Grizzled: A Fresh Take on Wildlife Field Guides with Love Letters to 50 North American Species

Wildlife facts don’t get much more captivating than the ones Jason Bittel delivers in his new book, Grizzled: Love Letters to 50 of North America’s Least Understood Animals (National Geographic, $28). Take the Mexican long-nosed armadillo, for example. Every female of this species gives birth to four identical quadruplets—every single time. Or consider the leatherback sea turtle, which can outweigh a six-foot-tall moose. Then there’s the theory that orcas might use waves as a tool. These facts alone make the book worth reading, but Bittel’s work goes further.

Unlike traditional field guides, Grizzled doesn’t just list facts. It aims to make readers care deeply about the species it profiles, often through humor and the inspiring stories of scientists and conservationists dedicated to understanding and protecting these animals. The Revelator spoke with Bittel about his new book, its unique title—yes, it’s not about grizzly bears—and what he hopes readers will take away from it.

Why Armadillos and Opossums Steal the Spotlight

“I kind of want to spend the next hour just talking about how armadillos have identical quadruplets every time,” Bittel said. “I mean, that’s just mind-blowing. It’s super weird, and I just loved it. We don’t really know why. We have some ideas and theories, but nobody’s out there dedicated to solving that question.”

He shared a similar fascination with opossums during a book launch event. “Everybody knows that opossums do this death-feigning behavior, ‘playing possum,’” he explained. “And yet we don’t really know why it works or why they evolved the ability to do that thing. It kind of makes them very vulnerable to predation. Why would this persist? And yet it does. It’s their most-known trait. More people know about playing possum than most other behaviors in the animal kingdom.”

These are the kinds of wonders Bittel weaves throughout Grizzled. The book’s subtitle, “love letters,” hints at his approach to storytelling.

From Research to Relatable Stories

“We have plenty of field guides. We have plenty of objective pieces of information and scientific papers,” Bittel noted. “If you want to learn about any given animal, there’s probably some really good information out there to be found. The catch is most people would not want to read the resource that they found.”

His solution? “Let me go do that research—because I like doing it—and let me talk to the people who create the research and who devote their lives to learning these things. Then let me make it accessible to hopefully just the widest possible audience.”

Bittel’s goal is to recreate for adults the kind of fascination with animals that children often feel. “I wanted to create that resource for adults that has become such a good thing for kids. You know, if you go to a bookstore and you see the kids’ section, there are all these amazing books about animals. But when you get to the adult section, it’s all about how to fix your life or how to make more money. Where are the animal books for grown-ups?”

With Grizzled, he delivers exactly that—a book that blends science, storytelling, and passion to reignite wonder for the natural world.