Author: E R C Davidar
Publisher: Oxford University Press
Year: 2000
Language: English
Pages: 208
ISBN/UPC (if available): 0195652843
Description
This book, a personal story nestled in the forests, describes human life in harmony with nature, and handles conservation with rare sensibility and a human touch.
This is the story of Cheetal Walk, a home built in the jungles at the foot of the Nilgiri hills by the noted conservationist E R C Davidar. From describing the early days, setting up the place and coping with unexpected visitors like Bumpty the elephant, Davidar goes on to provide rigorous accounts of the flora and fauna of this wildlife-rich area of the subcontinent; he surveys the ecological changes in the region, and analyses the impact of modernization on the inhabitants of the Nilgiris, both people and animals.
The book poses afresh the question of whether regulated hunting is preferable to total protection by governments, and exposes the extent of change in hill ecology and tribal society wrought by the new forms of communication and exploitation.
EXCERPTS FROM REVIEWS:
A compelling account of the wilderness. This is a must for the wildlife buff and general readers alike.
- Mahesh Rangarajan, Outlook
A readable, realistic account of ecological changes occurring 30 years in a specifically regional context. Davidar’s writing has much of the courtly charm and gentle humor that characterize gentlemen of his generation.
- K Ullas Karanth, Deccan Herald
The book, a personal story nestled in the forests, describes human life in harmony with nature…handles conservation, a subject not blessed with lucid writing, with rare sensibility and a human touch.
- India Today.
Contents
List of Photographs
A House in the Jungle
Setting up Cheetal Walk
Of Two Elephants
Tusker Valley
A Friend in Need
Bamboo in Flower
Kurariah
Corridors for Elephants
Night of the Tuskers
Tuning in to Nature
Cavalier in Grey
Wild Boar
Machans and Hides
Tale of A River
Moyar Gorge
Talking to a Tiger
The Spotted Predator
Whistling Hunters
Adam, the Bear
On the Hyena Trail
A Denful of Hyenas
Cliff Goats
Bison Encounter
The Fall of the Tribal
Danky
Kindedred Spirits
Whither Wilderness
Scientific Names
Acknowledgements