The Animal Worlds We Rarely See
6/9/202618 min
A massive California wildfire prompted author Ryan Huling to get curious about the boundaries between human civilization and a vacant wilderness. It led him on a travel quest into the world of animals, which he documented in a new book, The Hidden Nations of Animals.
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First 90 secondsKelly McEvers· Host0:01
In 2020, there was a fire in the Angeles National Forest. At that point, it was one of the largest fires in California history. The fire spread over 100,000 acres of land, killing most of the vegetation, but it did not destroy people's homes. That should have been a good thing. [gentle music] Instead, Ryan Huling, whose house is at the edge of this forest, saw others who were affected.
Ryan Huling· Guest0:27
The neighborhood that I'm in had animals coming out of the woods directly into our neighborhood, mountain lions who had singed paws, bears who were trying to bring their cubs out, the moms trying to chase them.
Kelly McEvers· Host0:39
For Ryan, this exodus of animals was a wake-up call. He realized that while humans saw an empty, denuded landscape, they were actually watching the destruction of a deeply populated neighborhood.
Ryan Huling· Guest0:53
I said, "Oh, they really don't get it. The woods are filled with animals. [laughs] They, they don't understand that the woods are not empty."
Kelly McEvers· Host1:04
I'm Kelly McEver, and this is Atlas Obscura, a celebration of the world's strange, incredible, and wondrous places. And today, we are talking about what Ryan Huling did next, how he decided he wanted to travel into the world of animals. He documented those travels in a new book, The Hidden Nations of Animals.