No Way Home: The Decline of the World's Great Animal Migrations

by David S. Wilcove

Animal migration is a magnificent a mile-long blanket of cranes rising from a Nebraska river and filling the sky; hundreds of thousands of wildebeests marching across the Serengeti; a blaze of orange as millions of monarch butterflies spread their wings to take flight. Nature’s great migrations have captivated countless spectators, none more so than premier ecologist David S. Wilcove. In No Way Home , his awe is palpable—as are the growing threats to migratory animals.
 
We may be witnessing a dying phenomenon among many species. Migration has always been arduous, but today’s travelers face unprecedented dangers. Skyscrapers and cell towers lure birds and bats to untimely deaths, fences and farms block herds of antelope, salmon are caught en route between ocean and river, breeding and wintering grounds are paved over or plowed, and global warming disrupts the synchronized schedules of predators and prey. The result is a dramatic decline in the number of migrants.
 
Wilcove guides us on their treacherous journeys, describing the barriers to migration and exploring what compels animals to keep on trekking. He also brings to life the adventures of scientists who study migrants. Often as bold as their subjects, researchers speed wildly along deserted roads to track birds soaring overhead, explore glaciers in search of frozen locusts, and outfit dragonflies with transmitters weighing less than one one-hundredth of an ounce.
Scientific discoveries and advanced technologies are helping us to understand migrations better, but alone, they won’t stop sea turtles and songbirds from going the way of the bison or passenger pigeon. What’s required is the commitment and cooperation of the far-flung countries migrants cross—long before extinction is a threat. As Wilcove writes, “protecting the abundance of migration is key to protecting the glory of migration.” No Way Home offers powerful inspiration to preserve those glorious journeys.

Genres: Nonfiction, Animals, Natural History, Environment, Ecology, Nature, Biology

256 pages, Hardcover

First published October 15, 2007

Reviews

[Ginny Messina · Rating 5 out of 5]

David Wilcove, an ecologist at Princeton University, chronicles the demise of many of the world’s greatest animal migrations in this book which is highly readable and very absorbing. Not just birds, but wildebeests in Africa, salmon in the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans, Monarch butterflies, whales, sea turtles and more. The causes are myriad—-farming and ranching are, of course, among the biggest culprits, but so is development in general, and sometimes in surprising ways. Simply turning on the porch light at a beach house can wreak havoc on the instincts of newborn sea turtles.

Wilcove is a very good writer and also a very good scientist. He is careful not to overstate research findings and he comes across as balanced and generally unemotional, even though it’s clear that he cares deeply about his subject.

The last chapter presents some ideas for conservation efforts that are needed to protect—-or reestablish-—migration routes. Many of them seem overwhelmingly out of reach, but he also describes a number of strategies that are already in place and some that have worked, making the reader feel like there is reason for cautious hope.

[Karla · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a great book for a non-fiction about animal migration. It is informative and written in language that non-scientific types can understand. I now have a much better understanding of the issues conservationists face when trying to convince countries-states-land owners that preservation of a species is worth whatever sacrifice is needed.

[Myke · Rating 5 out of 5]

I learned so much from this book. What amazing creatures are on this planet.

[Carie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Depressing but important issue. The author examines what we protect and how with some cursory examination of why efforts work or fail.

[Abigail Drumm · Rating 4 out of 5]

In No Way Home, David Wilcove presents portraits of dozens of migratory species around the world. Two chapters each are dedicated to species in the air, on the land, and in the water. The portraits look to the historical and geographical past of the species to better understand their behaviors and their impact on ecosystems near and far. Attention is given to the human activities that have threatened or, in the case of animals like the passenger pigeon, wiped out the species, as well as efforts in the last century or so to conserve and restore what remains.

Wilcove's awe in the migratory phenomenon of red knots, bison, sea turtles, monarch butterflies, and many other species is evident. His descriptions are vivid and stirring. He is poetical, but without sacrificing factuality. He draws from biological, archaeological, and other research to understand what has happened, what is happening, and what might happen with our (humans') relationship to other species and the wider ecosystem of Earth. He connects the dots between one species to another and between one species and its surroundings to illuminate the important ways that migratory species
contribute to the flourishing of more than just themselves. Also explored are the local and international politics that complicate conservation efforts. Emphasis is placed on the ways that humans have negatively impacted the life patterns of millions of animals.

There is some sense that the problem is so big, the injured constituents so many, that solution is impossible. Wilcove, in the conclusion, admits the reality of the situation and the fact that, for some migratory species, human efforts at restitution will be too little, too late. Success will largely depend on cooperation by multiple agencies at local, provincial, national, and international levels. What are the odds of that happening? Time will tell, but the history of man, as I see it, doesn't offer much hope. Nevertheless, I am tentatively hopeful, as is Dr. Wilcove.

[Brian Griffith · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wilcove shows an intimate familiarity with the routes, strategies, and experiences of migrating animals across the planet. He is equally fascinated with the struggles of Swainson's thrush birds, Monarch butterflies, Atlantic salmon, Pacific gray whales, loggerhead turtles, or the wildebeest herds of the Serengeti. He also shows an activist's detailed knowledge of the laws, treaties, agencies, or market interests involved in shaping a world where, hopefully ,the habitats of humans and wild animals can interpenetrate.

[Kim Silva · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's disappointing to see the same argument being repeated by ecologists. This book was published in 2007, it's 2024 and we're still repeating ourselves. But now action is vital to save migration, especially long-distance migration. Long-distance migration is a natural phenomenon that is becoming extinct. It's devastating to see how migratory animals have been warning us about the consequences of our actions, but we're still ignoring these signs. I'm fed up, it's already too late.

[Michelle · Rating 3 out of 5]

David Wilcove paints a picture of what has happened and is happening to migrating animals for the past millennium. It does not look good. The shoe is going to drop and no one knows when that will happen.

I am also reading David Attenborough's book on a similar topic. It is even more depressing.

[Kit · Rating 3 out of 5]

I wish that a book with such valuable information didn't have an unfortunate undercurrent of racism.

[Kelly Buntin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Currently reading. Research for artwork.

[Charlott · Rating 3 out of 5]

The book is interesting, but so discouraging. There are too many people on the planet.