Abundant Past is a collection of records of past wildlife abundance found in historical writings. Travel back to a time when bison herds made the prairie black, when cuttle-fish would risk discovery to repeatedly spray humans with water, and when grouse were so unafraid and plentiful that they could easily be caught with a spare stick. In Abundant Past, you can find descriptions of abundance sorted by animal, time period,1 and country.2 These records are not scientifically verified. Instead, they are descriptions from witnesses.
Mission: Abundant Past celebrates past wildlife abundance to awaken us to the current tragic loss of wildlife. Human invasion of habitat and world climate change are rapidly depleting wildlife. Abundant Past’s collection of records is our reminder to create an Abundant Future.
Extreme Wildlife: Check out the special category for “Extreme” wildlife.
Submissions: Please support this project by submitting historically-abundant wildlife descriptions for inclusion. Please include the following with your submission:
1. Quote describing past abundant wildlife.
2. Source of quote: Author, book or other document, year of publication, page or chapter.
3. Year the author witnessed the abundant wildlife.
4. URL if available.
5. Copyright status, if known. Abundant Past can only post items in the public domain.
Submit by completing the contact form at the bottom of this page.
Suggestions on Finding Descriptions of Past Abundant Wildlife: Good sources of descriptions are travelogues, books regarding contact with native peoples, recreational journals and reports, and economic reports. A good place to start is a random search with Project Gutenberg. Project Gutenberg will give you many sources which are in the public domain. https://www.gutenberg.org/
1The year of description may be different from the year the record was published. For example, the author might have published recollections of a 1901 voyage in 1922.
2.Country identification is based on current political status, not status at time of record. Where appropriate, some entries are categorized by region instead of country.
Thank you for visiting Abundant Past.
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