Life in the Valley of Death: The Fight to Save Tigers in a Land of Guns, Gold, and GreedDubbed the Indiana Jones of wildlife science by The New York Times, Alan Rabinowitz has devoted--and risked--his life to protect nature's great endangered mammals. He has journeyed to the remote corners of the earth in search of wild things, weathering treacherous terrain, plane crashes, and hostile governments. Life in the Valley of Death recounts his most ambitious and dangerous adventure yet: the creation of the world's largest tiger preserve. The tale is set in the lush Hukaung Valley of Myanmar, formerly known as Burma. An escape route for refugees fleeing the Japanese army during World War II, this rugged stretch of land claimed the lives of thousands of children, women, and soldiers. Today it is home to one of the largest tiger populations outside of India--a population threatened by rampant poaching and the recent encroachment of gold prospectors. To save the remaining tigers, Rabinowitz must navigate not only an unforgiving landscape, but the tangled web of politics in Myanmar. Faced with a military dictatorship, an insurgent army, tribes once infamous for taking the heads of their enemies, and villagers living on less than one U.S. dollar per day, the scientist and adventurer most comfortable with animals is thrust into a diplomatic minefield. As he works to balance the interests of disparate factions and endangered wildlife, his own life is threatened by an incurable disease. The resulting story is one of destruction and loss, but also renewal. In forests reviled as the valley of death, Rabinowitz finds new life for himself, for communities haunted by poverty and violence, and for the tigers he vowed to protect. |
Contents
Prologue | 1 |
The Road to Nowhere | 3 |
Paradise Lost | 11 |
The Valley of Death | 17 |
Into the Naga Hills | 37 |
Rolling the Dice | 61 |
Letting Go | 85 |
Hungry Ghosts | 91 |
Shaping a Miracle | 139 |
A Question of Balance | 157 |
Burning Bright | 167 |
Return to the Naga Hills | 177 |
Spots of Time | 187 |
Reaching Mount Analogue | 197 |
Acknowledgments | 209 |
Selected Bibliography | 213 |
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Life in the Valley of Death: The Fight to Save Tigers in a Land of Guns ... Alan Rabinowitz No preview available - 2007 |
Common terms and phrases
Ah Phyu animals Ayeyarwady River bamboo Burma Burmese camera-trap camp China conservation country’s director of wildlife director-general elephants feel Forest Department staff gold mines groups guns habitat head Hkakabo Razi Hukawng Valley Tiger hunters hunting India jaguars jungle Kachin Khin Maung Zaw Khin Nyunt killed land leaf deer Ledo Road leopards leukemia Lisu live look meeting minister of forestry months mountains Myan Myanmar Myint Maung Myitkyina Naga Hills Namyun never northern commander number of tigers protected areas Putao Rabinowitz River Salisa sambar deer save tigers Saw Tun Khaing Shinbweyan smiles soldiers speak species stop talk Tanai tell tiger bone tiger population township tracks trip truck turn Valley Tiger Reserve village waiting walk watch wild pig wildlife corridors wildlife police wildlife sanctuary Yangon Zaung Hkra