The Last Panda
eBook - ePub

The Last Panda

  1. English
  2. ePUB (mobile friendly)
  3. Available on iOS & Android
eBook - ePub

The Last Panda

About this book

Dependent on a shrinking supply of bamboo, hunted mercilessly for its pelt, and hostage to profiteering schemes once in captivity, the panda is on the brink of extinction. Here, acclaimed naturalist George Schaller uses his great evocative powers, and the insight gained by four and a half years in the forests of the Wolong and Tangjiahe panda reserves, to document the plight of these mysterious creatures and to awaken the human compassion urgently needed to save them.

"No scientist is better at letting the rest of us in on just how the natural world works; no poet sees the world with greater clarity or writes about it with more grace. . . . Anyone who genuinely cares for wildlife cannot help being grateful to Schaller—both for his efforts to understand the panda and for the candor with which he reports what has gone so badly wrong in the struggle to save it from extinction."—Geoffrey C. Ward, New York Times Book Review


"Schaller's book is a unique mix of natural history and the politics of conservation, and it makes for compelling reading. . . . Having been in giant panda country myself, I found some of the descriptions of the animals and habitats breathtaking. Schaller describes the daily routines and personalities of the giant pandas he studied (as well as their fates thereafter) as though they were his blood relatives. . . . Schaller's brilliant presentation of the complexities of conservation makes his book a milestone for the conservation movement."—Devra G. Kleiman, Washington Post Book World


"George Schaller's most soulful work, written in journal style with many asides about a creature who evolved only two to three million years ago (about the same time as humans). . . . Here, conservation biology confronts an evil that grinds against hope and shatters the planet's diversity. Written with hope."—Whole Earth Catalog


"A nicely crafted blend of wildlife observation and political-cultural analysis. . . . The Last Panda is a sad chronicle of our failure, so far, to stem the decline of the animal that may be the most beloved on the planet."—Donald Dale Jackson, Smithsonian

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Yes, you can access The Last Panda by George B. Schaller in PDF and/or ePUB format, as well as other popular books in Biological Sciences & Zoology. We have over one million books available in our catalogue for you to explore.

Table of contents

  1. Cover
  2. Copyright
  3. Title Page
  4. Praise Page
  5. Dedication
  6. Contents
  7. Epigraph
  8. Preface
  9. Prologue
  10. 1. “Every Journey Begins with the First Step”
  11. 2. Winter Days
  12. 3. Panda Politics
  13. 4. A Footnote to History
  14. 5. A Mountain of Treasure
  15. 6. In the Hollow of a Fir
  16. 7. Wei-Wei’s World
  17. 8. Death in the Choushuigou
  18. 9. Travels in Panda Country
  19. 10. Zhen-Zhen Eats Bitterness
  20. 11. Tangjiahe
  21. 12. Crisis
  22. 13. Prisoners of Fate
  23. 14. Rent-a-Panda
  24. Epilogue
  25. Appendices
  26. B. The Panda Is a Panda
  27. C. Winter Birds Observed at Wuyipeng
  28. D. Excerpts from the 1989 Panda Management Plan
  29. E. Excerpts from Position Statements on Exhibition Loans of Giant Pandas
  30. Afterword
  31. Selected Reading
  32. Index of Names
  33. Index of Species and Subjects
  34. Color plates