Humans are all over the place, and because of our peripatetic and trespassing proclivities, far too many wild animals wind up in facilities that have to care for them. These sentient beings have a lot to say about what they’re thinking and feeling, and Dr. Susan Eirich’s beautifully illustrated new book Whispers from the Wild: An Invitation: Stories From the Rescued Wild Animals of Earthfire Institute vividly illuminates the incredible connections these animals have to each other and to the humans who care for them.
Part of the book’s description clearly explains why Susan’s book is important to researchers—it made me think of a lot of different studies about their cognitive and emotional lives that remain to be done—and to people who simply love other animals and want to care for them after their lives have been intruded upon by humans. It reads: “Through inspirational storytelling, Susan shares her experiences with these animals, in play, in love, and through their passing. From a wolf who maneuvered her way into cabin-living to a developmentally delayed bear who deeply moved all who met him, these are the stories of the animals of Earthfire–a taste of the laughter, joy, and love they brought and the insights they offered.”
Here’s what Susan had to say about her riveting new book:
I had to. Some years ago, I was given an opportunity to raise seven wolf puppies. I had been happily working as a psychologist at the time, but raising wolf puppies was an invitation I couldn’t resist. That was the end of life as I knew it. Holding them close, bottle-feeding them, feeling their heartbeats close to mine, I fell hopelessly in love.
The pressure to share the wonder of those beings was overpowering. I started a nonprofit wildlife sanctuary and named it Earthfire Institute after one of the pups. Over the years, the number of species I was able to connect with widened to bears, cougars, bison, and other animals native to the Yellowstone to Yukon wildlife corridor. On this journey, I discovered that the sense of wonder and magic was the same no matter the species.
The experiences I have had while living with animals over these many years were so mind-blowing, and the implications for our potential relationships with them so stunning that I simply had to share them with my fellow humans. The power of those connections has driven me ever since to communicate the urgency of saving habitat for them. These connections and their impact form the basis for what I have called Reconnection Ecology—to share and support one another in our profound experiences with animals and nature, to trust and give real importance to those experiences, and then use that energy, insight, and wonder to inspire us to action.
“We only save what we love” is true, but it is hard to love what we are not familiar with. Whispers from the Wild strives to give us a sense of intimacy with wild animals and encourages us to explore the implications of those experiences. If we attend to them, they can reunite us with the family of life, and from that awareness, we would make very different decisions in how we live and what policies we support.
The book is written for us, humans of all ages, to help us feel more connected to, nourished, and healed by the natural world. It can be read at several levels: simply as a series of enchanting stories, or the reader can delve into the deeper philosophical and spiritual questions these stories raise.
What has struck me most powerfully in the years I have lived with these animals is their profound individuality, the intensity of their emotional lives, their lively curiosity, and their unique intelligences, both species intelligence and very individual intelligence.
Equal in importance, from my perspective, is how responsive they are when approached with respect and care. My experience is that when they feel safe, they want to meet us; they are interested in who we are.
And utterly astounding to me, with my scientific background, are peeks into what I can only call their spiritual lives. There are things I have witnessed that I can’t explain, but that did nonetheless happen. I explore the implications for understanding the nature of nature and our potential relationships with animals and our Earth. It is all a wonderful mystery.
Also striking are the deep commonalities between our emotional lives and those of animals of many different species.
Finally, I explore what we have to gain if we protect their habitat for them and give them the space and respect they deserve as fellow life forms. Leaving space for them is leaving space for us to breathe. On a practical level, they are an integral piece of the natural world on which we rely.
Whispers from the Wild shares vivid, intimate details and insights that come from living with a wide variety of species over their lifetimes and through their passing: a grizzly bear who reduces people to tears just by meeting him, a coyote mercilessly manipulating her mate without him having a clue; a porcupine demanding his heat lamp…
Yes. I hope the book touches people and reminds them of their own experiences that reconnect them to all life. It is difficult for us to change, and most of us are pretty overwhelmed with the state of things. We need reminding and support. It will take more than a book, but I see it as a beginning. I am offering support through online story-sharing workshops where together we can explore experiences we have had, give real weight and meaning to them, and begin to incorporate them into our lives as a guide to our actions.
My dream would be for people all over the world to form these support groups as a counterforce to our current approach that sees other life and our Earth only as resources to be exploited. There is such richness and peace and healing if we see ourselves instead as part of an incredible resonant web of life and live from that perspective.
References
In conversation with Dr. Susan Eirich. For more than a quarter century Dr. Eirich has lived with rescued wild animals, using her degrees in biology and psychology to explore the potential relationships we can have with other species. She is the Executive Director of the Earthfire Institute, a wildlife sanctuary located in southeastern Idaho.
Emissaries from the Wild: The Animals of Earthfire. YouTube.
"When Animals Rescue": Reflections on Kindness and Morality; Mutual Rescue: Adopting a Homeless Animal Can Save You Both; Empathy Burnout and Compassion Fatigue Among Animal Rescuers; Listening to the Voices of Animals Who Resist Exploitation.
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