Tibet Wild: A Naturalist's Journeys on the Roof of the World - Hardcover

George B. Schaller

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 1610911725 ISBN 13: 9781610911726

Publisher: Island Press, 2012

Synopsis

George Schaller has spent much of his life traversing wild and isolated places in his quest to understand and conserve threatened species - from mountain gorillas in the Virunga to snow leopards in the Himalaya. Throughout his career, Schaller has spent more time in Tibet than anywhere else, devoting over thirty years to the wildlife, culture, and landscapes that captured his heart. 'Tibet Wild' is Schaller's account of three decades of exploration in the most remote stretches of Tibet. As human development in the region accelerated, Schaller watched the clash between wildlife and people become more common - and more destructive. What began as a purely scientific endeavour became a mission: to work with local communities, regional leaders, and national governments to protect the ecological richness and culture of the Tibetan Plateau. Whether tracking brown bears, penning fables about the tiny pika, or promoting a conservation preserve that spans four nations, Schaller has pursued his goal with persistence and good humour. 'Tibet Wild' is an intimate journey through the wilderness of Tibet, guided by the careful gaze and unwavering passion of a life-long naturalist.

About this title

Product Description:

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Review:

'To protect unspoiled places, Schaller must shed his natural reticence to negotiate with his fellow human beings. In the case of the high steppes, these include families putting out poison for animals wrongly perceived as pests, herders trading horses for motorcycles and, more threatening, gold miners. He s willing to sit down and educate people, sometimes even to compromise, but he has no sympathy for those who get a charge out of reducing the number of his beloved animals one at a time. Late in Tibet Wild, Schaller briefly shares a camp with a foreign hunter who s grousing that he had to wait three whole days to get his final shot at a Marco Polo ram, whose massive curved horns are a coveted trophy. Schaller, the man who spent 17 years trying to find the chiru s calving ground, has little patience for such behavior. 'Hunting is not a sport,' he notes. 'Animals don t just lose, they die.' --The New York Times

'In Tibet Wild, he not only offers a case study in protecting an obscure mammal on tricky political turf but also reflects on his previous projects, many of which resulted in protected, self-sustaining populations of once-imperiled species...[It] has a valedictory quality. Mr. Schaller revisits old journals and quotes from earlier works such as The Last Panda. During freezing cold nights in his field tent, he tries to puzzle out whether his youthful experience of war and subsequent immigration to the United States as an enemy alien helped to form his reticent character, his distaste for crowds, technology and weapons, his wanderlust, and his attraction to stark places like the Chang Tang. Distinguished by these reflections, Tibet Wild would be a fine introduction to Mr. Schaller's writing and remarkably accomplished life for new readers.' --The Wall Street Journal

'This is a remarkably close-up and revealing story from the world's top field scientist, the chronicler of the lives of pandas, gorillas and lions. In 'Tibet Wild', Schaller addresses such little known creatures as Marco Polo sheep, snow leopards, chiru antelope, horse-like kiang and the peoples that live with them. He writes penetratingly, but with a grace and sensitivity that touches the heart.' --William Conway, Senior Conservationist, Wildlife Conservation Society

About this edition

• Publisher: Island Press
• Publication date: 2012
• ISBN 10: 1610911725
• ISBN 13: 9781610911726
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 412