Feral summary

The author’s experiences in Brazil haven’t been his only contact with indigenous peoples. In 1992, he traveled to Kenya, where he befriended a Maasai warrior called Toronkei. What struck Monbiot was just how different Maasai life was to what he was used to in the West.

He came away convinced that there was much to learn from the Maasai. For starters, there was a certain spontaneity to the decisions they made. For instance, Toronkei, a dedicated runner, would quite happily decide on a whim to run 35 miles to another village, just to swing by a friend’s place.

After his thrilling adventures in Brazil, the author settled down into a more conventional life in Wales. There, he spent his time enjoying family life and writing about the environment. But he realized something was missing.

It wasn’t that the author wanted to spend his remaining days among indigenous tribes; he knew that his respect for indigenous culture wasn’t based on some misplaced idealization of primitive societies.

If you’re worried that the author's environmental agenda will require you to give up flushing toilets and spend the rest of your days foraging in the wild, there’s no need for concern.

Rewilding doesn’t mean that urban life has to be jettisoned. Quite the contrary; the author doesn’t think – like some misguided environmental fundamentalists – that humanity should return to a hunter-gatherer lifestyle.

There are few experiences like that of being out in a fishing boat on the open sea. Out there, you are truly in the wildness and at one with nature.

The author himself loves it. On a recent fishing expedition, he spent several hours in Cardigan Bay off the coast of Wales. You might expect him to have returned to shore festooned with fish, but he only caught half a dozen mackerel.

If you ever start turning over the earth beneath your feet, you’re sure to find an abundance of life. You name it: worms, grubs and beetles will all be there, burrowing away. These minibeasts are interesting enough in their own right. But to those in the know, the truths that can be uncovered in soil go much deeper.

For archaeologists, digging provides humankind with fascinating insights into our past.

In 2011, a Welsh policeman called Michael Disney reported sighting a large wildcat that was prowling across the Pembrokeshire countryside.

No doubt most would dismiss such assertions as the stuff of fantasy. But Disney stands by his claim. In fact, he’s far from being the sole self-declared witness of wildcats roaming Britain – such sightings occur relatively frequently.

Many people just don’t get what all the fuss is about when people like the author start harping on about protecting wolves, bears, lynxes and other large animals.

But the fact remains that these large animals play a critical role in local ecosystems. Therefore, if rewilding is to occur, these creatures have to be involved.

If it’s so important that large animals have a role in rewilding nature, and we don’t have a proper policy for achieving that, then we really ought to work it out.

In practice, there are two steps that could be taken: