The Missing Lynx by Ross Barnett

I rarely get chance to read wildlife books but I always manage to get through at least over the summer and this year I chose The Missing Lynx by Ross Barnett. It was recommended to me in the BBC Wildlife magazine and seemed to fit my current view on the current direction ecology and conservation needs to take in the modern world.

The book looks like it is about the proposed reintroduction of Lynx to the UK but this is misleading, as the byline states this is about all our missing mammals. For me, as a child whilst dinosaurs were interesting it was the mega fauna of the Pleistocene that were more fascinating. When writing a book on the natural history of Warwick I read through the records of Aurochs and Mammoth that once roamed on the same landscape I call my home.

Ross takes a balanced and light look at the range of fauna that once lived in Britain. He devotes chapters to key groups such as Hyena, Bears, Sabre-tooths and so on. He delivers the material with charm balancing the science of how we know with humour and flair. 

As a scientist himself who works in the field of genetic analysis Ross' expertise shines through and he explains fascinating details of evolutionary theory, likewise he places these animals in an ecological context with skill.

He invokes a real melancholy in his writing for what we have lost. His passion for these past creatures is palpable. He accounts for each species disappearance and doesn't shy away from laying the blame at our (mankinds) door. You may think that this would make the book depressing but his final chapter on the future of these mammals whilst still lamenting their loss highlights the positive actions that can be taken.

Ross explains the success of wolf reintroduction's in America and in Europe and how the beaver reintroduction in Scotland is a flagship for positive conservation action he also makes a clear case for Lynx reintroduction.

This books is for anyone interested in how our landscape was so very different from today or sees the potential for rewilding and reintroduction as key conservation policy for the future in the UK.

The book is available from all good bookshops.