Book | Wild Animals I Have Known

A collection of riveting stories about creatures great and small from Ernest Thompson Seton, the creator of realistic wild-animal fiction.

Includes a foreword by Sir David Attenborough and an introduction by David L. Witt.

Ernest Thompson Seton’s Wild Animals I Have Known, published in 1898, was a transformative masterpiece that not only dramatically shifted the perspective of writers and readers alike, but also changed Seton himself.

Through the fateful encounter with the wolf Lobo, Seton became a dedicated wildlife protector, individualizing animals and exploring their motivations, feelings, and personalities.

This publication would soon contribute to the conservationist movement of the twentieth century and establish Seton as a pivotal naturalist within our history.

Experience Seton’s transformation with the stories of Lobo and other creatures in his words and captivating art, and reconnect with the beauty of the wild and the interconnectedness of man and nature.

Wild Animals I Have Known joins Gibbs Smith’s best-selling Wilderness series. Standing beside the works of other incredible naturalists, including Henry David Thoreau, John Muir, Mark Twain, Walt Whitman, and Jack London, these essays are reissued to encourage and inspire philosophers, travelers, campers, and contemporary naturalists.

Ernest Thompson Seton (1860–1946) was an author, wildlife artist, founder of the Woodcraft Indians, and one of the founding pioneers of the Boy Scouts of America. He penned Wild Animals I Have Known in 1898, inventing the realistic animal story genre—and a book that would shift the perception of wild nature and that would turn generations upon generations of readers to the outdoors.