آوازهای اژدها: عشق و ماجراجویی در میان تمساح‌ها و دیگر خویشاوندان دایناسوری

This chronicle of a budding zoologist's world travels is an "exuberant, intelligent take on the adventure of science" ( Publishers Weekly ). When Russian immigrant Vladimir Dinets decided to focus on zoology, he had already lived several lives and undertaken several careers. But the study of animal life turned into his greatest adventure, and a love affair in its own right—with the amazing creatures he observed worldwide, the excitement of exploration, and finally with meeting his wife. Crocodiles were an unlikely research topic until Vladimir witnessed a massive group mating "dance," with unique infrasound vibrations that defied everything known about these prehistoric beasts. In a six-year study that took him all over the world on very little money, he found himself in deserts, mountains, oceans, and once even escaping a lake of red-hot lava. His exploits on five continents also resulted in radical new discoveries about the way species communicate—and the way humans fall in love. "An intense and joyous global pursuit of the mating customs of crocodiles" ( Publishers Weekly ). With His Artist's Eye, Scientist's Precision, And Explorer's Free Spirit, Dinets, A Russian Immigrant And Louisiana State University Professor, Is No Ordinary Zoologist. Here, He Leads Readers On An Intense And Joyous Global Pursuit Of The Mating Customs Of Crocodiles (as Well As His Own), Chronicling The Adventures In Fieldwork That Would Inform His Graduate Thesis. Prologue -- The Morning Chorus : Alligator Mississippiensis -- The Night Dance : Alligator Mississippiensis -- Learning The Basics : Alligator Mississippiensis -- Dragon Reborn : Alligator Sinensis -- Missing A Shot : Caiman Yacare -- Honest Courtship : Crocodylus Palustris -- Hunting On Shore : Crocodylus Acutus -- Companions Of The River : Gavialis Gangeticus -- The Numbers Game : Alligator Mississippiensis -- Crocodiles In Permafrost : Tagarosuchus Kulemzini -- River World : Caiman Niger -- Vibrating Toy : Paleosuchus Palpebrosus -- Tales Of Love And Friendship : Cayman Yacare -- Help From The Sky : Cayman Yacare -- Logging Observations : Crocodylus Acutus -- Sadness And Hope : Crocodylus Intermedius -- Natural Selection : Paleosuchus Trigonatus -- Politics Of Extinction : Crocodylus Moreletii -- Island Romance : Crocodylus Rhombifer -- Scientific Testing : Alligator Mississippiensis -- Navigating Africa : Crocodylus Niloticus -- Masters Of The Bush : Crocodylus Niloticus -- Traps On Trails : Crocodylus Niloticus -- The Rainy Season : Crocodylus Niloticus -- Dangerous Crossings : Crocodylus Acutus -- The Place We Are From : Crocodylus Niloticus -- Paradise In Hell : Crocodylus Niloticus -- The Land Of Lost Opportunities : Osteolaemus Tetraspis -- Dense Woods : Mecistops Cataphractus -- Shades And Shadows : Osteolaemus Tetraspis -- Moving Home : Alligator Mississippiensis -- Ghost Hunt : Tomistoma Schlegelii -- Island Hopping : Crocodylus Porosus -- Horror Stories : Crocodylus Porosus -- The Wrong Flood : Caiman Latirostris -- Unsolved Riddles : Alligator Mississippiensis -- Finding Answers : Caiman Crocodilus -- Through The Mist : Crocodylus Acutus -- The Last Song : Crocodylus Siamensis -- Epilogue. Vladimir Dinets. A born naturalist and a fearless traveler, Vladimir Dinets wrote travel guides, conducted field research, and lived a couple of lives before he was accepted into the PhD program in zoology at the University of Miami. He thought crocodiles were a dead-end research topic—survivors from the age of the dinosaurs but not much else—until he witnessed groups of up to seventy alligators performing mating choruses that included infrasound vibrations—a form of communication extremely rare in nature—and a "dance" unknown in the scientific literature but that resembled a scene from Jurassic Park . To prove his thesis about the language of crocodiles, he spent the next six years traveling around the world on shoestring budgets and in extreme circumstances, studying almost every living species. At the same time, as a man desiring companionship in life, he sought love. With adventures on five continents, Dragon Songs is his account of this quest. It includes an escape from a boiling lava lake in the Afar Desert, being chased up a tree by a tiger in India, hitching a ride with a cocaine smuggler in Bolivia, and diving with giant Greenland sharks—all in the name of studying crocodiles, among which he routinely paddled in his inflatable kayak. Of course, not everything went according to plan. But, in the end, his ground-breaking research helped change the field. And during the course of his adventures, he met and courted his future wife. **This chronicle of a budding zoologist's world travels is an "exuberant, intelligent take on the adventure of science" (__Publishers Weekly__).** When Russian immigrant Vladimir Dinets decided to focus on zoology, he had already lived several lives and undertaken several careers. But the study of animal life turned into his greatest adventure, and a love affair in its own right—with the amazing creatures he observed worldwide, the excitement of exploration, and finally with meeting his wife. Crocodiles were an unlikely research topic until Vladimir witnessed a massive group mating "dance," with unique infrasound vibrations that defied everything known about these prehistoric beasts. In a six-year study that took him all over the world on very little money, he found himself in deserts, mountains, oceans, and once even escaping a lake of red-hot lava. His exploits on five continents also resulted in radical new discoveries about the way species communicate—and the way humans fall in love. "An intense and joyous global pursuit of the mating customs of crocodiles" (). Chapter 9: The Numbers Game - Alligator mississippiensisChapter 10: Crocodiles in Permafrost - Tagarosuchus kulemzini; Chapter 11: River World - Caiman niger; Chapter 12: Vibrating Toy - Paleosuchus palpebrosus; Chapter 13: Tales of Love and Friendship - Caiman yacare; Chapter 14: Help from the Sky - Caiman yacare; Chapter 15: Logging Observations - Crocodylus acutus; Chapter 16: Sadness and Hope - Crocodylus intermedius; Chapter 17: Natural Selection - Paleosuchus trigonatus; Chapter 18: Politics of Extinction - Crocodylus moreletii; Chapter 19: Island Romance - Crocodylus rhombifer Chapter 20: Scientific Testing - Alligator mississippiensisChapter 21: Navigating Africa - Crocodylus niloticus; Chapter 22: Masters of the Bush - Crocodylus niloticus; Chapter 23: Traps on Trails - Crocodylus niloticus; Chapter 24: The Rainy Season - Crocodylus niloticus; Chapter 25: Dangerous Crossings - Crocodylus acutus; Chapter 26: The Place We Are From - Crocodylus niloticus; Chapter 27: Paradise in Hell - Crocodylus niloticus; Chapter 28: The Land of Lost Opportunities - Osteolaemus tetraspis; Chapter 29: Dense Woods - Mecistops cataphractus Cover Page; Title Page; Copyright Page; Contents; List of Photographs; List of Maps and Charts; Acknowledgments; Prologue; Chapter 1: The Morning Chorus - Alligator mississippiensis; Chapter 2: The Night Dance - Alligator mississippiensis; Chapter 3: Learning the Basics - Alligator mississippiensis; Chapter 4: Dragon Reborn - Alligator sinensis; Chapter 5: Missing a Shot - Caiman yacare; Chapter 6: Honest Courtship - Crocodylus palustris; Chapter 7: Hunting on Shore - Crocodylus acutus; Chapter 8: Companions of the River - Gavialis gangeticus Chapter 30: Shades and Shadows - Osteolaemus tetraspisChapter 31: Moving Home - Alligator mississippiensis; Chapter 32: Ghost Hunt - Tomistoma schlegelii; Chapter 33: Island-Hopping - Crocodylus porosus; Chapter 34: Horror Stories - Crocodylus porosus; Chapter 35: The Wrong Flood - Caiman latirostris; Chapter 36: Unsolved Riddles - Alligator mississippiensis; Chapter 37: Finding Answers - Caiman crocodilus; Chapter 38: Through the Mist - Crocodylus acutus; Chapter 39: The Last Song - Crocodylus siamensis; Epilogue Like an Eat Pray Love with extreme travel and crocodiles, Dragon Songs tells of a life-changing quest to study our modern dinosaurs - that ends in love.