Animal month

Erica Berry argues in her new book, “Wolfish” that wolves exert a special kind of “psychic pressure point” on the human imagination.

That may be why among all of the predator animals in the world wolves seem to inspire a particular fear and fascination.

She writes: “Many of our stories about wolves have been inflated for so long, it’s a challenge to separate the being from the belief.”

Dr. Karen Fine believes that one of the most fulfilling things about being a veterinarian is the gift of being able to heal animals with a gentle and receptive touch.

Fine writes in her new book, “The Other Family Doctor,” that slowing down, touching and listening allowed her to bring mindfulness to her work.

If you’ve long listened for the sounds of insects at work and play, the buzzing of bees, the song of crickets, you may’ve noticed that those sounds have dimmed over time.

Environmental journalist Oliver Milman writes in a new book, “The Insect Crisis:”

“Insects are the most accessible animals in our lives, beyond our cats and dogs. But they are also the most otherworldly and, arguably, most impressively tenacious beings we share this planet with.”

And yet, that tenacity hasn’t prevented an alarming collapse in the insect kingdom.

— Kerri Miller | MPR News