Gone : Stories of Extinction

Dynamic naturalist Michael Blencowe has travelled the globe to uncover the fascinating backstories of eleven extinct animals, which he shares with charm and insight inA�Gone. 'Really, really well-written.'A��_" CHRIS PACKHAM A� Inspired by his childhood obsession with extinct species,A�Blencowe takes us around the globeA��_" from the forests of New Zealand to the ferries of Finland, from the urban sprawl of San Francisco to an inflatable crocodile on Brighton�_Ts Widewater Lagoon.A�Spanning five centuries, from the last sighting of New Zealand�_Ts Upland Moa to the 2012 death of the Pinta Island Giant Tortoise, Lonesome George, his memoir is peppered with theA�accounts of the hunters and naturalists of the pastA�as well as revealingA�conversations with the custodians of these totemic animals today.A� A� FeaturingA�striking artworksA�that resurrect these forgotten creatures, each chapter focuses on a different animal, revealing insights intoA�their unique characteristics and habitats;A�the history of their discoveryA�andA�just how and when they came to be lost to us.A� A� Blencowe inspects the only known remains of a Huia egg at Te Papa, New Zealand; views hundreds of specimens of deceased Galapagos tortoises and Xerces Blue butterflies in the California Academy of Sciences; and pays his respects to the only soft tissue remains of the Dodo in the world. Warm, wry and thought-provoking,A�GoneA�shows thatA�while each extinction story is different, all can inform how we live in the future. Discover and learn from the stories of the: Great Auk. A majestic flightless seabird of the North Atlantic and the �_~original penguin�_T. Spectacled Cormorant. The �_~ludicrous bird�_T from the remote islands of the Bering Sea.A� Steller�_Ts Sea Cow. An incredible ten tonne dugong with skin as furrowed as oak bark.A� Upland Moa. The improbable birds and the one-time rulers of New Zealand.A� Huia. The unique bird with two beaks and twelve precious tail feathers.A� South Island K�_kako. The �_~orange-wattled crow�_T, New Zealand�_Ts elusive Grey Ghost.A� Xerces Blue. The gossamer-winged butterfly of the San Francisco sand dunes.A� Pinta Island Tortoise. The slow-moving, long-lived giant of the GalA�pagos Islands.A� Dodo. The superstar of extinction.A� Schomburgk�_Ts Deer. A mysterious deer from the wide floodplains of central Thailand.A� Ivell�_Ts Sea Anemone. A see-through sea creature known only from southern England.A�A� A modern must-read for anyone interested in protecting our earth and its incredible wildlife,A�GoneA�isA�an evocative call to conserve what we have before it is lost forever. A�