Animals Count: How Population Size Matters in Animal–Human Relations. Edited by Nancy Cushing and Jodi Frawley

Abstract

The down-to-earth subtitle of this collection deflects attention from the paronomasia possibilities suggestively compressed within the title. Although none of the essays claim that other animals do the counting themselves, they all demonstrate that animals themselves matter, whether, from the human perspective, their numbers are too great, too small, or just right. The rubrics under which the contributions are grouped emphasize the conjunction of evaluation with quantification. In order of decreasing plenitude, they are excess, abundance, equilibrium, scarcity, and extinction. The collection illustrates the significance of both senses incorporated in the title.