Outsider Animals: Finding New Appreciation for Shunned Creatures

Evolutionary biologist and writer Marlene Zuk highlights the often-ignored animals that share human environments, revealing how their lives illuminate adaptation and coexistence on a crowded planet. She argues that creatures commonly dismissed as pests offer valuable lessons about how species interact and what it means to belong in an ecosystem. Through examples ranging from coyotes and snakes to cockroaches, butterflies, cowbirds, and mynas, Zuk shows how these close-to-home creatures share intertwined lives with humans.