Wildlife Wars: My Fight to Save Africa's Natural Treasures [Hardcover]

Richard Leakey (Author), Virginia Morell (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 19, 2001

In this engrossing memoir, one of the most controversial, influential, and inspirational figures in African politics today gives the full story of his crusade to save Kenya's natural resources, and specifically the African elephant--a crusade that set him against internal corruption, poverty, and dangerous criminals. Sometimes at the risk of his own life, Leakey's love of Kenya, and his convictions about the direction his country--and all of sub-Sahara Africa--must take to survive, have been unshakeable. Wildlife Wars is the odyssey of an extraordinary man in an extraordinary land.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

In conservation and wildlife preservation, paleontology and East African politics, few have mattered more than Leakey (The Sixth Extinction), who emerged as an expert on early humans, building on his famous parents' discoveries as he explained in the 1983 memoir, One Life. This second memoir describes his high-stakes second career. In 1989, Leakey became the head of Kenya's Wildlife Department, which put him in charge of saving elephants from the poaching that risked their extinction. Leakey and Morell explain, with speed and cogency, the murderous business of poaching and the difficulties of the Wildlife Department in 1989 perhaps "the most corrupt organization" in Kenya; "everyone thought the poachers were invincible" in fighting it. Leakey arranged a bonfire of seized ivory, a public relations triumph. He also issued semi-automatic weapons to park rangers. Gangs retaliated, in part, by killing George Adamson, of Born Free fame; public reaction helped Leakey and allies achieve an international ban on the ivory trade. Leakey later found his work and his life in peril, and a 1993 plane crash cost him his legs. Leakey and Morell (who has also penned a book about the Leakeys, Ancestral Passions) tell a brisk and vividly personal story. Though longer on laws and press conferences than on elephants, the memoir will fascinate anyone interested in conservation or East African politics. The detailed narrative stops in 1994, when Leakey first left his Wildlife job; subsequent events including Leakey's ascent to Parliament as an opposition candidate occupy just a few pages. Readers will await those stories eagerly, while holding out hopes for Kenya and its pachyderms.

Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal

In this sequel to his 1983 memoir One Life, paleontologist Leakey writes about his appointment in 1989 to a mismanaged Wildlife Department in his home of Kenya. He immediately realized the unprecedented challenge that he faced in not only revitalizing the agency but also combating the precipitous decline in Kenyan wildlife, most particularly, the African elephant. One of his first decisions was to burn rather than sell tons of confiscated ivory. This sent a strong message that his department would be unwavering in opposing the ivory trade. He backed this up by reorganizing the department into the Kenyan Wildlife Service and arming his rangers to do battle with poachers. This, combined with international lobbying against the ivory trade, did much to bring the elephant back from the brink of decimation, but the cost included continual conflict with other government officials and the loss of his legs in a suspicious 1993 plane accident. He joined an opposition political party after a smear campaign but has now rejoined the government in a new role. Wildlife readers will find few animal stories here; this is a political story. At times, even Leakey himself admits that he is not a consummate political player, but as an effective champion of wildlife he appears to have few equals. Highly recommended.
- Beth Crim, Prince William P.L., VA
Copyright 2001 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 352 pages
• Publisher: St. Martin's Press; 1st edition (September 19, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0312206267
• ISBN-13: 978-0312206260
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6.4 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (11 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,817,102 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great General Read and for Teaching Conservation Politics, October 31, 2001

By 

E. Jones (Portland, USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Wildlife Wars: My Fight to Save Africa's Natural Treasures (Hardcover)

Anything with the names Richard Leakey and Virginia Morell on the cover is guaranteed to be a worthwhile read. Like his equally brilliant and famous father Louis, Richard Leakey is not without controversial opinion. Though generally in agreement with the authors, I found this book challenging some of my basic assumptions about conservation. To that end the book provides an excellent point of departure for classroom discussions on major conservation issues of the day such as community roles in conservation, the effectiveness of National Parks in protecting wildlife and biodiversity, and the interplay between international, national and local needs and strategies. The book is an exhilarating, easy read and will appeal to a broad range of ages and cultural backgrounds.

9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Saving Kenya’s Wild Elephants for Future Generations, September 3, 2001

By 

Donald Mitchell "Jesus Loves You!" (Thanks for Providing My Reviews over 109,000 Helpful Votes Globally) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)    (TOP 100 REVIEWER)   

This review is from: Wildlife Wars: My Fight to Save Africa's Natural Treasures (Hardcover)

This book succeeds well both as a conservation and as an action story about leading change.

Dr. Richard Leakey, son of the famous Louis and Mary Leakey, is best known for his work in unearthing early human fossils in Kenya. While doing his paleontological work, he also headed up the National Kenya Museum. As a high profile Kenyan, his criticisms of the rampant slaughter of wild elephants had drawn the attention of Kenya’s president, Mr. Daniel arap Moi. Without warning, Dr. Leakey was appointed head of the Kenya Department of Wildlife and Conservation Management in 1989 and given encouragement to solve the problem.

Dr. Leakey found many serious problems. Corruption was rampant (rangers often were doing the poaching or helping the poachers). Less than 5 percent of the equipment worked. Little training was provided. Basics like gasoline were not available to maintain patrols. The poachers were using automatic weapons and had the rangers outgunned by a wide margin. Tourists were being robbed and killed, which potentially would dry up sources of income for Kenya.

What follows is a truly astonishing tale of how one man made a difference, but not quite enough of one. Reorganized as the Kenya Wildlife Service, the new organization became effective in fighting the poachers. Dr. Leakey fought untiringly to stop the international ivory trade and change consumer attitudes away from ivory products. To launch this effort, he publicly burned over three million dollars of seized ivory for the international television cameras. He also made many trips to economically advanced countries to raise funds, and obtained capital needed to establish a self-funding wildlife activity in Kenya.

But as the checks began to roll in, the political hands became outstretched. Dr. Leakey resigned in 1994 to protest the lost of autonomy for the KWS, and most of the money was diverted for non-wildlife spending. On the brink of bankruptcy, he was brought in to improve operations again in 1998 and had everything in the black within a year.

The book also recounts Dr. Leakey’s serious health problems. His life was saved by a kidney transplant from his brother in 1979. A 1993 plane crash caused part of both legs to be amputated.

What you also may not know about Dr. Leakey is that his formal educational training stopped around high school. He actually started out a safari business as a young man. So even in his best known area, he learned on the job. The same thing happened with his work on behalf of elephants. You will probably agree with me that he was astonishingly effective in both areas.

The main flaw in his plan was that his new agency needed to be more independent of Kenyan politics, and the funding from the World Bank should not have flowed through the Kenyan treasury where it provided too much political temptation.

The end of the book briefly recounts his conversion into a parliamentary political opponent of the ruling party.

I came away very impressed with the courage of the Kenyan rangers in taking on the poachers. Until several years into the program, the rangers were very likely to be killed in each engagement. For a scientist like Dr. Leakey to envision how to build and motivate a military organization was quite remarkable.

If you ever have a chance to see an elephant in Kenya, be sure to remember to think kindly of the brave Kenyans who made it possible.

After you finish this book, think about rare wildlife near where you live. What can you do to help ensure that the wildlife will be there for future generations? Be sure to remember Dr. Leakey’s observation, “There is surely no simple prescription.”

Help create a better world for all the animals and people!

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A wildlife conservation story to inspire, January 4, 2002

By 

Claus Hetting (Gentofte, Copenhagen Denmark) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Wildlife Wars: My Fight to Save Africa's Natural Treasures (Hardcover)

Dr. Richard Leakey has authored a compelling account of his time at the helm of Kenya Wildlife Services. The book recounts the bush war against poaching, and contains a very vivid description of Kenyan political life. Sadly - and ironically - the success of Dr. Leakey's management of KWS created a long list of political adversaries that eventually forced Leaky to resign from the post.

There can be no doubt that Dr. Leakey has been the chief architect behind the saving of the African elephant from extinction by the hands of poachers. Dr. Leakey's work stands as one of the most important wildlife conservation achievements of all time. Finally, I believe Dr. Leakey is one of the - perhaps last? - great Kenyan patriots. This story inspires. If there were ever a Nobel Prize for bravery and commitment, surely it would be his.