For hundreds of years, before English settlers permanently colonized what is now Cape Cod, bears and wolves were the top predators on this peninsula of Massachusetts. The Cape actually became an island when the Bourne and Sagamore Bridges were completed. This book details the history of wildlife on Cape Cod, at near shore, such as whaling and whale migration, and inland, like bears and wolves. It also contains essays on human interactions between animals and humans on this landscape for over 400 years, and how peoples' attitudes and behaviors toward animals have evolved.
Journalist and maritime author Theresa Mitchell Barbo is the founder and director of the annual Cape Cod Maritime History Symposium, now in partnership with the Cape Cod Museum of Natural History. Theresa is a noted lecturer on Cape Cod cultural heritage and maritime history before community organizations and at educational institutions. She holds BA and MA degrees from the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth and has studied executive integral leadership at the Mendoza College of Business at the University of Notre Dame. Theresa lives in Yarmouth Port, Cape Cod, with her husband, Daniel, daughter Katherine and son Thomas.