Hope for Animals and Their World Read online

  Copyright

  Copyright © 2009 by Jane Goodall with Thane Maynard and Gail Hudson

  All rights reserved. Except as permitted under the U.S. Copyright Act of 1976, no part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, or stored in a database or retrieval system, without the prior written permission of the publisher.

  Grand Central Publishing

  Hachette Book Group

  237 Park Avenue

  New York, NY 10017

  Visit our website at www.HachetteBookGroup.com

  www.twitter.com/grandcentralpub

  First eBook Edition: September 2009

  Grand Central Publishing is a division of Hachette Book Group, Inc.

  The Grand Central Publishing name and logo is a trademark of Hachette Book Group, Inc.

  Dr. Jane Goodall and the Institute do not endorse handling or interfering with wild chimpanzees. The chimpanzee in the jacket photo has been orphaned and lives at a sanctuary.

  This book was printed on Domtar’s EarthChoice Tradebook. The paper contains fiber from well-managed environmentally sound forests that are independently certified to the standards of the Forest Stewardship Council. This paper also contains 25% recycled paper, which was recovered from post-consumer waste.

  ISBN: 978-0-446-54338-5

  This book is dedicated to the memory of Martha,

  the last passenger pigeon—and to the last Miss Waldron’s

  colobus and the last Yangtze River dolphin. As we think of

  their lonely end, may we be inspired to work harder

  to prevent others suffering a similar fate.

  Contents

  COPYRIGHT

  ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

  FOREWORD

  INTRODUCTION

  PART 1: Lost in the Wild

  Introduction

  Black-Footed Ferret

  Mala or Rufous Hare-Wallaby

  California Condor

  Milu or Père David’s Deer

  Red Wolf

  THANE’S FIELD NOTES

  PART 2: Saved at the Eleventh Hour

  Introduction

  Golden Lion Tamarin

  American Crocodile

  Peregrine Falcon

  American Burying Beetle

  Crested Ibis

  Whooping Crane

  Angonoka or Ploughshare Tortoise

  Formosan Landlocked Salmon

  Vancouver Island Marmot

  THANE’S FIELD NOTES

  THANE’S FIELD NOTES

  PART 3: Never Giving Up

  Introduction

  Iberian Lynx

  Bactrian Camel

  Giant Panda

  Pygmy Hog

  Northern Bald Ibis or Waldrapp

  Columbia Basin Pygmy Rabbit

  Attwater’s Prairie Chicken

  Asian Vultures

  Hawaiian Goose or Nene

  THANE’S FIELD NOTES

  THANE’S FIELD NOTES

  PART 4: The Heroic Struggle to Save Our Island Birds

  Introduction

  Black Robin or Chatham Island Robin

  Abbott’s Booby

  Bermuda Petrel or Cahow

  The Birds of Mauritius

  Short-Tailed Albatross or Steller’s Albatross

  THANE’S FIELD NOTES

  PART 5: The Thrill of Discovery

  Introduction

  New Discoveries: Species Still Being Discovered

  The Lazarus Syndrome: Species Believed Extinct and Recently Found

  Living Fossils: Ancient Species Recently Discovered

  PART 6: The Nature of Hope

  Healing Earth’s Scars: It’s Never Too Late

  Why Save Endangered Species?

  APPENDIX

  Acknowledgments

  This book was several years in the making, and it could not have been written without the help of many people. Indeed, one of the really great experiences for me during the past few years has been meeting so many extraordinary and dedicated scientists and conservationists. Between them they have accomplished so much, and I have been overwhelmed by their willingness to share their knowledge and to read, correct, and add to the accounts I had written about their projects. Such generosity. I cannot thank them enough.

  While writing this book I learned about many wonderful projects from around the world. Unfortunately, when they were all written up, it was obvious that the manuscript was too long. Even when each story was cut, and cut again, the book was still too long. After much agonizing, it was decided that the only thing we could do was remove whole sections. I still feel devastated that this had to be done, mostly because the people whose projects I was writing about had spent so much time reading their chapters and ensuring that the information was correct—and they were so pleased that the material would be included in the book. I know they will be disappointed and I feel terrible about it.

  Our Web Site: However, there is a silver lining. The publishers have agreed to create a Web site that will feature all this material. It will also include the original versions of some chapters that were shortened for the book, as well as many photographs we gathered. I encourage everyone to visit the Web site and learn about the wonderful projects described there. You will also find my complete acknowledgments that had to be condensed for this book.

  As I said, without the help and ongoing cooperation of the people profiled in these pages, this book would never have been possible. You will find their names and heroic stories in the chapters to come. I would also like to thank the following people, who helped us tremendously but whose names you won’t find in the pages ahead: Mark Bain (short-nosed sturgeon), Ann M. Burke (whooping crane), Phil Bishop (Hamilton frog), Pat Bowles (Caspian horse), Jane Chandler (whooping crane), Glenn Fraser (woodhen), Rod Gritten (glutinous snail), Nancy Haley (short-nosed sturgeon), Kirk Hart (short-tailed albatross), Diane Hendry (red wolf), Dave Jarvis (pedder galaxias), Tom Koerner and Dan Miller (trumpeter swan), Bill Lautenbach (Sudbury, Ontario), Alfonso Aguirre Muñoz (Guadalupe Island), Mark Stanley Price (Arabian oryx), Ken Reininger (nene), Ruth Shea (trumpeter swan), Amy Sprunger (moapa dace), John Thorbjarnarson (Chinese alligator), Mike Wallace (California condor), Jake Wickerham (pedder galaxias), and Stephen S. Young (Cao Hai Nature Reserve).

  I am really grateful to Don Merton. He has helped us with so many chapters in this book: The utterly fascinating story of the kakapo, New Zealand’s large flightless parrot, will appear on our Web site. And I thank Nicholas Carlile for his enormous help in reviewing several of the stories in this book. His contribution to rescuing the Gould’s petrel will also appear on our Web site.

  The following people provided me with information about heroic efforts to save our endangered plant species: Peter Raven, Hugh Bollinger, Nick Johnson, Lourdes “Lulu” Rico Arce, Michael Park, Tim Rich, Bill Brumback, Jo Meyerkord, Kathryn Kennedy, and Robin Wall Kimmerer. You will find their stories and contributions on our Web site. In particular, Victoria Wilman and Robert Robichaux sent me so much helpful information, as did Paul Scannell and Andrew Pritchard, who also met with me in Australia.

  Another whole section that we couldn’t fit into the book but will appear on our Web site is about how the general public and our youth are helping to save endangered species. It describes fabulous stories of how an endangered species can halt developments: Greg Ballmer told me about the Delhi Sands flower-loving fly, and I learned about the Salt Creek tiger beetle from Stephen Spomer, Leon Higley, Mitch Paine, and Jessa Huebing-Reitinger. Matt and Ann Magoffin are helping to save the Chirakua leopard frog, and Meredith Dreifus and her family are helping the red-cock
aded woodpecker. Information for the Roots & Shoots section was provided by Chase Pickering, Tony Liu, and Dan Fulton. I was also helped by Susan and Alexandra Morris and Tim Coonan, who have worked for many years to protect the Channel Island fox.

  Thane Maynard: I was extremely fortunate to meet with and interview a wide and fiercely bright cast of characters in the process of developing this book. Each of these scientists and conservationists has stood in the gap when it mattered most for these species. I would like to acknowledge the following people who helped me gather my Field Notes but whose stories and names do not appear in these pages. All of these people and stories will be featured on our Web site: Wangari Mathaai and her staff from the Greenbelt Movement; Kent Vliet (the American alligator); Pete Dunne (bald eagle); Rick McIntyre (gray wolf); Clay Degayner (Key Largo woodrat); Ron Austing (Kirtland’s warbler); Scott Eckert (leatherback sea turtle); Greg Neudecker (trumpeter swan); Geoff Hill (ivory-billed woodpecker); Roger Payne (Pacific gray whale); Greg Sherley (weta of New Zealand); and Michael Samways (South African dragonflies). Naturally I want to thank my wife, Kathleen, for all her help and support through the years I worked on this book. My thanks go as well to the remarkable staff at the Cincinnati Zoo & Botanical Garden, who earn their stripes inspiring every zoo visitor with wildlife every day.

  Photography: All the photographs that you see in this book and on our Web site were donated to us by the photographers. We are deeply grateful to all of them for their generosity and support. You will find their names in the photo credits, alongside their photographs. In many cases the heroes we profiled assisted us in finding photographs, but we also want to thank and acknowledge the following people who helped us acquire photos: Shalese Murray, Andrew Bennet, JoGayle Howard, Gary Fry, Fr. Ed Udovic, C.M., James Popham, Ann Burke, Christina Anderson, Douglas W. Smith, Antonio Rivas, Christina Simmons, Caron Glover, Penny Haworth, Vanessa Dinning, Stephen Monet, Jesse Grantham, Liz Condie, David van Berkel, and Rob Robichaux.

  JGI and Worldwide Helpers: Throughout the writing of this book, and our search for information and photographs, the following staff members from our different JGI offices around the world were extraordinarily helpful: Federico Bogdanowicz, Ferran Guallar, David Lefrance, Jeroen Haijtink, Polly Cevallos, Kelly Kok, Walter Inmann, Gudrun Schindler, Melissa Tauber, Claire Quarrendon, Anthony Collins, Grace Gobbo, Jane Lawton, Sophie Muset, Erika Helms, Zhang Zh, Michael Crook, and Greg MacIsaac.

  I wish there was space to thank every one of our JGI staff members on the TACARE restoration program around the Gombe National Park. But I must mention Emmanuel Mtiti, Mary Mavanza, Aristedes Kashula, and Amani Kingu, who helped us with the material that appears here and on our Web site.

  In the early stages of the book JGI volunteer Joy Hotchkiss helped with research and preliminary interviews, and Sally Eddows developed products featuring endangered species that will help to promote the book. We are extremely grateful to Mary Paris, who edited all the photos that appear in the book and on our Web site. And Meredith Bailey, editorial assistant to Gail, helped us with the “What You Can Do” section, as did Claire Jones of JGI.

  I am filled with gratitude to the staff of the Global Office of the Founder (GOOF). In particular, Rob Sassor contacted a great many people during the first few years of the book, interviewing them and providing me with information; he was really enthused by this project, and his help was invaluable. Stephen Ham, who stepped into Rob’s position, also helped to contact scientists and organize meetings. Susana Name, who helps to manage my hectic schedule, somehow arranged to fit in meetings with scientists involved in rescuing some of the species discussed in this book.

  There is absolutely no way that the photographs for this book could have been gathered from farflung corners of the globe, organized, and evaluated without the dedicated, detailed, and persistent efforts of Christin Jones. She never gave up on getting an image. She was terrific to work with. And she was indefatigable—even major surgery could not, for long, keep her from putting the last photos in order. What a hero!

  Gail Hudson: Many thanks to my agent, Mary Ann Naples of the Creative Culture, for her outstanding support and guidance. And I am especially grateful to my husband, Hal, daughter, Gabrielle, and son, Tennessee, who always support my work in the world.

  Grand Central: We owe a huge debt of gratitude to the staff at Grand Central, people who were supportive and understanding throughout the years of making this book. Editor Natalie Kaire stayed in close contact with us and went through the original long version of the book a few times, helping us make tough decisions about what should be cut, from both text and photographs. Managing editor Robert Castillo took good care of the copyediting while respecting my voice. In particular, I am grateful to executive vice president and publisher Jamie Raab for creating a Web site for the book and allowing us to use far more photographs than originally planned. She has been by my side through several books and been a real support and friend.

  Friends and Family: As I travel around the world I am supported—and often nurtured—by wonderful friends. I cannot thank them all—there are too many. But I have special words of gratitude for Michael Neugebauer and Tom Mangelsen. Tom has not only provided magnificent photographs but also introduced me to Ernie Kuyt and to the team that saved the black-footed ferret from extinction. I truly value the hours Tom and I have spent discussing endangered species and conservation, and enjoying the beauty of the wild places. You can see his amazing photography at www.mangelsen.com.

  I could never have gotten through the months and years of writing this book without Mary Lewis, staunch companion of the road. Mary was the master coordinator of my crazy schedule, working miracles to ensure I got to fly with the cranes, spend the night with the ferrets, and meet the countless heroes described in Hope for Animals and Their World. And then, of course, there is her sense of humor. What a friend she is. It is sad she is not here as I type the last words of this marathon, but recovering from hip replacement surgery in the UK.

  My crazy schedule and the need to spend all free moments wedded to the book has meant that I had less time than usual for my son and grandchildren. I thank them for their understanding. And a very special thank-you to my very special sister, Judy. If she wasn’t there in the Birches I would have had no bolt hole in which to hide and to write, between trips around the globe. Judy, with her quiet common sense and strong support, was my anchor in the storm.

  Foreword

  JANE’S FEATHER

  By Thane Maynard

  The idea for a book of hopeful stories about wildlife was launched on an autumn evening in 2002. In the middle of a public lecture at a sold-out basketball arena, Jane stepped away from the podium and said her classic line, “Let me tell you a story …”

  Reaching behind the podium, Jane slowly pulled out the largest feather I’d ever seen; indeed, one of the largest feathers in the world. It was a primary feather from a California condor, the most endangered animal in America. She told the enthralled gathering that she carried it with her for inspiration because it reminded her not that magnificent creatures were disappearing—as is so often reported, even to children—but instead that many species are coming back from the brink of extinction. Thanks to the hard work of a great spectrum of experts, activists, students, and enthusiasts, the California condor is flying again.

  When her lecture was through, Jane walked up the stairs through the cheering crowd with the feather held aloft like the symbol of a tribal chief. Indeed, in that moment on such a fair fall night, we six thousand gathered there were a tribe united to care for wildlife and the natural world around us. After all, we had learned, such diversity is what holds the earth steady.

  This book is a starting point to share the hope of such a dream. A dream in which caring people of all ages, from all over the world and all walks of life, show that it is possible to help, rather than harm, the rest of the world around us. For it is not counter to human nature to be hopeful. In fact, it is quite the opposite�
�it is essential to our nature.

  People are as persevering as gray squirrels after a bird feeder and as tenacious as the termites who rebuild the topsoil on the forest floor. And just as nature has evolved to be nearly immeasurably resilient, filling in gaps created by storms, disease, and other calamities, so have human beings, both as individuals and as cultures, proven the ability to come back from disaster time and again. This is perhaps our greatest strength. As British author John Gardner put it, “We are at our best when the way is steep.”

  I really have no idea why Jane and I are so disproportionately buoyant in such a time of loss. I’ve even been called “a public nuisance” because my NPR radio broadcasts, Field Notes with Thane Maynard and The 90-Second Naturalist, promote a sense of wonder about nature rather than a sense of gloom. And while I know that we live lives of unprecedented destruction, I am blessed to also know many great people effectively working (and most of them quietly) to save what they can. To me they are like Nelson Mandela and Martin Luther King, carrying on with their miracles that many others believe impossible.

  It is this same sort of passion that is represented in nearly every effective conservationist I have ever known. While the naysayers stand by wheezing and huffing and puffing about how “this will never work,” or “it’s too late to save this species or habitat,” or “be practical, we have to compromise with the developers,” it is the truly passionate conservationists who never give up. They are empowered by the hard work. You can see it in their eyes.

  Maybe I’m also optimistic because in many countries, I find a growing sense of pride in their flagship species and their natural heritage. Just as importantly, there is a sense that they have a reason to protect what is still there. Not only because it is good for tourism or foreign exchange, but also because it is important to them and their children.

  So today, when we live in an age of terrible loss all around us, rather than sadness for what we’ve done, it is essential that we express hope for what can be done. In order to do that, we need guiding lights—role models—who can light the way. For there are thousands of success stories of wild animals and plants that are making a comeback. And of people who are helping to protect the natural world we depend upon. They are, as Martin Luther King described himself in his self-scribed eulogy, “drum majors” for wildlife conservation.