Golden Bats and Pink Pigeons - Softcover

Durrell, Gerald

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0755111907 ISBN 13: 9780755111909

Publisher: House of Stratus, 2002

Synopsis

On this speck of volcanic soil in the middle of a vast sea, a complete, unique and peaceful world was created slowly and carefully. It waited there for hundreds of thousands of years for an annihilating invasion of voracious animals for which it was totally unprepared, a cohort of rapacious beasts led by the worst predator in the world, Homo sapiens...In an incredibly short space of time, a number of unique species had vanished...Mauritius, the green and mountainous island in the Indian Ocean that was once the home of the ill-fated dodo, still had among its fauna many unique but endangered species, among them Mauritius kestrels, Telfair's skinks, Gunther's geckos and pink pigeons. The indigenous flora and fauna of Mauritius were, by the 1970s, hanging onto their existence by their fingernails.When Gerald Durrell went to rescue some of these creatures from extinction, he experienced danger and discomfort, but enjoyed the adventures greatly. By the end of his trip, he had an extraordinary collection of animals to take to his Jersey sanctuary from where the progeny could, in time, be restored to Mauritius.

About this title

Review:

"Informative (and often very funny) book is concerned with Gerald Durrell's life-long work to protect endangered species" --lifeoutloud.co.uk, January 2008

Synopsis:

Over millions of years, the island of Mauritius, in its isolated position in the Indian Ocean, developed a unique flora and fauna. But when man arrived with his attendant scourges of dog, rat, pig and monkey, he wreaked havoc upon the island's delicate ecosystem, an action which led, amongst other things, to the extinction of the dodo. In co-operation with the Mauritian Government, Gerald Durrell and his team visited the island to help rescue some of the rapidly dwindling creatures from almost certain extinction. Durrell succeeded in taking some of these threatened animals to his Jersey sanctuary where they could live and breed in safety and from where their progeny could be reintroduced to their natural home. In this revealing and absorbing account of the preservation of endangered species, we also learn of the dangers and challenges this work can enta

About this edition

• Publisher: House of Stratus
• Publication date: 2002
• ISBN 10: 0755111907
• ISBN 13: 9780755111909
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 161