We know how to mourn other humans – but what about ecological grief?

‘What do we do when a species disappears from a landscape? What do we do when a coastline changes beyond recognition … or when a rookery we love becomes an empty, ghostly landscape of broken trees and still water?’ Composite: Rita Liu/The Guardian/Getty Images

I remember interviewing a North Atlantic right whale expert years ago. He was a practical, science-minded man. But as we discussed a female whale that had lost her calf, he became visibly emotional. She had lost the previous one, too, struck by a ship. He seemed almost embarrassed by the depth of his feeling.

I wasn’t surprised. I found his grief honorable.