Hemanta Mishra / Lyons Press / 256 pages
Hemanta Mishra, a field biologist with the Nepalese government, offers an extraordinarily detailed account of against-the-odds efforts to save the tigers of Nepal. Mishra delves into history, politics, legends, field research, hunting, poaching and tiger behavior to show that protecting a species is not merely a straightforward process of identifying and reducing threats. It is, rather, a complex juggling of interests and attitudes, from those of villagers to diplomats. The book chronicles how certain events such as tigers preying on people (which appears to occur mainly in direct response to human encroachment) dramatically shifts the dynamic, affecting the future not only of individual animals but of the entire species. Bones of the Tiger: Protecting the Man-Eaters of Nepal on the whole offers a uniquely up close and personal perspective on what it will take to keep tigers in the wild.