Book Review: Lost Animals by Errol Fuller

Yet another non-fiction to add to the shelf. This time, however, we're taking a look at descriptions of extinct species, rather than wolves like usual.

In Lost Animals, Fuller has collected a wide array of photos for a large selection of now-extinct species. Each species is given a brief chapter of information, mostly surrounding the circumstances under which the images were taken and by whom, and of course how the extinction itself happened. 

The chapters are mostly very brief, though they vary in size and amount of pictures based on how much we know about each species and how many images are available. Honestly, this book was just a really emotional read. Extinct species like the thylacine are very personal to me and to see actual photos from back when still alive and roaming this world, it really hurts. Especially considering the condition some of these animals were in. The zoos at the time definitely weren't what they are today.

Reading this book for me was just a very melancholy but important experience. We should recognize the animals we have lost over the years, and of course also try to prevent the extinction of species that are currently being threatened.

Honestly, my only gripe with this book is the fact that it's called Lost Animals, but a more apt title would've been Lost Birds and other Animals. Despite the thylacine on the cover, the vast majority of the animals that are shown in this book are birds. And there's nothing wrong with that, but a bit more variation in what types of animals are being talked about would've been nice. The author makes it known in the prologue that the chose not to talk about extinct subspecies of still-extant species for the most part, but I think that actually might've nicely changed things up a bit. He could've talked about Caspian/Bali/Java tigers or Sicilian wolves for example. 

Like, I like birds, don't get me wrong, but when the title makes the reader suspect it'll cover a wide array of extinct animals and about 70% of the animals covered are just birds, it gets a bit old. 

But overall this is a really important and beautiful book if you ask me. It made me as a reader very emotional, but that's what makes it all the better. I just hope we can prevent many extinctions in the future.

Rating: 4/5