the-world investigation into the wildly diverse – but So far, the Delhi government’s efforts to control the senior research investigator at the University of Pennsylvania:
ultimately fascinating – ways in which we humans attempt to situation with injectable or oral contraceptives have failed,
solve the problems we face when the world’s other creatures and in part because of the unusual sex drive of the male macaque Book Review on page 7
natural forces either don’t understand the rules we have set … or
seemingly refuse to follow them.
As the author travels the globe in search of each area’s Helping People Succeed from page 1 employment. For more information, contact Glenna
problems – working closely with wildlife scientists, researchers Parris at (772) 320-0778.
and other experts whose insightful findings she passes along who don’t receive new gifts or baby showers. Rob, Amy and Photos provided by Helping People Succeed
to us – she describes local efforts to solve their dilemmas. It is Heather are great examples of how giving, especially to those
here, in situations that local communities often consider even who truly need it, makes our community and our world better.”
dire, that Roach’s sense of humor shines through on so many of Helping People Succeed is celebrating 60 years
these pages. of service to the community. Through its diversified,
Here is just one example – true historical record described effective program services and initiatives, hundreds
on the very first page of this book’s Introduction: of thousands of the most vulnerable local children,
“On June 26, 1659, a representative from five towns in a families and adults have been able to transform their
province of northern Italy initiated legal proceedings against lives through education, counseling, training and
caterpillars. The local specimens, went the complaint, were
trespassing and pilfering from people’s gardens and orchards. A
summons was issued and five copies made and nailed to trees in Paul Gargolinski, Ann Mehling and Sheryl Britton
forests adjacent to each town. The caterpillars were ordered to
appear in court on the twenty-eight of June, at a specified hour,
where they would be assigned legal representation.
“Of course, no caterpillars appeared at the appointed time,
but the case went forward anyway. In a surviving document,
the court recognizes the rights of caterpillars to live freely and
happily, provided this does not ‘impair the happiness of man…’
The judge decreed that the caterpillars be assigned a plot of
land for their sustenance and enjoyment. By the time the details
were worked out, the defendants, having pupated (to butterflies),
were surely through with their devastations, and all parties left
the proceedings satisfied.” Guests enjoying breakfast Cher Fisher, Amy Whitlach, Carolyn Moses and Claire Nash
Not all human-animal problem encounters are settled so
easily, however. As we soon learn in the book’s 15 chapters,
some of them can present real predicaments. Take the case that
the author describes in the chapter she titles “THE MONKEY
FIX: Birth Control for Marauding Macaques.”
Roach travels to study the situation and meets with officials
at the Wildlife Institute of India. Newspapers scream such stories
as a baby fatally wounded after a rhesus macaque snatched
him from his mother’s breast … a bunch of monkeys stoned
a 72-year-old to death … eight lethal macaque attacks. The
monkeys are literally everywhere, and the reason is obvious: the
Indian religions, in which animals frequently represent various
gods. For example, the wild boar is an avatar of the deity Vishnu;

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