BOOKS AND SITES
A Resource Review by Kay Gannon from The Outdoor Campus

Adult

Mountain lions both fascinate and repel us.  In every photo I've seen of an adult mountain lion, I've felt the intensity of the stare chilling my spine.   Even though I'm aware of the statistics showing that "death by mountain lion" is at the bottom of any list of risk factors, I still wonder if I should walk the mountainside alone on my next trip to the Black Hills.

I've used GFP's "WILD about Mountain Lions" curriculum and feel fairly certain I would know what to do if I encountered one of nature's most efficient predators when that feline seemed intent on challenging my presence in cat country.  After reading an excerpt from a 2007 book by Craig Childs, The Animal Dialogues: Uncommon Encounters in the Wild, I realized anew that we can never predict the behavior of a wild animal.  All we can do is to try to be prepared and to appreciate its uniqueness.

We've ordered Childs' book for the library here at The Outdoor Campus, and I'm looking forward to reading about some of his other chilling encounters.  You can find more about Animal Dialogues and Childs' other books at http://www.hachettebookgroupusa.com/books/90/031606632X/index.html

Youth

I was sitting in a book store in Bozeman, Montana, last summer, just running my eyes across a range of books when up leaped a trout.  Well, not literally, but there is a leaping trout on the cover of Trout, Trout, Trout: A Fish Chant by April Pulley Sayre. 

The description for Trout,Trout,Trout suggests that it's geared to children in pre-school through second grade, but everyone who has read it here at the Campus loved it.  Our fisheries staff said that the caricatures of fish species by illustrator Trip Park are accurately hilarious, and there's a serious glossary in the back that describes each fish used in the chant. 

This author and illustrator have published other humorously educational books together.  The next one on my list is Ants, Ants, Ants: An Insect Chant.  You can find more about Ms. Sayre's books at http://www.aprilsayre.com/  and see more of Trip Park's work at his seriously cool website, http://www.tripparkproductions.com/

Some Other Sites

www.africam.com

Here, you can see sights and hear sounds from at least two different locations in Africa.  One of our staff members saw a giraffe.  Another staff member saw a species of gazelle grazing in tall grass, and could actually see its mouth moving while chewing.  Just remember, there's about an 8-hour time difference.

http://www.birds.cornell.edu/macaulaylibrary/Search/freesounds.html

The Macaulay Library at Cornell University is a treasure trove of bird pictures and sounds. 

http://imnh.isu.edu/digitalatlas/bio/birds/main/ident/bvk1.htm

I know the above is a lot to type into your address line, but it's a great site to search if you are trying to identify a bird you saw on one of your outdoor adventures.