Chasing the Dragon's Tail

by Alan Rabinowitz

Book Overview

In 1987, zoologist Alan Rabinowitz was invited by the Thai government to study leopards, tigers, and other wildlife in the Huai Kha Khaeng valley, one of Southeast Asia's largest and most prized... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0385415176
• ISBN13: 9780385415170
• Release Date: October 1991
• Publisher: Doubleday Books
• Length: 241 Pages
• Weight: 1.25 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.0" x 6.5" x 9.5"

Customer Reviews

The Struggle To Save Thailand's Biodiversity

This book describes the day-to-day life and frustrations of renowned conservationist Alan Rabinowitz in Thailand. While the large mammal biodiversity of the country is amazing, it is being severely depleted. The large mammals are victims of a local culture that seems to think of wildlife as free wealth to be plundered for subsistence or luxury. While he is primarily a conservationist, Dr. Rabinowitz sometimes assumes the role of animal rights advocate as he describes acts of heartless cruelty by the locals towards animals. Examples: a python which is skinned alive by some of his servants (it is easier to remove the skin when the animal is alive), and a magnificent gaur (the largest wild cattle species in the world) which had died a slow death from starvation after its jaw had been shattered by a bullet. A distinctive feature of Dr. Rabinowitz's passionate first-person narrative is that he cares for wild animals as individuals apart from his desire to save them as species. His study animals are given Thai names and not numbers. He is emotionally involved with their well-being and does not maintain the cold detachment towards them that one might expect from a scientist. He also does not hesitate to give vent to his anger and anguish when one of the animals he has grown familiar with dies a horrible death at the hands of poachers. His view of the local culture is heavily influenced by how they treat animals and is understandably negative. This has been described as "cultural imperialism" by a reviewer but it is hard not to be moved by the sufferings of animals which are skinned alive and left to die in agony. Readers would have to judge for themselves on this point. In my opinion, Dr. Rabinowitz would have failed in his duty as a conservationist if he did not portray accurately the problems of saving Thailand's biodiversity - and most of the problems undoubtedly stem from the fact that the local culture does not see animals as deserving basic human sympathy, kindness and ethical treatment. "The greatness of a nation and its moral progress can be judged by the way its animals are treated." Apart from the above sociological aspects of conservation in Thailand, the book contains a lot of information about the mammals themselves and their ecology. There are detailed descriptions of radiocollaring leopards and other wild cats which are very exciting, as are some of the descriptions of the largest cat of them all, the tiger.

Alan Rabinowitz may be a biologist, but he is certainly a skilled writer.

This is the true story of a biologist with a dark past heading to a small Asian country to study leopards. Though the story is about animal conservation, the human interactions are what make the bulk of it. The author is an emotional person, and the conveyance of his feelings and thoughts in his writing make this story very entertaining. He is also very candid about some of the things he did in Thailand. I have to say one more thing about his writing style. As I was reading the book, I could picture myself hiking along the trails of the forest reserve, or talking to the forest monks. I cringed and felt helpless as I read of the daily cases of skinning and cooking animals alive. And I felt the sense of helplessness and frustration of trying to stop an entire nation from devouring every bit of wildlife left.

A captivating story of the state of the tiger in Thailand

"Like his first book, Jaguar, Rabinowitz's Chasing The Dragon's Tail is a telling testimony to the difficulties emarked upon in the attempt at large predator conservation. Rabinowitz's books are a must read for anyone interested in habitat preservation and conservation."