These animals that protect us

Foreword by Bruno David, former president of the National Museum of Natural History Afterword by Isabelle Autissier, president of WWF France In this book, magnificently illustrated by Valentine Plessy, Marie-Monique Robin reveals the beauty and extraordinary inventiveness of animals that, everywhere on our planet, play an essential role in preserving the living conditions of all organisms – from the smallest to the largest. Yet one million species are threatened with extinction, including a quarter of mammals, a sixth of birds and a third of amphibians. This deterioration of the environment is also at the origin of the emergence of infectious diseases, called “zoonotic”. Drawing on rigorous scientific data, “These animals that protect us” reveals that biodiversity – animal, plant and microbial – is the cradle of planetary health.