Many scientists believe that we are currently living through the Earth's sixth mass extinction, with species disappearing at a rate not seen for tens of millions of years – a trend that will only accelerate as climate change and other pressures intensify. What does it mean to live in such a time? And what exactly do we lose when a species goes extinct?
In Lost Wonders author and journalist Tom Lathan tells the stories of ten species that have lived, died out and been declared extinct since the turn of the twenty-first century. In a series of fascinating encounters with subjects that are now nowhere to be found on Earth – from giant tortoises to minuscule snails the size of sesame seeds, from ocean-hopping trees to fish that wag their tails like puppies – Lathan brings these lost wonders briefly back to life and gives us a tantalising glimpse of what we have lost within our own lifetime.
Drawing on the personal recollections of the people who studied these species, as well as those who tried but ultimately failed to save them, Lost Wonders is an intimate portrait of the species that have only recently vanished from our world and an urgent warning to hold on all the more tightly to those now slipping from our grasp. Tom Lathan is a freelance writer living on the North Kent coast. In a previous incarnation he worked in the film and TV industry. Now he writes about the environment, conservation and loss for various publications including the Guardian, the Financial Times, the Spectator and the Times Literary Supplement. When not writing, Tom is involved with Kent Wildlife Trust, overseeing a reptile survey site on a nature reserve near Dover and performing marshland plant surveys, as well as training to take part in ocean surveys that monitor the numbers of invasive species in UK waters. A compelling account of what happens when the delicate balance of life is disturbed, told through the remarkable stories of ten species which have become extinct in the twenty-first century.
