#6 [2025/CBR17] Vanishing Treasures by Katherine Rundell

I found Vanishing Treasures: A Bestiary of Extraordinary Endangered Creatures (2024) by Katherine Rundell because it was available as an audiobook from my library. Environmentalism and animals are two themes that are right up my alley, so it was no surprise that I downloaded it as soon as it was available.

Vanishing Treasures is a short collection of essays on endangered animals (or animals that have a subspecies that is endangered). The animals vary widely from the very common raccoon and bear to the rarely seen or studied Greenland Shark. Rundell also discusses incredible animals such as the American Tree Frog, whose heart simply stops beating in the winter when the frog is frozen solid. But the heart starts again, on its own, once it warms up--humans have no idea how this works.

The essays often begins with some discussion of the uniqueness of each animal. The Swift is a bird that flies thousands of miles, eating and sleeping in the air. Rundell also often ties in quotes or stories of how humans have viewed these animals throughout the years. For example, the Greenland Shark can live over 400 years. There are sharks swimming around in the ocean that have been alive for so much of our human history. In addition, people's history with bears is rather sad. Bear baiting was popular from the 12th through the 19th centuries, and people kept bears for this purpose. Time after time the poor bear would be put in a pit and attacked by dogs for the entertainment.

Other animals included in this book are the sea horse, wombat, lemur, narwhal, and many others. The pangolin is another animal that is endangered. The world will certainly be less interesting if this scaly anteater were to disappear.

The stories of these unique and interesting animals all end in the same way. Their numbers are declining, and they are endangered--all of them by human action or inaction. Climate change, habitat destruction, and the black market for rare animals or parts of animals are the primary culprits. Unfortunately, the demand for the animal increases as it becomes more rare.

On the whole, I liked this book. It has a purpose, and it educates us on some of the fascinating animals that are at risk--even though it can feel far away from our normal lives. I sometimes wished for a little more information on the animals instead of what just felt like the highlights. I also think this book would have been better reading in paperback rather than audiobook. There are beautiful illustrations throughout the book that I missed out on while listening to it.