Gold Rush in the Jungle
The Race to Discover and Defend the Rarest Animals of Vietnam's "Lost World"
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- £2.99
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- £2.99
Publisher Description
An engrossing, adventure-filled account of the rush to discover and save Vietnam's most extraordinary animals
Deep in the jungle where the borders of Vietnam meet those of Laos and Cambodia is a region known as "the lost world." Large mammals never seen before by Western science have popped up frequently in these mountains in the last decade, including a half-goat/half-ox, a deer that barks, and a close relative of the nearly extinct Javan rhino. In an age when scientists are excited by discovering a new kind of tube worm, the thought of finding and naming a new large terrestrial mammal is astonishing, and wildlife biologists from all over the world are flocking to this dangerous region. The result is a race between preservation and destruction.
Containing research gathered from famous biologists, conservationists, indigenous peoples, former POWs, ex-Viet Cong, and the first U.S. ambassador to Vietnam since the war's end, Gold Rush in the Jungle goes deep into the valleys, hills, and hollows of Vietnam to explore the research, the international trade in endangered species, the lingering effects of Agent Orange, and the effort of a handful of biologists to save the world's rarest animals.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
In 1937 at the Paris Zoo, a "fabled wild forest ox" emerged from the tumult of an Indochinese shipment of common wildlife. The accidental passenger turned out to be the only Kouprey ever recorded in captivity, and it later disappeared amidst the madness of German-occupied France. A near-mythic creature figured in bas relief at Angkor Wat, the Kouprey has been hotly pursued ever since. If recaptured and bred with modern cattle, the result would be a "supercow" immune to multiple diseases. Its ancient genes could be worth billions. The Kouprey is just one of many fetching creatures that haunt this book and the Southeast Asian region known as the "Lost World." Because of the remoteness of the land and the conflicts that have plagued the area over past decades, its exotic inhabitants like a barking deer or a pig-nosed 200-lb soft-shell turtle have largely been overlooked. Modern poachers, however, have made up for lost time, smuggling out tragic caravans of trophy creatures for slaughter. But some brave scientists are dedicated to protecting them, and veteran science journalist Drollette ably details both the poetic and practical reasons to defend such lost worlds and their bizarre residents.
