Overview

The leopard is one of the most beautiful Great Cats in creation, and is now endangered in many countries. This fact led Arjan Singh, the celebrated Indian wildlife expert, to attempt a daring experiment: rear a leopard cub in his house and return it to the jungle. The story of how Arjan Singh taught Prince and then the twins Juliette and Harriet the ways of the forest is enthralling from start to finish. Sharing his whole life with them, building them machans (tree platforms), walking the jungle tracks in their company, encouraging them to hunt, teaching them to disembowel their kills, he came to know the ways and character of the leopard as no man has before. His first great success came when Prince at last took to the jungle, fully re-habilitated. There were setbacks, it is true. Prince and Harriet each killed one human child, and the author's local critics were vociferous in their opposition. Yet Arjan Singh was supported by Mrs Indira Ghandi, then Prime Minister of India, and in 1976 he was awarded the World Wildlife Fund's Gold Medal for his conservation work. Not only did the author succeed in returning a hand-reared predator to the forest, he also scotched the fallacy that leopards are treacherous and unpredictable. On the contrary, he demonstrated the 'essential tranquility' of the leopard's temperament, and showed that it is only the animal's intelligence, combined with its capacity for effective retaliation when cornered which has given it a bad name. Although Arjan Singh achieved his aim, this inevitably meant the painful separation from these magnificent creatures he came to know and love so well.

Full Product Details

Author:   Arjan Singh
Publisher:   OUP India
Imprint:   OUP India
Edition:   New edition
Dimensions:   Width: 14.00cm , Height: 1.50cm , Length: 21.50cm
Weight:   0.271kg
ISBN:  

9780195654028

ISBN 10:   0195654021
Pages:   192
Publication Date:   01 February 2001
Audience:   General/trade ,  College/higher education ,  General ,  Postgraduate, Research & Scholarly
Format:   Paperback
Publisher's Status:   Active
Availability:   Temporarily unavailable  
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Table of Contents

1: The Beginning 2: Enter One Leopard 3: Leopard Haven 4: Condemned to Death 5: Towards Self-Sufficiency 6: The Edge of Freedom 7: The Search 8: Harriet and Juliette 9: Growing Up 10: The Return of Prince 11: The Death of Juliette 12: The Mating 13: A Disappointment 14: Pregnant at Last? 15: The Cubs are Born 16: Child of Storm 17: Double Disaster Glossary of principal animals, birds and reptiles mentioned in the text Acknowledgments Photograph Credits

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Author Information

Arjan Singh is one of India's most active conservationists, leopard expert. He played a leading role in the creation of the Dudhwa National Park, near the Nepal border.

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