ANIMAL WORLD AT THE LIMIT - Animal Adaptation and Failure in the Anthropocene

A powerful wake-up call and a fascinating description of what animals are capable of.

Whether lion, titmouse, or butterfly, dog, cat, or pig: both wild and domestic animals can adapt surprisingly well to changing environmental conditions. Cockatoos have learned to open garbage bins to access food; pigs can free their conspecifics from captivity using clever tricks. But fascinating as these examples may be, adaptation has its limits. Wild animal populations are shrinking, species are going extinct, and domestic animals in agriculture and as pets experience massive suffering.

The renowned behavioral researchers Norbert Sachser and Niklas Kästner explain, based on the latest science, how the habitat of wild animals is being dramatically altered by land consumption, invasive species, and climate change, and how domestic animals are offered lives - due to extreme housing conditions and questionable breeding goals - that in no way meet their complex needs.

What can, what must we do now for the world of animals? A powerful wake-up call that, not least, raises questions about the personal, political, and societal consequences of an animal world at the limit.