Jaguar: One Man's Struggle To Establish The World's First Jaguar Preserve [Paperback]

Alan Rabinowitz (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: February 2, 2000

In 1983, zoologist Alan Rabinowitz ventured into the rain forest of Belize, determined to study the little-known jaguar in its natural habitat and to establish the world's first jaguar preserve. Within two years, he had succeeded. In "Jaguar" he provides the only first-hand account of a scientist's experience with jaguars in the wild. Originally published in 1986, this edition includes a new preface and epilogue by the author that bring the story up to date with recent events in the region and around the world.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

In the early 1980s, working at the behest of the noted biologist George Schaller, Alan Rabinowitz traveled to the newly independent Central American nation of Belize to study jaguars, once extensive throughout the Americas, in a remote, densely forested part of that country. ("If the world had any ends, [Belize] would surely be one of them" Aldous Huxley once wrote.) There, deep within mountainous jungle, Rabinowitz conducted a thorough study of the jaguar's natural history, studying its diet (made up, he writes, of a surprising quantity of armadillos), movements, and territories, and learning the ways of the much-feared cat. He also learned a little something about himself--discovering, he writes, that "once I had overcome my initial fears of this dense, dark green world, I started to enjoy it."

Over his two-year stay, Rabinowitz developed plans to establish a forest sanctuary that would be free of the jaguar's principal enemies--not deadly fer-de-lance snakes or other large predators, but loggers, poachers, and cattle ranchers, all of whom had their reasons for wanting to see jaguars disappear from the region. Although he was successful in convincing the Belizean government to authorize the Cockscomb preserve, Rabinowitz writes in the afterword to this revised edition of Jaguar (first published in 1986), the jaguar haven came at a cost to Mayan people who lived in the area and were forced to relocate. His memoir will be of great interest not only to admirers of the jaguar, a magnificent animal by any measure, but also to students of international ecological issues. --Gregory McNamee

From Publishers Weekly

Rabinowitz, a zoologist, describes two years of triumph and tragedy in the rain forests of Belize, where he lived among Mayan Indians while researching the jaguar population; he was instrumental in having the Cockscomb Basin there declared a National Forest Reserve. Photos. (Nov.)no PW
Copyright 1991 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 416 pages
• Publisher: Island Press; 1 edition (February 2, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1559638028
• ISBN-13: 978-1559638029
• Product Dimensions: 6 x 1.1 x 9.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.5 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (19 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #273,887 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #5 in Books > History > Americas > Central America > Belize
  • #87 in Books > Professional & Technical > Professional Science > Biological Sciences > Zoology > Mammals

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

16 of 16 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars The Heart of the Jungle November 28, 2004

By Dakota

Format:Paperback

"Jaguar" is the fascinating story of one scientist's journey to study and protect the elusive jaguar, the third largest cat in the world.

Written like a book of fiction, "Jaguar" reads smoothly, capturing your attention and curiosity with its first-person portrayal of life in an alien world: the jungles of Belize. It is peopled with the Maya, a culture rich in history yet suffering poverty, disease, and insignificance in modern times. And in this world exists the jaguar, a powerful cat who is rarely seen and is not a man-eater, yet is hunted almost to extinction for its exquisite spotted fur and because, quite simply, people fear it.

I read "Jaguar" in about 2 days, and fell completely in love with its spirit. The author, a young scientist, struggled hard to successfully understand the lives of these cats within its world and to keep it alive, often to his own personal tragedies. His description of the jungle is unromantic and riveting, as are the terrible hardships that go with it. I will never forget all the diseases, snakes, and parasites than run amok in this story, practically characters of their own. One lesson I came back with is how thankful I am to live in a country with exceptional sanitation and medical care.

"Jaguar" is haunting. You can't finish it without wishing to enter that dark, dangerous jungle of the majestic jaguar. It draws out the adventurer in you. It stirs your compassion.

14 of 14 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars A great book September 1, 2001

By Marceau Ratard

Format:Paperback

This book really gives you a feel for how conservation based research is carried out in the tropics. The research was carried out in the early 1980's in the Cockscomb basin in Belize. The area is now a jaguar preserve and if your headed to Belize it is a must see. The book describes the 2 years that Dr. Rabinowitz spent researching jaguar movements in Belize. You really get a feel for how conservation research interacts and sometimes conflicts with local villagers, the government, and how it is preserved in the US. I reads like an adventure story and is not boring. You certainly don't need to be biologist to like this book. I think that anybody could take something away from this story. If your going to Belize, then you should really consider adding this to the list of books to read before you go.

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Review of "Jaguar"" March 23, 2004

By A Customer

Format:Paperback

This book is essential reading for anyone interested in the Central American Rainforest. It has a little bit of everything..field notes, natural history, local culture, paranormal experiences, adventure, and romance. The book was engaging and easy to read. I learned a lot about jaguars and the struggle to protect them. The only drawback was Rabinowitz's negative portrayl of the present day Mayans. Undoubtedly, the author is a scientist and not an anthropologist, but i do feel that he should have shown more respect for their culture and more understanding of their situation.
I reccomend this book, and then i reccomend traveling to Cockscomb Basin in Belize to fully appreciate the conservation effort. Even if you can't get there, you will feel like you have been there after reading this book.