Wild Ones Live

Wildlife Design

Roman Mars shares insights from Jon Mooallem's book "Wild Ones," which explores how human interactions with wildlife have become orchestrated experiences. These interactions, often seen in eco-tours and conservation efforts, transform natural encounters into designed spectacles. Mars highlights the transition from natural to designed experiences, noting that it can be both dismaying and reassuring 1.

Wild ones is about the cutesy stuffed animals, the eco tours, and the byzantine methods of conservation that evolve when our experience with wildlife goes from something natural to something designed.

--- Roman Mars

The book's narrative is complemented by a musical score from the band Black Prairie, creating a unique auditory experience that reflects on the themes of the book 1.

   

Polar Bear Tourism

Jon Mooallem describes the surreal spectacle of polar bear tourism in Churchill, Manitoba, where the town becomes a hub for both bears and tourists. This phenomenon highlights the changing perception of polar bears, from feared predators to symbols of climate change vulnerability 2.

Honestly, it's a breathtaking thing to watch a polar bear flying away.

--- Jon Mooallem

Mooallem recounts witnessing a "bearlift," where tranquilized bears are airlifted to safety, illustrating the lengths humans go to protect wildlife in modern times 2.