Unnatural Habitat

A guide to the ecosystem famously known as Los Angeles, from a field biologist and longtime San Gabriel Valley resident.

Within the sprawling metropolis of Los Angeles and its suburbs, residents coexist--often unknowingly--with a bustling mosaic of native and introduced wildlife. Conservationist Craig Stanford, whose research has taken him around the world, now takes a deep dive into the natural history of his Southern California home. Stanford’s informed and vivid accounts of more than 150 species entreat us to appreciate the ecological marvels of sagebrush and skunks and skippers, the iconic palms of LA lore, and the mountain lions still roaming the hills.

These portraits of the glamorous, humble, irritating, and altogether fascinating species that live alongside Angelenos urge us to recognize that even in a jungle of concrete, we live within nature. Witty and captivating, and combining cutting-edge research with his own critter encounters, Stanford demonstrates the beauty of shaping our cities to support biodiversity, and he warns against the threats that can tip urban ecosystems out of balance, leaving us in a much lonelier world.

Craig Stanford is a biologist and anthropologist at the University of Southern California. He is known for his long-term field research on wild chimpanzees in East Africa, and for his many field studies of highly endangered turtles and tortoises in Asia and Latin America. He has published nearly twenty books and hundreds of articles about animal behavior, human origins, and environmental issues. Stanford is a long-time resident of the Pasadena area in Southern California.