The oceans are changing rapidly, and for the worst. The Odyssey of KP2 is the story of a young seal of a critically endangered species and a scientist who takes him in for research to try and help learn more about him. It is written from the point of view of the marine biologist Terrie M. Williams who has worked with seals all her career and was especially excited to get get to work with KP2 on Hawaiian monk seal conservation, considering there are only 1,100 left on earth.
In the beginning, the author swears she will not grow attached to KP2 and resists his affections. Inevitably, though, she grows to love this inquisitive and quirky seal who, before coming to her, played with the children in Hawaii. It was because of the local fishermen becoming disgruntled that he had to go and his friends in Hawaii missed him. Everyone who met KP2 came to love this amazing seal. Reading this book will really show you the importance of saving these seals and the oceans. I was surprised at his intelligence, playfulness and willingness to interact with people even though people prodded him and moved him gave him injections.
So if you are interested in KP2's story or just the conservation efforts, I would suggest reading this book. It has the opinions and thoughts of the author combined with scientific research and facts and is fun yet informational and should make you smile.
For my science book, I read Walking With the Great Apes by Sy Montgomery. This book follows three women who worked with Louis Leakey studying primates in the wild, nicknamed the "Three Primates". One of the women the book follows is Jane Goodall. Having grown up in London, she studied chimpanzees in Tanzania for most of her life and now raises awareness for wildlife conservation.
Jane Goodall
A chimpanzee
The book also explores the life of American Dian Fossey, who studied Mountain Gorillas in Rwanda, where poaching has nearly eradicated the population. Her anti-poaching regime was controversial, and stories about it have been exaggerated. She was tragically murdered in 1985.
Dian Fossey
A Mountain Gorilla
Finally, the book discusses Biruté Galdikas, a Canadian, who observed the elusive orangutan in Boreno. To protect and save the orangutans, she established strong relationships with the local people, marrying one in her second marraige.
Biruté Galdikas
An Orangutan
Montgomery wrote this book to give us further insight into the lives of these three women, and to document their relationships with the apes as friends, family and study subjects, as well as talk about their personal relationships with spouses, lovers, mentors, and each other. The book is divided into three sections: Nurturers, which discusses the unique relationships and bonds these women had with their study subjects, Scientists, which talks about how the women observed, documented, and studied the animals, and, finally, Warriors, which talks about the anti-poaching and conservation efforts these women undertook to protect the apes. I enjoyed this book very much. I thought it was well organized and very informative, while at the same time reading like a suspenseful story. Before I read this I didn't even know that Diane and Biruté existed. I would rate this book 5/5 stars, and recommend it to animal lovers and those interested in studying the natural world. But beware, at times the book can be a little slow, and if you're only interested in the relationships these women had with the apes, you might want to find another book.
