Our Wild Calling summary

Thanks to modern technology, human beings have never been so connected – and yet we’ve never felt so alone. Not only are rates of loneliness growing in the Western world, but younger generations report much higher rates of isolation than their older counterparts. How did we become so alone? 

Some ecophilosophers believe that our loneliness is not just a hunger for the company of other humans, but for a connection with other species, too. Ecologist Michael Vincent McGinnis has coined the term species loneliness to describe humankind’s increasing alienation from non-human life. 

Do humans and other animals feel the same emotions? Until recently, the scientific community believed the answer was no. Indeed, any scientist who hinted that animals might share any of the same thoughts or emotions as humans was deemed to have committed one of the worst sins of all: anthropomorphism.

Anthropomorphism means attributing human-like qualities to animals. The risk in anthropomorphizing animals is that, by thinking of other animals as human-like, we ignore their innate, unique characteristics. As a result, we remain ignorant about them. One study, for instance, found that children who were taught about the natural world through the use of caricatured, cartoonish talking animals absorbed less information than children who were simply taught the facts. 

Humans and other animals may not speak the same language, but that doesn’t mean they can’t communicate. The author recalls the story of a professor who found himself waiting at a rural bus stop in the Alaskan wilderness. Suddenly, a large male wolf emerged on the road ahead. The wolf stared at him intently for a minute, before turning and walking away. As he went, the wolf kept looking over his shoulder at the professor. It was like the wolf was using his whole body to point toward something. After a while, it became clear that he wanted the professor to follow him, which he did. Somehow, the man understood that the wolf meant him no harm. These two species, man and wolf, were communicating effectively. 

Later, the professor learned that the wolf’s pack had killed a moose in the area surrounding the bus stop. The wolf was trying to lead him away from the kill, so that its family could eat undisturbed. This is just one example of how, if we listen carefully, animals will speak. 

How do you relate to nature and other species? Perhaps even your understanding of the word nature holds a clue to how you feel about it. Consider that the indigenous people of Southern Kenya, the Maasai, do not even have a word for nature. Why? Because they don’t need one; they see themselves as completely inseparable from the natural world. For most modern people, though, our relationship with nature feels more ambiguous. 

Ecopsychologist Patricia Hasbach believes that there are three distinct ways in which humans relate to other species; wild, domestic, and distorted. When we relate to animals in a wild way, we interact with them in their natural environments. For instance, we might see a lion in the Serengeti, and be overcome with feelings of awe, or even fear. Alternatively, we might relate to animals in a domestic way, like interacting with a pet dog. Because we know our dog, and it knows us, there is a mutual feeling of happiness that feels natural. 

You might not be able to change the world, but you can change the part of it that you call home. James Garcia discovered this for himself, growing up in an impoverished neighborhood in Denver. As a teenager, James came across a bird in his local park with an old fishing hook caught in its throat. He wasn’t able to save the bird, but it haunted him that an innocent animal had suffered because humans couldn’t be bothered to pick up their garbage. After his experience, James vowed to change things for the better. 

He looked around his local area and realized how little his fellow neighbors cared for nature and the other animals around them. At first he felt angry, but gradually, he started to feel empathy. After all, everyone in his neighborhood was poor; they worked multiple jobs, and had little time or energy to consider the environmental impact of their choices.