For thousands of years, gray wolves have roamed North America, living in harmony with the nature around them. But as human populations grew across the continent, farmers and ranchers hunted and killed these majestic animals by the thousands, fearing that these clever hunters would exploit their livestock. In 1926, a shot rang out over Yellowstone Park, killing the last of the native gray wolves that once roamed this spectacular wilderness.
The consequences of these actions expanded much further than anyone could have imagined: Moose, no longer afraid of a natural predator, flooded the landscape, leaving it barren, while emboldened coyotes fed on the smaller animals that once fed other predators would have.
But Yellowstone is different today. There are at least eight packs of wolves roaming freely through the park, all thanks to rewilding efforts to return them to where they once lived and restore a natural order to the environment.
This remarkable story is one of 20 beautifully illustrated stories perfect for young children in the new book.Relive the world before bed” by Emily Hawkins and illustrator Ella Beech, in which we discover how humans have collaborated with nature to bring animals back to the lands where they once lived.
In this excerpt we learn how the war that engulfed the nation of Mozambique decimated the wildlife of Gorongosa National Park and the remarkable efforts made to return elephants and other African animals to this beautiful landscape.
As the red sun sinks below the horizon, a herd of elephants gathers by a lake, their reflections reflected in the calm water. On the other side of the basin, a jeep approaches through the dusty savannah. The driver is a young woman named Dominique: a scientist whose job it is to learn about and protect these majestic animals. She turns off the engine and reaches for her binoculars.
Dominique watches as the leader of the herd wags her ears, raises her trunk and roars in alarm. This wise mother elephant is protective of her family and wary of humans. She has a long memory. She remembers a time not many years ago when this place, Gorongosa, was a battlefield.
In the 1960s, Gorongosa National Park was teeming with wildlife. People from all over the world came to marvel at lions and leopards, rhinos and elephants. This vast landscape was a paradise of lush green floodplains, grassy savannahs, wetlands, forests and mountains.
But then a dark shadow fell over the land. In the 1970s, the country of Mozambique was torn apart by a devastating civil war that raged for 16 years. The fighting spread to the park as the land was claimed first by one side, then the other. The war took a toll on wildlife. Zebras and wildebeests were hunted for their meat, while elephants were killed for their valuable tusks, which were sold to buy weapons and supplies.
When the war finally ended, the park was no longer recognizable. Streets were destroyed, buildings reduced to rubble, and the ground was littered with the bones of lost creatures. Most of Gorongosa’s large animals had died.
Where there were once more than two thousand elephants, there are now fewer than two hundred. The buffalo had disappeared and the rhinos, leopards and lions were extinct. The landscape had also changed. Without the grazing animals, the grasses had grown tall and a thorny bush had taken hold and spread in dense thickets across the plain.
But now that the fighting was over, both people and wildlife could begin healing. Park managers tried to unite the local community by hiring former soldiers from both warring sides as park rangers. They patrolled the savannas, deterring poachers and removing the deadly traps and snares left behind. Nature breathed a sigh of relief and little by little the animal world returned. However, recovery was slow and the park lacked the money to fix its problems.
In 2004, an American businessman named Greg Carr visited Mozambique. He had made a fortune in computer software and wanted to give back to a good cause. Greg fell in love with Gorongosa and invested millions of dollars to help the park recover. With his support, the park had enough money not only to bring the animals back, but also to build schools and provide health care and jobs to the people living in and around Gorongosa.
Over the next few years, many different plants and animals returned to the area and scientists were tasked with researching these diverse species. One of the new employees was Dominique. She had just been born at the end of the war in the nearby city of Beira. She had grown up with a love of science and had studied ecology and conservation at university. When Dominique heard about the exciting work at Gorongosa, she knew she had to be a part of it. She got a job on the scientific team and is now an expert on the park’s elephants.
These powerful creatures are vital to Gorongosa’s recovery. With their ponderous bodies and powerful trunks, they transform landscapes. As a herd passes, they eat tall grasses and nibble on thorny bushes to make room for antelope and other grazing animals. But as Dominique would learn, despite the elephant population’s recovery, there are still challenges that must be addressed. Part of their job is to find ways for people and elephants to live happily together.
Sometimes these creatures come into conflict with the people who live nearby. On the southern border of Gorongosa there is a river that the elephants occasionally cross and where they visit farms to raid and trample crops. To solve this problem, staff and locals built fences of lined-up beehives to protect the farms. When the elephants disturb the fence, the bees become agitated and sting them until they back away. These clever beehives not only keep the elephants away, but also provide farmers with honey to eat and sell. Projects like this, which benefit both wildlife and the human community, are vital to Gorongosa.
Today, as Dominique watches the herd cool down by the lake, she is full of hope for the future. In the thirty years that have passed since the end of Mozambique’s civil war, much has changed for the better. Gorongosa’s wildlife populations have recovered, local people are happier and this vibrant place is now home to a stunning diversity of animals and plants and a close-knit community of people who care for them with dedication.
Rewild the World at Bedtime by Emily Hawkins, illustrated by Ella Beech © Wide Eyed Editions, 2024
Rewild the World at Bedtime by Emily Hawkins, illustrated by Ella Beech – $19.21 at Amazon
If you enjoyed this excerpt, you can see more beautiful illustrations and inspiring stories about successful rewilding in Emily Hawkins’ book. We think children will love reading stories like the one about the Panda School in China and be fascinated by the beautiful pictures illustrated by Ella Beech. The pictures that show the tigers of Nepal are particularly attractive. To the offer