Shhhh…Those ‘Peculiar People’ Are Listening
They’re out there in there boondocks, doing their best to record the pure sounds of nature while there are still some quiet places left
A curious crew of professionals and amateurs are out in the wild doing their best to record the pure sounds of nature while there are still some quiet places left. These folks have a common passion for eavesdropping on the wild using high-tech electronic gear to hear things we don't even know exist like the rustle of bird feathers, wind resonating through driftwood on the beach, or the dawn chorus of jungle wildlife.
The sounds of nature are becoming a hot property; zoos and museums use them to add pizzazz to exhibits, and movies and television want authentic wildlife sounds. Last year nature sounds took a $100 million share of the consumer record business.
Prominent nature recordists see their job as the documentation of wildlife and habitats before they disappear and the preservation of the few quiet places that remain.