‘Our Wild Calling’ argues for emotional connection with animals

In the early 2000s, I spent much of my time following, interviewing, and writing about some of the most dedicated environmentalists and conservation scientists in southern Africa. These were animal people, the sort who could spot the nearly invisible tail of a lion through waving blond grasses, or who could differentiate individual elephants by the notches in their ears.

They respected nature, and animals. But only a few believed that other animals