On this speck of volcanic soil in the middle of a vast sea, a complete, unique and peaceful world was created slowly and carefully. It waited there for hundreds of thousands of years for an annihilating invasion of voracious animals for which it was totally unprepared, a cohort of rapacious beasts led by the worst predator in the world, Homo sapiens...In an incredibly short space of time, a number of unique species had vanished...Mauritius, the green and mountainous island in the Indian Ocean that was once the home of the ill-fated dodo, still had among its fauna many unique but endangered species, among them Mauritius kestrels, Telfair's skinks, Gunther's geckos and pink pigeons. The indigenous flora and fauna of Mauritius were, by the 1970s, hanging onto their existence by their fingernails.When Gerald Durrell went to rescue some of these creatures from extinction, he experienced danger and discomfort, but enjoyed the adventures greatly. By the end of his trip, he had an extraordinary collection of animals to take to his Jersey sanctuary from where the progeny could, in time, be restored to Mauritius.
- ISBN10 1840246359
- ISBN13 9781840246353
- Publish Date 4 February 2008 (first published October 1977)
- Publish Status Out of Print
- Out of Print 28 December 2011
- Publish Country GB
- Imprint Summersdale Publishers
- Format Paperback
- Pages 176
- Language English