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ECOS 34(1) 2013 ECOS 34(1) 2013

on wild work which covers themes like I wrote this review sitting in Stornoway working dogs, and, enticingly, “Creatures library, and as I worked a local Gaelic Book of the Mind”. As Pullar says in her activist came up. He wished to remain introduction, this is a study that aims to anonymous and said “Just call me Will-o- approach animals not just physically and the-Wisp”. He said what impressed him Reviews economically, but also “at the level of about this book was that it gives names feeling, imagination and belief.” in English, Latin, Scots and Gaelic, and that while the English and Latin usually For example, the two pages devoted to have just one name, the more vernacular the describe its ecology, languages have many. For example, the provide an insight into the lore of hare (Blue) mountain hare, Lepus timidus, in shooting (no longer an enterprise to be Scots can be whiddie baudrons, bawtie, encouraged), and a concise summary cutty, donie, fuddie, lang lugs, maukin or of the hare’s meaning in Scots folklore. pussy, and in Gaelic, maigheach bhàn or In 1662 when Isobel Gowdie confessed bocaire fasaich. If one goes to the Gaelic to changing into a hare as part of her dictionaries, further names can be found alleged witchcraft, the spell by which including regional variations for the hare she claimed to restore herself to human at different stages of development. form was: This is a book that honours not just the Hare, hare, God send thee care! animals, with a splendour of photography I am in a hare’s likeness just now, that would grace any coffee table, but facing management today. FAUNA SCOTICA But I shall be a woman even now – also their human connections. I long for So far, so good; but there the writing Animals and people in Hare, hare, God send thee care. more wildlife writing and praise Polly departs from any other woodland book Polly Pullar & Mary Low Pullar, Mary Low, and Birlinn Limited on you have (probably) ever read. Coupled Birlinn Limited, 2012, 290 pages Similarly thought-provoking is the their achievement. with visits to 12 very different Hbk £30, ISBN 978 1 84158 561 1 section on the sacred goose. Does the across the UK, Sara Maitland has skilfully notion that the wild goose is a Celtic Alastair McIntosh re-told many of the Grimm’s fairy tales, This book is more than just a study of symbol of the Holy Spirit authentically one at the end of every chapter, linked natural nature. It also looks at the human come from tradition, or has it been with the issues discussed. She has taken relationship to nature. It sets nature wild invented by the likes of Lord George GOSSIP FROM THE FOREST the care to see them from different and free alongside human nature and Macleod of the Community? The tangled roots of our forests perspectives, and to include the detail thereby explores the fauna of Scotland Well, I once put that question to Ron and fairytales and magic of the natural world – the through the lens of human ecology; Fergusson, Macleod’s biographer, who Sara Maitland British natural world – in each one. indeed, a very humanised ecology, had in turn once posed it to old George. Granta, 2012, 256 pages because Mary Low’s acclaimed Celtic “Where did you get it from?” Ron had Hbk, £20, ISBN 1847084293 Maitland’s re-telling of the stories is brave. scholarship, her skill in folklore, richly asked. “I’ve no idea!” said George. “I Many storytellers are content to leave it complements the flowing narrative and probably invented it!” Fauna Scotica This is an important book. It re-connects to the listener to fill in the detail around vivid images of Polly Pullar and other hints, however, that George’s intuition the very practical matter of the UK’s archetype and human activity in stories. photographic contributors. may have been sourced from deeper forests with our own emotional heritage But here, Rumpelstiltskin looks like hazel wellheads of the traditions in which he of story and fairy tales. And it’s a book coppice and like juniper trees - all spiky; The work is divided into 10 sections was culturally immersed; and recently, in with real heart, a book to savour. a grown up Hansel goes back into the organised according to habitats. It reading the Chinese poetry of Wu Wei, forest to reconnect with his wild side and includes the expected with chapters on I was struck by the translator’s comment Themes of forestry and amenity, nature his twin sister, Gretel; and the big bad lone mountain, bog and moor, lochs and in the Penguin Classics edition (p. 92) and raw material, local industry and wolf, isolated in a plantation and rivers, the sea, islands and skerries, farm that “there was a myth that wild geese personal sense of place are all explored, thoroughly disgusted by Little Red Riding and croft, about town; but also chapters – and – could carry messages.” in an effective synthesis of the challenges Hood, has a very modern guise.

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What does all this have to do with the was shot dead by a local hunter, aged the Carpathians. The bear is a powerful way we see forests or, for that matter, 20. He claimed self-defence, but in his symbol in many cultures, including in nature conservation? Maitland would trial it was revealed that he had boasted Britain, playing a big role in myth and argue a great deal, and I agree with he was going to find and kill the bears. legend. It is an animal loaded with her. The booming bass drum beat of The court found that he had deliberately meaning far beyond its ecological role. the whole book is an emotional one: set out to kill the bear, and he was given In Bear Witness, this is not analysed, but a yearning for honesty within our a prison sentence for the crime. Happily breathes through the story. Alongside philosophy of land management, and for the cubs, they were adopted by this, the ecological importance of a recognition of the ancient archetypes the other female. The reintroduction the bear is well presented, with that underpin many of our core beliefs. programme has continued at a steady consideration of how habitats are There are deeper messages within the pace since then, much slower than impoverished in a wide range of aspects old fairy stories, and their resonance originally planned by government when this element is missing. runs deep, if you will let them in. conservationists, but in the face of massive opposition from local farmers, The writing is inspired, ranging If you would like your memories of despite compensation arrangements from imagery and description to the childhood stories cast in the context for loss of livestock. The programme is immediacy of dialogue and emotion, it of the land itself, your understanding highly controversial. is honest, even brutal, which enhances of our forests challenged, and your the interest. The story is captivating thoughts provoked, read this book. In some parts of the world, including and the characters are convincing. some parts of , people are The controversies, the hopes, the Lisa Schneidau strolled across the road to a proud of their bears. But where they disappointments that are all too clear waste container, and as I approached are re-introduced, there tends to be from actual bear programmes, are a dark shape moved in the skip and a controversy, with communities divided. vividly and intimately portrayed through BEAR WITNESS bear’s head rose up and watched me. Generally farmers oppose the presence the life of the main character. A captivating journey to the wild side The animal seemed huge. I quickly of bears, and the hunters, the men with Mandy Haggith retreated across the road. As we looked guns, are predominantly farmers. One The story is set slightly in the future. Saraband, 2013, 264 pages on, several more bears came out of factor in the success of bears seems to Although not specified, it could be Pbk, £8.99, ISBN 1908643292 the woodland and climbed into the be whether the local human population 5 years from now, or is that wishful containers to rummage for food. I was is used to living alongside them. It is a thinking? The world depicted, including Some years ago I spent a few days in surprised at just how big they are. A few cultural question. Farming practices need the social context, is entirely recognisable the Carpathian Mountains of Romania, weeks after this encounter, I heard on to be adapted to allow for the presence with some plausible refinements. Mandy hoping to sight a bear or perhaps hear the news that a tourist had been killed of bears, and farmers resist change. Haggith’s previous book The Last Bear the howling of wolves. I was impressed by a bear at this same location in Brasov. And it’s not just about farmers: people told the story of the killing of the last by the prolific wild flowers and some living in bear country develop a culture bear in Scotland a thousand years ago. interesting life, but didn’t have any France has hosted a bear reintroduction with the right degree of respect for this It showed a divided society, between large carnivore experiences. Spending programme in the Pyrenees since 1996. creature so that conflicts can be avoided. those trying to rid the land of predators, the last night in the city of Brasov, At that time there was a remnant I have a hunch that nasty accidents with and those who held the land and other we were given a tip off that bears population of about 12 bears in bears usually involve tourists who are not with a respect that was part of come down to the city at night to raid the western Pyrenees, which is now familiar with the animal. their spirituality. In Bear Witness, the dustbins, and told where to get the taxi reduced to about 4 individuals. 3 same sort of dynamic is at play, with to. We found a service road next to bears were initially introduced to the In Bear Witness Mandy Haggith portrays society divided between those who fear blocks of flats, with garages and large central Pyrenees. Breeding and further the bear sympathetically, and vividly the wild and provide rational arguments waste containers on one side, backing introductions have increased this describes a journey of discovery in against living with large carnivores, and onto a forested hillside. Night fell as we number to around 15. This programme Romania. It is a powerful experience those who believe in restoring balance stood across the road from the dustbins, has not been without difficulties. where the scientific mind is displaced in the world, in making space for other but not seeing any animals, we began Within a year of introduction one of the by an emotional response to this species. Rationality and science support to doubt we were in the right place. I females had two cubs. However, she formidable animal in the wild nature of both sides, but ultimately it is a question

66 67 ECOS 34(1) 2013 ECOS 34(1) 2013 of sentiment and belief on both sides. This suggestion that Reforesting Scotland has covers heating and cooking but I use is why, if we have any chance of seeing had the greatest impact on British Forestry about 3-4 tonnes for annual heating. our native wildlife restored, the cultural practices would not be recognised south 25 sounds excessive and if purchased element is so important. Our connection of the border. I do support the Reforesting as split firewood it would cost over with other species needs to be revived Scotland view of forestry with references £2000. There is not enough about through the arts and through education. to Rackham’s woodsmanship, Peterkin’s efficient burning, thermal mass Mandy Haggith illustrates this message woodlands in flux and that a ‘natural and the first step of insulation. Just in her books, but more importantly, her state’ is not achievable, and Mabey’s burning lots of wood is not of course work is part of the cultural process. appraisal of woodland heritage. Much a green solution. as I would appreciate wild camping on Another reality well portrayed in Bear a woodland estate in I am not Woodlanders is an excellent read but Witness, is how radical ideas and so sure about arguing the legality with it does view events in England through projects are championed by one or a few the gamekeeper. Scotland is well ahead a telescope. Maybe a follow up book individuals, and whether such initiatives in the public connection to forests and would help, to examine and understand get off the ground depends on individual a more enlightened view of woodland the actual ‘woodlanders’. personalities in key positions in society. activity, is moving but England has Politicians and civil servants tend to play a long way to go. Nigel Lowthrop safe, so wherever government decisions are required, initiatives can fail to get WOODLANDERS Similarly with construction, although the rubber stamp, or are diluted with New Life in Britain’s Forests there are a few exceptional examples, the more radical elements dropped. The Ian Edwards and Sarah Hunt (Eds) wood is not a material favoured by events in both Norway and Scotland in Saraband, 320 pages, 2010 planners or builders in England other the book demonstrate the importance Hbk, £25, ISBN 1887354691 than for holiday chalets. I doubt timber of full involvement of relevant groups frame has reached anywhere near 20% and people. One idea not explored by The book’s full title, suggesting new life of houses constructed in England so care Haggith is the strategy used today in in forests, perhaps sets out an impression is required in extrapolating the Scottish some regions hosting big predators, that the book does not fulfil. Rather than situation as Britain. The construction and where local farmers are paid a fixed a book about woodlanders as people design chapter tends to be repetitive annual payment in return for living and their motivations, this is largely a and does not get inside the builders, alongside the predator species. This focus on projects and certainly does not just the buildings. The next chapter on payment can be in place of, or in parallel unpick the individuals who drive them. community enterprise does not make with, compensation for loss of livestock Although the book’s scope is headlined clear whether the projects described are to a predator. This system has managed as Britain, the coverage is mainly (and all community enterprises or enterprises to turn around the attitudes of farmers, not surprisingly given the greater activity) that work in the community. As a hard from one of hostility to co-operation, for a book of woodlands in Scotland. core social entrepreneur the difference example with wolf and lynx in . can be important. The ‘Living in the That said the book is full of wonderful Round’ chapter presents an opportunity DEEP COUNTRY In Bear Witness, there is an authenticity photographs and insights into a diverse to more deeply investigate the people Five Years in the Welsh Hills throughout the narrative that suggests range of woodland projects and lifestyles. who are the actual woodlanders but Neil Ansell the author has put much time into It does exemplify the long overdue return does not really attempt this. Penguin Books, 2012, 206 pages researching the subject, and that she to a woodland culture that slipped away Pbk, £9.99, ISBN 978-0-141-04932-8 taps deeply into her own experience. This during the 20th century, distorting the Following a lengthy section on food makes for an informative and moving perception of the relationship between and foraging, the book moves to When I spotted this title in a local read, with an optimistic message for the forests and people. This volume certainly a shorter section on woodfuel. I bookshop the sleeve notes and future of bears and the spirit of this land. recognises the woodland heritage that calculate that at 16 barrows making illustration of an isolated cottage existed and demonstrates a growing re- 2 tonnes, the annual domestic total nestled in the woods immediately drew Simon Ayres birth of woodland culture. I am afraid the is about 25 tonnes. Admittedly this my attention. Ansell’s work seemed to

68 69 ECOS 34(1) 2013 ECOS 34(1) 2013 chime both with a number of other Some readers (this reviewer included) their bolt-holes for life suggests that Cleveland, with the information books I have read and with my own may feel frustrated that Ansell does not such transitions are difficult. The deeply compiled by the Northumbria experiences as an urban escapee (or offer more personal, confessional and rural, like the past, may be a different Group under the careful editorship of exile?). ‘Getting back to nature’ in autobiographical context for his five country; different most potently from its Ian Bond. The includes 53 one’s own rural retreat has held much years at Penlan Cottage, particularly as urban and suburban imagining. established species, plus accounts of allure for authors, musicians, poets, the sleeve notes frame the book as a vagrant seals (three species), cetaceans mystics, artists and others of a romantic reflection on: “…where I lived and how Phil Hadfield (12 species), and six species are and reflective persuasion. Young and I lived…what it means to live in a place discussed under vagrant bats. There are middle-aged men, in particular, seem to so remote that you may not see another also accounts of species extinct since the have sought isolation from other human soul for weeks on end”. In fact, much of and Holocene, and a brief beings in both a social and physical sense the text is ‘nature writing’, derived from account of records of escaped mammals in order to claim time for contemplation the author’s experiences of walking the (including such species as porcupine and and a re-engagement with creative . There is no grand theorising, raccoon), with a separate account for flow, imagination, and play. or macho risk-taking, and little angst records of exotic . Actually life isn’t in Ansell’s neck of the woods. The quite as simple as that, such that a few A further and similarly gendered aspect tone is upbeat, with a child-like sense species, such as black rat and yellow- of escapee writing is that of robust of excitement and awe, conveyed necked mouse, have uncertain status in self-sufficiency (using only archaic through lucid descriptions of nature and the region, the former being recorded technology), of heightened physical especially of iconic seldom-seen from time to time mostly in dockland sensations through raw encounters (goshawk, merlin, woodcock). Ansell is areas and occasionally becoming with the elements, with , an accomplished nature writer and the temporarily established, the latter with and with plants and animals, in ways book will have great appeal to devotees one or two reliable records, but which that no city or desk job can offer. The of that genre. may refer to an accidental introduction. concept of ‘escapee’ is important, for those working (living out, or through) Like many escapee stories, Deep Accounts are also given of six amphibian this tradition have been arrivals from Country is also a piece of travel writing, species and four reptile species. The the urban or suburban, who place or describing the secret lives of seldom- amphibians include the introduced insert themselves into the deeply rural seen places and their animal inhabitants, alpine , which, according to its realm, and for some ‘the wilderness’; whilst hinting at a concurrent personal Mammals, Amphibians and Reptiles species account is known from about they are not lifelong countrymen and and spiritual journey. For this reviewer, of the North East 10 tetrads in the south of the region, they often form distant and uneasy the book provides further insight into Ian Bond (Ed) but the editor notes that since this relationships with the few locals they the contemporary disjuncture between Northumbrian Naturalist Vol 73 (2012), account was completed, the species may meet. Typically, once insights have rooted connections to the land and 246pages may have made a significant extension been achieved, mental issues worked its people, as experienced by ‘locals’ http://www.nhsn.ncl.ac.uk/news/mars-ne/ to its range. through, and new skills and experiences and the impressions of urban and Pbk £10.00 (+£3.50 P&P) ISSN 2050-4128 gained, the project is complete and the suburban visitors. The weekend ‘leisure There is, of course, no attempt to escapee returns to ‘normal life’. In some commute’ sees day-trippers descend This is a landmark publication, with its catalogue records, but there is a list of cases, the escapee’s return is rapid and/ in fleets of cars in order to take a few only real forerunner being A Catalogue the local relevant organisations and or tragic brought on by illness, injury, stolen hours in the countryside outside of the Mammalia of Northumberland records centres that hold the detailed or the mutation of warm solitude into of ‘real lives’ in the suburbs and the and Durham by Mennell and Perkins records. The authors have carefully bleak loneliness: a reality check. city. The romantic escapee critiques the in 1864. A few other key works, such reviewed and referenced the historical brevity and instrumentalism of these as Gill’s 1905 account in the Victoria knowledge and picked out points of Deep Country is a charming and sensitive visits, seeking deeper more ‘authentic’ County History, and Bolam’s works interest in more recent studies. There contribution to the escapee tradition; encounters with the rural. But what are are scattered through the intervening are many fascinating stories and an evocative account of one man’s the possibilities for those who live alone years. The account covers the counties anecdotes through the book. My own engagement with the Welsh hills, their and contemplate such a life change? of Northumberland, Tyne and Wear, experience within the region is limited, beauty, natural rhythms, flora and fauna. That so few artistic escapees remain in Durham and the former county of but I was impressed with the numbers

70 71 ECOS 34(1) 2013 of whiskered/Brandt’s bats occurring in do not differentiate between different the area, for species that have a rather categories of record, such as can occur patchy distribution further south and are between groups and in, for example, the more or less absent further north. And bats between individual bats grounded from the days when it was assumed that or trapped, in bat roosts used either in whiskered bat was much more common summer or winter, of roosting bats or than Brandt’s bat, it is interesting to see bats foraging in the field. But that would that modern studies are suggesting that be beyond the scope of such a book and this may be the reverse of the situation as presented the maps are comparable now. Also good to see that some long- throughout the fauna covered. term studies are maintained, such as the observations at Brinkburn Priory, a site I have few complaints with this that has been under regular observation important account. One minor point of its bats since 1985. I was privileged to is that while we all struggle to keep visit this site many years ago; and while up with the changes in scientific I can’t remember whether the problem nomenclature in our own group, trying that the bats were disturbing the to keep up with less familiar groups can concerts was worse than the concerts become an added problem when, for disturbing the bats, it does seems that example, the is included they have been able to live together with in the genus Ichthyosaura in the text minor inconveniences on both sides. (p.213) but Mesotriton in the illustration (p.129)! I congratulate all the authors For most of the established fauna, each and compilers and recommend this species has a single map with distribution book as a valuable contribution at a given by tetrad and with records reasonable price. separated into pre- and post 2000. As noted above for alpine newt, such maps Tony Hutson have a temporary accuracy - there will be additional material collected as they are published, but they still have value Coming Up as a historical distribution. What can be ECOS 34 (2) will include commentary more of a problem is decisions about on badger culling and on tree disease what records to accept and the means issues and the land-use implications of of identification for the various records. ash dieback. So there may be a wide variation in the reliability of the way the record ECOS 34 (3-4) will focus on sustainable was collected, but this is not reflected farming, food and conservation, looking in the maps. This may be particularly at emerging policies and what we can important with groups like bats (where learn from UK examples which integrate identification may vary betweensustainable agriculture, food quality and being from a bat in the hand to a bat wildlife management aims. detector record which may be more or less reliable depending on species) and cetaceans (where strandings will be much more reliably identified than some observation of cetaceans passing at sea). Similarly, the distribution maps

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