Synopsis
'A tantalising glimpse of nature's capacity to heal' -- The Times
'Eye-opening' -- Daily Mail
'Splendid, warm, and exhaustively researched' -- Sy Montgomery author of The Soul of an Octopus
'Full of heart, zest, and honesty' -- Chantal Lyons, author of Groundbreakers
For readers of Jennifer Ackerman and Ed Yong, environmental journalist Alix Morris recounts the year she spent following seals, investigating their fascinating behaviour, the effects of their extraordinary return from near extinction, and how we can try to bring nature back into balance.
It might be their large, strangely human eyes or their dog-like playfulness, but seals have long captured people's interest and affection, making them the perfect candidate for an environmental cause, as well as the subject of decades of study. Alix Morris spends a year with these magnetic creatures and brings them to life on the page, season by season, as she learns about their intelligence, their relationships with each other, their ecosystems, and the changing climate.
Along with the enigmatic seals themselves, Morris gets to know all of the competing interests in the intense debate about the newly recovered seal populations in our coastal waters, from local fisherman whose catch is often diminished by savvy seals, to tribes who once relied on seal-hunting for food, clothing, and medicine, to seal rescue workers and biologists, to surfers and swimmers now encountering seal-hunting sharks in coastal waters.
In a world where wildlife populations are disappearing at an alarming rate, A Year with the Seals is a rare look at what happens when conservation efforts actually work, and how human tampering with ecosystems continues to have unexpected consequences for a wide variety of species, humans included.
'Eye-opening' -- Daily Mail
'Splendid, warm, and exhaustively researched' -- Sy Montgomery author of The Soul of an Octopus
'Full of heart, zest, and honesty' -- Chantal Lyons, author of Groundbreakers
For readers of Jennifer Ackerman and Ed Yong, environmental journalist Alix Morris recounts the year she spent following seals, investigating their fascinating behaviour, the effects of their extraordinary return from near extinction, and how we can try to bring nature back into balance.
It might be their large, strangely human eyes or their dog-like playfulness, but seals have long captured people's interest and affection, making them the perfect candidate for an environmental cause, as well as the subject of decades of study. Alix Morris spends a year with these magnetic creatures and brings them to life on the page, season by season, as she learns about their intelligence, their relationships with each other, their ecosystems, and the changing climate.
Along with the enigmatic seals themselves, Morris gets to know all of the competing interests in the intense debate about the newly recovered seal populations in our coastal waters, from local fisherman whose catch is often diminished by savvy seals, to tribes who once relied on seal-hunting for food, clothing, and medicine, to seal rescue workers and biologists, to surfers and swimmers now encountering seal-hunting sharks in coastal waters.
In a world where wildlife populations are disappearing at an alarming rate, A Year with the Seals is a rare look at what happens when conservation efforts actually work, and how human tampering with ecosystems continues to have unexpected consequences for a wide variety of species, humans included.
Details
10 July 2025
9781785127625Imprint: Ithaka
Reviews
This eye-opening book shows that seals - dubbed 'the clowns of the sea' - are extraordinarily clever. . . Alix Morris, an American nature writer and a fully paid-up seal enthusiast, is a lively guide to the world of these charismatic animals.
Alix Morris's compelling book explores seals' fraught relationship with culture, the economy and our imaginations
Such narratives give a tantalising glimpse of nature's capacity to heal, if only we would let it . . . But the book really hits its stride, and broadens its message, when it begins to tackle the complexities of conservation. . . A Year with the Seals is a useful, all too rare account by a writer who has made the time to listen.
Splendid, warm, and exhaustively researched... Morris shares poignant and revelatory stories. Some are tragic. Some are frustrating. Some are funny. Some are sweet. Just listen. All these stories contain truth.
