Birds, Beasts and Bedlam

‘One of the most remarkable figures in British conservation.’ Observer

‘Gow reinvents what it means to be a guardian of the countryside.’ Guardian

‘Courageous, visionary, funny.’ Isabella Tree

‘A brilliant read.’ Benedict Macdonald

‘He gets stuff done. . . . Highly entertaining but also a heartfelt plea for a wilder, more inspiring Britain.’ Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall

Birds, Beasts and Bedlam recounts the adventures of Britain’s favourite maverick rewilder, Derek Gow, and his single-minded mission to save our rarest wildlife – one species at a time.

Author of Bringing Back the Beaver and Hunt for the Shadow Wolf, Derek shares his personal, courageous and highly entertaining tales in Birds, Beasts and Bedlam, including how he raised a sofa-loving wild boar piglet, transported a raging bison bull across the UK, got bitten by a Scottish wildcat and, together with Isabella Tree and Charlie Burrell, restored the ancient white stork to the pioneering Knepp Estate.

After a Shetland ewe captured his heart as a boy, Derek grew up to become a farmer with a passion for ancient breeds. When he realised how many of our species were close to extinction – even on his own land – Derek tore down fences literally and metaphorically, transforming his traditional Devon farm into a 300-acre rewilding haven for beavers, water voles, lynx, wildcats, harvest mice, wild boar and more. A project that is still ongoing today.

Birds, Beasts and Bedlam continues the rich tradition of great British nature writing and is a natural bedfellow to Gerald Durrell’s A Zoo in My Luggage. Passionate, subversive and unforgettable, Birds, Beasts and Bedlam will leave you imagining a rewilded landscape filled with our lost native birds and wildlife.

‘A do-er, not a dreamer, Gow has become one of our most outspoken rewilders.’ Countryfile Magazine

‘In this warm and funny autobiography, [Gow] writes with a whimsical fluency about the moments of humour and pathos in an unusual life.’ Country Life