Saving the Last Rhinos

March 30, 2020
Fowlds’s straightforward and winning memoir, cowritten with journalist Spence (The Elephant Whisperer), recounts his career in wildlife conservation, focusing on the battle against rhinoceros poaching. Providing brief but helpful context, Fowlds describes his childhood on his family’s sheep and cattle ranch in South Africa, where he developed his love for animals. Subsequent sections deal with Fowlds’s experiences moving the family business from farming to game ranching and then preservation and tourism. Initially holding “a couple of giraffes, 12 zebras and a herd of impala and blesbok,” Amakhala Game Reserve eventually grew to include lions, leopards, rhinoceroses, elephants, and Cape buffalos. Fowlds forcefully rails against the “killers... with dart guns and chemicals” who would sneak onto the reserve “under cover of darkness” to hack off the rhinos’ horns. He also describes fighting back, with measures that have included extensive rehab for injured rhinos, horse patrols through the bush, and a fact-finding mission to Vietnam, a major destination for the stolen horns, due to their supposed medicinal qualities. With this appealing book, Fowlds issues a stirring call to action and shines a revealing light on the “horrible, howling reality of wildlife crime at the front line.” With color photos.

April 10, 2020

South African conservationist Fowlds collaborates with journalist and editor Spence to detail the difficulties in wildlife conservation. While the title may suggest a focus on rhinoceros, the story is more like a memoir, documenting Fowld's journey from goat farmer to banana farmer to game reserve owner. Fowlds describes the complexities of operating the private Amakhala Game Reserve in South Africa and the challenge of working with various levels of government. He also covers the reserve's most popular animal, the rhino, and explains why the creature's horns are in such high demand by poachers. Also explained are the fables and misconceptions associated with the horns, including the myth that it can treat the common cold, and how markets in Asia are fueling the maiming and killing of these animals. Readers also get a firsthand account of the first emergency surgery to save a rhino victimized by poachers. VERDICT An eye-opening account of the life of a famed conservationist that not only shows the pitfalls he faces on the job but also the hope he finds in others who are determinedly fighting to preserve wildlife.--Diana Hartle, Univ. of Georgia Science Lib., Athens

Copyright 2020 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

April 15, 2020
Conservationist Fowlds grew up in South Africa, raising goats on a large farm. Running wild in the bush with the local Xhosa boys, he learned about the region's plants and animals and became very aware of what was missing. He eventually realized that what he really wanted to do was to turn the farm into a game reserve. That involved re-wilding the land by removing domestic animals, taking down fences, allowing the bush to grow, and bringing in missing species. Along with giraffes, elephants, lions, and buffalo came white and black rhinoceros, which changed Fowld's life. This exciting story of post-Apartheid politics, wars against poachers, settling disputes between landowners and farmers, and thrilling rescues of rhinos and elephants is told with the able help of journalist Spence (The Last Rhinos, 2013). Harrowing tales of trying to save rhinos still alive after poachers have hacked off their horns mix with funny stories, including Prince Harry meeting the author's crusty father, making for an intimate look at the life of a true conservationist working to save Africa's most imperiled species.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2020, American Library Association.)