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Tag: Animals

All longform pieces tagged with #animals on The Slow Scroll

Howl
Nautilus21 Feb 2025 • ~8000 words

Kevin Berger explores the complex history and controversial outcomes of gray wolf reintroduction in the Northern Rockies. Diane Boyd, a wolf researcher, argues that natural recolonization would have been more beneficial for the species than the government-led reintroduction. Othe...

The Cat’s Meat Man
The Public Domain Review12 Feb 2025 • ~2550 words

Kathryn Hughes writes about the lives of Victorian London's "cat's meat men," who sold cheap meat to pet owners. This took place during a time when public attitudes toward cats were shifting—from being seen primarily as rat catchers to becoming beloved domestic companions. The tr...

The Future Looks Ratty
bioGraphic19 Feb 2025 • ~1850 words

Urban rats are thriving in a warming world, and the implications are troubling. As temperatures rise, rate are finding more opportunities to eat and reproduce, leading to a surge in sightings across major cities like New York and Washington, D.C. Benji Jones explores the links be...

The Unnatural History of Bird Flu
Nautilus12 Feb 2025 • ~5050 words

Brandon Keim explores the history of the H5N1 virus, tracing its roots from poultry farms in Guangdong, China, to its global spread and potential threats to human health. As the story unfolds, it reveals the interplay between agricultural practices and the evolution of the virus ...

The Long Flight to Teach an Endangered Ibis Species to Migrate
The New Yorker10 Feb 2025 • ~7400 words

Over fifty-one days, Johannes Fritz leads a flock of these unique birds on a migration from Germany to Spain, employing a microlight aircraft and a dedicated team of volunteers. Nick Paumgarten writes about these efforts that he describes as “quixotic.”

500 dogs barking: Autofiction in and out of Keum Suk Gendry-Kim’s Dog Days
The Comics Journal04 Feb 2025 • ~7500 words

Zachary Garrett ruminates on Keum Suk Gendry-Kim’s comic book Dog Days, a rare example of autofiction used in this form. His writing weaves in personal experiences, explores similar work both in comics and other formats, inevitably discusses dog farming and consumption in South K...

The Last Flight of the Dog Pilot
New York Times27 Jan 2025 • ~3200 words

Seuk Kim left behind a finance career to chase his dream of becoming a pilot. He took off one day in November with four dogs on board, a trip that would not go according to plan.

How the Capybara Won My Heart—and Almost Everyone Else’s
The New Yorker26 Jan 2025 • ~6400 words

It’s not hard to understand why capys have a cultlike following on Instagram and TikTok. I fell for the giant rodent decades ago.