BIRDS, BEASTS, AND BEDLAM Turning My Farm into an Ark for Lost Species

Before being cleared for agriculture, the British landscape was full of wild animals, ranging from large cats to badgers, small voles, and birds of prey. All of them relied on smaller critters for food. Calum Beaton channels author Derek Gow with a slightly gruff voice and a lovely Scottish accent. Beaton matches the author’s energy and tone to each vignette. There is the drama of a bison maelstrom hurling himself at the walls of a cattle trailer that Gow is driving. A note of amusement is clear for the languid pig living on the sofa and for the water vole with five legs, which cause him to swim in circles. The ending is serious as Gow makes a fervent pitch for less red tape and more action in efforts to rewild Great Britain. A.B. © AudioFile 2022, Portland, Maine [Published: JULY 2022]