‘A Naturalist and Other Beasts: Tales from a Life in the Field’ by George B. Schaller
Schaller in 2005
George Beals Schaller (born 26 May 1933) is an American mammalogist, biologist, conservationist and author. Schaller is recognized by many as the world’s preeminent field biologist, studying wildlife throughout Africa, Asia and South America. Born in Berlin, Schaller grew up in Germany, but moved to Missouri as a teen. He is vice president of Panthera Corporation and serves as chairman of their Cat Advisory Council. Schaller is also a senior conservationist at the Bronx Zoo-based Wildlife Conservation Society.” -Wikipedia
I became aware of George Schaller in 1978 when Peter Matthiessen accompanied him on a two-month trek of the Tiberian Plateau that resulted in the book The Snow Leopard. (1978). Subsequently, I read Schaller’s Stones of Silence (1980) about the same region from a naturalist’s point of view. I’ve been a fan ever since.
From the Publisher
“Since the 1950s, eminent field biologist George Schaller has roamed through many lands observing wild animals and conducting landmark long-term studies that have deepened our understanding of these creatures. He has reported and reflected on his work in classic, much-acclaimed books, including The Last Panda and National Book Award winner The Serengeti Lion, but much of his best writing has been ephemeral, published in magazines, only to drop out of sight.
“This collection features 19 short pieces brought together in book form to offer a unique overview of his life in the field.
“Chapters describe stalking tigers in India and jaguars in Brazil’s Pantanal swamps, studying mountain gorillas in Central Africa and predator-prey relations in the Serengeti, tracking newfound species on the wild border of Vietnam and Laos, searching for snow leopards in the Hindu Kush, and Schaller’s groundbreaking work with giant pandas in Sichuan. Later accounts broaden the focus from individual creatures to whole ecosystems.
“‘The careless rapture of my early studies has been replaced more and more by efforts to protect animals and their habitats,’ he writes.
“New to this book are Schaller’s introductions for each chapter, which add and update information, and an overall introduction that looks back on his remarkable career.”
From Orion Magazine’s Review“’At least once in a lifetime,’ Schaller admonishes us, ‘everyone should make a pilgrimage into the wilderness to dwell on its wonders and discover the idyll of a past now largely gone.’ This book is a medley of such soul-nourishing forays, nineteen short essays previously published in various periodicals and books over the past half-century, each updated with a fact-filled introduction.
“The charm of this book is Schaller’s unabashed love of his subjects and his lyrical way of describing them; ‘knowing such animals individually,’ he writes, ‘one begins to view an area with a new intimacy and with a caring that turns into a special enchantment.’ Schaller seeks ‘a deeper understanding, one beyond soulless statistics.’ In the hands of anybody else, declarations like these might be taken as anthropomorphic. But Schaller’s credentials as a tough-as-nails scientist are impeccable, and his enthusiasm for getting down and dirty with his subjects, combined with his literary skill, forge some of the best nature writing of our time.”
Malcolm R. Campbell is the author of magical realism novels set in the Florida Panhandle of the 1950s.
