The nice thing about being given books as presents is that it will often get me to read things I would never have thought of lending from the local library or even buying myself. A case in point is Mark Carwardine's Last Chance to See which was based on the TV series he made last year with Stephen Fry. I have to say that this passed me by completely and I will have to keep an eye out for it in case it is repeated.
Oddly enough, I have read a book by the same name, which was written by the late Douglas Adams along with Mark Carwardine, and the aim of this book and TV series was to update the original, but with Fry taking over from Adams as the intrepid naturalists' side kick, on a world tour to see (for possibly the last time) some of the most endangered and yet intriguing species. Sadly, since the first book was written two of the featured animals can no longer be seen: The Northern White Rhino no longer survives in the wild and the Yangtze River Dolphin is no longer with us at all.
I enjoy reading natural history books but this one has one major advantage going for it - lots of big colour pictures. Even so, it's difficult to capture quite how unique some of these animals are. Take, for example, the Manatee. This animal, also known as the seacow, has to bee seen to be believed. I saw one a few years ago at an aquarium in Australia and I could have sworn that this was from another planet. In fact, it is a mammal and so far more closely related to us than a fish or a lizard. However, Mark Carwardine does manage to get across just how awe inspiring some of these creatures are - for example, explaining the a single Blue Whale has the same body mass as the entire human population of the Scilly Isles.
The other creature that Carwardine gives an amusing portrayal of is the common or garden Stephen Fry. He appears to be somewhat like his TV persona: witty, amusing, slightly oafish, technology obsessed, occasionally irritable and one who likes their creature comforts (which I can rather relate to). I think it is just as well that it was Carwardine rather than Fry that writes the book as he still manages to get across the trials and tribulations of conservation whilst still being very amusing in his own right.
The only downside to the book is towards the end where the rather fruitless task of conservation is made clear. The fact that many of the most intriguing species have been pushed to the brink is tragedy in itself, but so often it is not the law of unintended consequences that has caused the problem but sheer, wanton, greed obsessed stupidity on the part of mankind. One need only look at the depletion of North Sea fish stocks to realise that we never learn the lesson until it is too late. The book closes with the sobering thought that even the iconic African Lions' numbers have fallen so catastrophically over the last century that, if it continues at it's current rate, we will only have 20 years until it is our Last Change to See them.
Oddly enough, I have read a book by the same name, which was written by the late Douglas Adams along with Mark Carwardine, and the aim of this book and TV series was to update the original, but with Fry taking over from Adams as the intrepid naturalists' side kick, on a world tour to see (for possibly the last time) some of the most endangered and yet intriguing species. Sadly, since the first book was written two of the featured animals can no longer be seen: The Northern White Rhino no longer survives in the wild and the Yangtze River Dolphin is no longer with us at all.
I enjoy reading natural history books but this one has one major advantage going for it - lots of big colour pictures. Even so, it's difficult to capture quite how unique some of these animals are. Take, for example, the Manatee. This animal, also known as the seacow, has to bee seen to be believed. I saw one a few years ago at an aquarium in Australia and I could have sworn that this was from another planet. In fact, it is a mammal and so far more closely related to us than a fish or a lizard. However, Mark Carwardine does manage to get across just how awe inspiring some of these creatures are - for example, explaining the a single Blue Whale has the same body mass as the entire human population of the Scilly Isles.
The other creature that Carwardine gives an amusing portrayal of is the common or garden Stephen Fry. He appears to be somewhat like his TV persona: witty, amusing, slightly oafish, technology obsessed, occasionally irritable and one who likes their creature comforts (which I can rather relate to). I think it is just as well that it was Carwardine rather than Fry that writes the book as he still manages to get across the trials and tribulations of conservation whilst still being very amusing in his own right.
The only downside to the book is towards the end where the rather fruitless task of conservation is made clear. The fact that many of the most intriguing species have been pushed to the brink is tragedy in itself, but so often it is not the law of unintended consequences that has caused the problem but sheer, wanton, greed obsessed stupidity on the part of mankind. One need only look at the depletion of North Sea fish stocks to realise that we never learn the lesson until it is too late. The book closes with the sobering thought that even the iconic African Lions' numbers have fallen so catastrophically over the last century that, if it continues at it's current rate, we will only have 20 years until it is our Last Change to See them.
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