Carl Safina (born May 23, 1955) is an American ecologist and author of books and other writings about the human relationship with the natural world.

His books include Becoming Wild: How Animal Cultures Raise Families, Create Beauty, and Achieve Peace; Beyond Words: What Animals Think and Feel; Song for the Blue Ocean; Eye of the Albatross; The View From Lazy Point: A Natural Year in an Unnatural World; Alfie and Me; and others.

Rapid building and construction on Long Island caused him to witness destruction of woodlands and other natural habitats, which made another deep and personal impression.

Safina's first book, Song for the Blue Ocean, won the Lannan Literary Award for nonfiction.

Also in 2011, his chronicle of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, A Sea in Flames, was a New York Times Editors' Choice.