An object lesson in field research hazards - both the physical and
the political. Consider the black rhinoceros, fearless, scattering
lions and elephants as it motors along at 30 mph. Now consider that
in less than 100 years its numbers have shriveled from 100,000 to
3,000, cut down by machine-gun-toting poachers desirous of their
horns, made of a keratin-like substance similar to fingernails that
brings huge sums in Hong Kong; it is valued for its medicinal
qualities in China, Korea, and Taiwan and as dagger shafts in
Yemen. Cunningham and Berger, of the University of Nevada, Reno,
spent four years in the Namibian Desert, studying in particular the
effects on the rhinos of dehorning, which had come into vogue as a
means of harvesting the horns' wealth while saving the animals
themselves from poachers. In alternating chapters, the two authors
plait their days afield into a delightful memoir: how they learned
to track, to dodge rhino charges, to set up house in a Land Rover
with their toddler daughter, to overcome all the logisitical
problems of cameras and auto mechanics and night-vision equipment
and life without a tossed salad. Berger gets in a few volleys
condemning the treatment of the local population by European
imperialists, and he appreciates the simple fact that starving
people will understandably kill endangered species to survive. But
rhinos were his preoccupation. Perhaps too much so; when he wrote a
paper with his wife questioning the value of dehorning (he raised
the issue of calf mortality as a possible consequence of dehorned
mothers left unable to defend for them), he ran hard against
national pride and the fact that legally cut horns could be sold by
the state for hard currency. Namibia gave Cunningham and Berger the
bum's rush and told them not to return. Consider the black
rhinoceros, and pity him too; without Cunningham and Berger in his
corner, his future gets that much dimmer. (Kirkus Reviews)
What hope remains for Africa's black rhinos? This book addresses that question by mixing local people and attitudes with biology and adventure, while describing the challenges of doing ecological fieldwork in a difficult setting, accompanied by a small child. It moves beyond typical nature studies by featuring real world components of conservation - the delicate mix of western and economic influences, and personal commitment.
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