A haunting photographic record of extinction
A photograph of an extinct animal evokes a greater feeling of loss than
any painting ever could. Often black and white or tinted sepia, these
remarkable images have been taken mainly in zoos or wildlife parks, and
in some cases depict the last known individual of the species. Lost
Animals is a unique photographic record of extinction, presented by a
world authority on vanished animals. Richly illustrated throughout, this
handsome book features photographs dating from around 1870 to as
recently as 2004, the year that witnessed the demise of the Hawaiian
Po'ouli. From a mother Thylacine and her pups to birds such as the Heath
Hen and the Carolina Parakeet, Errol Fuller tells the story of each
animal, explains why it became extinct, and discusses the circumstances
surrounding the photography.
Covering 28 extinct species, Lost Animals includes familiar examples
like the last Passenger Pigeon, Martha, and one of the last Ivory-billed
Woodpeckers, photographed as it peers quizzically at the hat of one of
the biologists who has just ringed it. But the book includes rare images
as well, many never before published. Collected together here for the
first time, these photographs provide a tangible link to animals that
have now vanished forever, in a book that brings the past to life while
delivering a warning for the future.
Poignant and compelling, Lost Animals also includes a concise
introduction that looks at the earliest days of animal photography, and
an appendix of drawings and paintings of the species covered.
