Wild Monterey Bay Up Close and Personal Stories of Memorable Wildlife Encounters

Wild Monterey Bay is a collection of over 40 first person accounts in response to the question: What is your most memorable wildlife encounter in Monterey Bay? Read stories from people from all walks of life who have incredible stories about the rich wildlife and vast ecosystem that is Monterey Bay. This book is a celebration of the bay and the people who interact with it.

Foreword by Carl Safina

About This Book

Wild Monterey Bay started as a project asking a simple question: What's your most memorable wildlife encounter in Monterey Bay?

Storytelling is human nature. We started this project in 2016 with the hope that we could capture, through personal stories, the essence of what it's like for both people and wildlife in Monterey Bay. Scientists have been studying this place for decades and people have written books about life on its shores. Unless you combine the two-the humans and the wildlife-it's hard to get the full perspective of how amazing this place really is.

We interviewed forty people for this project, from many different walks of life. Some were just short-term visitors and others have lived on the shores of Monterey Bay for generations. Their stories involve at least twenty-five different species, from microscopic plankton to the largest animal to have ever lived on earth, the blue whale. We originally captured storytellers' biographical information by asking them interview questions, so their responses best reflect what was relevant to them at that time. A number of the stories also reference a specific timeline relevant to when the storytellers were interviewed. To help provide context, the dates of all interviews are listed on the top left of the story photo that begins each story.

Wild Monterey Bay is a celebration of wildlife and people. We began with a website, and posted each interview on YouTube. Now we have finally turned these illustrated stories into a book for people to enjoy for years to come, and we hope you will enjoy it.