Last Chance to See

Some time ago, I finished reading the Ultimate Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, the stellar and utterly hilarious sci-fi series by Douglas Adams. When I finished reading it, I was upset because the series had ended, and I vowed to read all his other books till I got over being upset. So I picked up Last Chance To See, not knowing at all what it was about.

I am amazed, how is it possible that Douglas Adams, an author of fiction, wrote an entire non-fiction book about endangered species (a topic which to me seemed terribly dry till before then), and somehow managed to make it terribly interesting and also side-splittingly funny? Was Douglas Adams actually a comic masquerading as an author? In any case he'd be equally proficient in either role. Brilliant, comedic, story-telling genius seems about right when describing this legend.

This is a real adventure story circa 1985 about how Douglas Adams-science fiction comedy writer and by his own admission 'an extremely ignorant non-zoologist to whom everything that happened would come as a surprise', and Mark Cawardine- Zoologist, travel the world to look for endangered species in a quest which takes them across continents through Madagascar, Komodo Island, Zaire, New Zealand, China and Mauritius...
In his inimitable style, Douglas Adams gives a brilliant and hilarious account of the places they visit, and the people, cultures and animals that they encounter. On their expedition, they see (or are seen by)- the aye-aye (a lemur which seems to have been assembled from bits of other animals), the Komodo dragon (who you can't help but feel is entirely the wrong size for a lizard to be), the northern white rhinoceros (whose huge muscles moved easily under its heavy skin like Volkswagens parking), the mountain gorilla (or perhaps a gorilla mountain), the kakapo (which has a look of serenely innocent incomprehension that makes you want to hug it and tell it that everything will be all right), the baiji (the hapless half-blind dolphin of the seething Yangtze river), the Mauritian kestrels (one of whom is quite convinced he's a human) and a several other animals in between. From the frustrations of trying to get on a plane in Bali despite having a ticket, to officials in Zaire who will make life unpleasant for you until you pay them in US Dollars to stop it, to lurching sickeningly through New Zealand's fiords in a helicopter, to attempting to buy condoms for a makeshift underwater microphone in China; descriptions of everything they see and do and experience from the amusing POV of Douglas Adams are presented in vivid and relatable detail.

The book left me with a sense of responsibility for our planet, an empathy for endangered species, and a strong disgust for the human species, especially for those who poach/hunt animals and clear swathes of natural habitat for profit. It is only within the last 300 years i.e. since humans first set foot on pristine lands, that extinction rates have been the highest than they have ever been in the history of life itself. That says a lot about us as a species and why we owe it to the earth to restore ravaged habitats and salvage species that have been affected by our damaging activities.

'Conservation is not for the squeamish'. The herculean efforts of the conservationists get due mention in this book. Reading about their determined and dedicated work, against all bureaucratic odds, especially in bringing the population of Mauritius kestrel back from the brink, was downright inspiring.

I am inclined to think that had I read this book in school, I might have been inspired to pursue conservation- oh, well. Also, did I say before that this book is hilarious?

Μην σας ξεγελά το πρόχειρο εξώφυλλο και το "φτηνιάρικο" τύπωμα της συγκεκριμένης ελληνικής έκδοσης - πρόκειται για ένα άκρως διασκεδαστικό αλλά και διδακτικό οδοιπορικό, χρωματισμένο με οικολογικές και χιουμοριστικές πινελιές, γραμμένο από έναν από τους σπουδαιότερους σύγχρονους κωμικούς συγγραφείς. Διαβάστε το εάν σας ενδιαφέρει να μάθετε για διάφορα είδη ζώων από όλο τον κόσμο που κινδυνεύουν με εξαφάνιση, αν σας αρέσουν τα ντοκυμαντέρ για την φύση ή αν προτιμάτε το γράψιμο με μία γερή δόση καυστικής σάτυρας.

Thirty‑plus years ago Douglas Adams of The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy fame and Mark Carwardine, a wildlife zoologist and photographer, set out to find some of the rarest creatures on earth before it was too late and document their encounters with them. This book is a result of that expedition. There are touches of the absurd humor and satire in it that Adams was well known for but what stands out is his insightful commentary about the reasons the creatures became endangered in the first place. I had planned to follow this up with Stephen Fry’s 2009 book, Last Chance to See: In the Footsteps of Douglas Adams but now I’m going to wait because I'm afraid it might suffer in a back‑to‑back comparison.

Douglas Adams proved with this book that he wasn't just a brilliant science fiction writer with a virtually unrivalled wit and sense of humour; it went to show that he had an admirable, enviable even, sense of social and ecological responsibility, taking him, as far as I am concerned, from the "brilliant writer" tier, to the "paradigm of humanity" club, reserved only for those people (and there's not a lot of them around) that can work as true inspiration for me. Last Chance To See is a manifesto on almost everything that's wrong or imbalanced in the world today -- and it was written more than 20 years ago. The Douglas Adams impish vibe that is so cherished by many serves as little more than a tasty side dish for this book. It is that good.

My edition has a foreword by Richard Dawkins who has a similar opinion of the late man as I do. While I do not really agree with his flagship Atheist views (even if I would much sooner classify myself as an Atheist than a "Creationist"), he does do a magnificent job of summing up the point of this book in just a few words:

Of the endangered animals that Douglas Adams and Mark Carwardine set out to see, one seems to have gone for good during the intervening two decades. We have noew lost our last chance to see the Yangtze river dolhpin. Or hear it, which is more to the point, for the river dolphin lived ina world where seeing was pretty much out of the question anyway: a murky, muddy river in which sonar came splendidly into its own -- until the arrival of massive noise pollution by boat engines.
The loss of the river dolphin is a tragedy, and some of the other wonderful characters in this book cannot be far behind. In his Last Word, Mark Carwardine reflects on why we should care when species, or shole major groups of animals and plants go extinct. He deals with the usual arguments:

Every animal and plant is an integral part of its environment: even Komodo dragons have a major role to play in maintaining the ecological stability of their delicate island homes. If they disappear, so could many other species. And consercation is very much in time with our own survival. Animals and plants provide us with life-saving drugs and food, they pollinate crops and provide important ingredients for many industrial processes.

Yes, yes, he would say that kind of thing, it's expected of him. But the pity that we need to justify conservation on such human-centered, utilitarian grounds. To borrow an analogy I once used in a different context, it's a bit like justifying music on the grounds that it's good exercise for the violinist's right arm. Surely the real justification for saving these magnificent creatures is the one with which Mark rounds off the book, and which he obviously prefers:

There is one last reason for caring, and I believe that no other is necessary. It is certainly the reason why so many people have devoted their lives to protecting the likes of rhinos, parakeets, kakapos and dolphins. And it is simply this: the world would be a poorer, darker, lonelier place without them.

[...]

He [Douglas Adams] saw with his own eyes how quickly such painstaking edifices of evolutionary artifice can be torn down and tossed to oblivion. He tried to do something about it. So should we, if only to honour the memory of this unrepeatable specimen of Homo Sapiens. For once, the specific name is well deserved.

My respect also goes to Mark Carwardine, who has continued to bring the word out all these years, as well as to all the people all over the world, described in the book or not, that have devoted their lives to noble and moving ideals.

I've been very interested in animals lately, particularly around learning about different animals and in this case, critically endangered species. Now, this book was published in 1991 and Douglas Adams and Mark Carwardine went travelling in the late 80s so the status of some of these animals has changed slightly over the years. That being said, I found this to be very interesting. I think it was also particularly interesting to see which of the conservation efforts described in this book have worked and which haven't done so. It was very cool to see the kakapo in there, as lately I have become very much interested in the birds of New Zealand. I think this book is definitely worth a read. It's definitely given me a lot to think about and a greater appreciation for the animals that I see everyday.

I'm not a zoology student but I have a 3 unit subject and we were required to visit either Manila Zoo or the National Museum of the Philippines animal research section, it was a part of our annual field trip without the teacher in charge. Because I'm new here in Manila last year my classmates decided to go both the zoo and the museum. In spite of the fact that the weather was hot, we were forced to go outside and take pictures for our journal because it was the last day of submission.

Our first stop was the Museum, we were lucky that the researchers in charge the museum were present that time and they have the time to show their specialties. Every group was required to enter a certain room with a researcher in charge and they tackled about animals (of course) and plants. If I can still remember, only few have been discussed because of the limited materials present that time and the Museum is under construction by somewhat fail to finish.

After that we went to Manila Zoo, the worst place in Manila. It was one of the dirtiest places here and not recommended to be visited every Sunday, although almost Filipino families wanted or already went here and have their Sunday picnic. You can also see animals that are suffering because of the lack of space and the grills that are not meant for them. They should be in the wild but they are needed to be preserve and be seen by the people. If you're an animal lover or somehow trying to be one soon, this is a great place to take your blowing mind and grab some board with quotes that are funny and in fact nobody cared to see you but only the lenses of cameras are interested in taking pictures of you and your ugly sign board.

I'm not supporting Manila Zoo, but I think we must remember that there are always positive and negative outcome in every actions that we made or advantage and disadvantage why we made places like zoos or animal lab. In fact a specie is required to be hunt and be hunted so that other species must survive, we need balance in our ecosystem and we are just part of that small community who wanted and tried to survive for almost 5,000 years of existence.

Douglas Adams and his coauthor, Mark Carwardine travels through greatness of God's creation. Looking for animals that are endangered in Last Chance to See. You don't need to become a knowledgeable zoologist, a 5 year naturalist or a tracker to enjoy the book that he dedicated to the people who wanted to see animals that are soon to be lost in books and in the memories of mankind.

It was started when Douglas was assigned to write an article 3 years before the event to Observer and met Mark, a zoologist and both were assigned to look for an Aye-aye (Daubentonia madagascariensis), a rare specie of nocturnal Lemur which can be found only in Madagascar. After the unexpected meeting they decided to find more endangered animals and write a book for them to support the facilities and minor projects of the government in preserving those animals.

They went through a very serious but hilarious journey and met nice researcher and people to guide us readers to explore the secret behind the thick forest of India, New Zealand, China and the famous Dodo's Island, Mauritius. Of course, before Douglas and his friend went to Mauritius, dodos (Raphus cucullatus) were already extinct in mid-17th century. But it is not too late for us to go outside and and discover new species.


True Colors, can't help but to laugh than to support them. If you see me naked and wearing blue paint you may laugh and take pictures of me and be posted it online. I don't know where they get their courage to model nude in public. *Sings True Colors

Rating - Last Chance to See by Douglas Adams and Mark Carwardine, 5 Sweets and the people who cared and want to see animals that are in near extinction. (It took me 3 pages of my book journal and unconquerable nights of thinking of those animals and asking myself, do I still have chance to see them before I die? My top 1 on my best book this year. Borrowed from Ranee of Goodreads - n  Filipinosn.)

Challenges:
Book #25 for 2011

n  n

One of those special books that, when you finish, you immediately want to find someone who hasn't read it, and press it into there hands, murmuring insistently, "you have to read this!"

I'm a big Douglas Adams fan. The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy is one of my all-time favourite series, and the Dirk Gently mysteries aren't far behind. When I set-up my Pantheon list of literary gods, Douglas Adams came straight in at Number 2 (behind Terry Pratchett) - and n  Last Chance to Seen was the one, key book that I hadn't read of his.

I found reading this a surprisingly emotional experience. I mean... Adams' voice is so strong in all his work, and within a couple of paragraphs I felt like I was back in his presence... a twelve year old boy sneaking the lamp back on after my parents had gone away, to read just one more chapter... and I felt that wave of grief wash over me again, just like the day I heard that he'd died. But... he's funny, and bright and grumpy and... just brilliant! I was sad to be reminded that he had passed away, but I was also hugely entertained and delighted that, despite being a non-fiction, this was every bit as good as his wildly imaginative speculative fiction.

This is 30% ecology novel about endangered species, and 70% travel book about the adventures of a cranky, middle-aged Brit travelling to far-flung lands to visit said endangered species.

The 30% is fascinating and the 70% kept me grinning.

Some of the phrases have embedded themselves in my head... I will always think of rhinos as "nimble young volkswagens", and kakopos as the birds that have "forgotten that they've forgotten how to fly".

One of those special books that, when you finish, you immediately want to find someone who hasn't read it, and press it into there hands, murmuring insistently, "you have to read this!"

Even writing this review makes me want to go and re-read Dirk Gently...

After this I read: Snow Crash

Adams and friends try to see near extinct animals. Hilarious and important exploration of conservation.