Search for the Golden Moon Bear : Science and Adventure in Pursuit of a New Species

Sy Montgomery has already shared with readers her amazing encounters with great apes, man-eating tigers, and pink river dolphins, but her latest muse is an animal whose name and appearance evoke another world altogether. Southeast Asia's golden moon bear, with its luminous coat, lionlike mane, and Mickey Mouse ears, was unknown to science—until Montgomery and her colleagues got on the trail at the dawn of the new millennium. __Search for the Golden Moon Bear__ recounts Montgomery's quest—fraught with danger and mayhem—to reconstruct an evolutionary record and piece together a living portrait of her littleknown subject. This beautiful animal is not just a scientific eureka! It is also a powerful symbol of conservation. __Search for the Golden Moon Bear__ is a field report from the frontiers of science and the ends of the earth, seamlessly weaving together folklore, natural history, and contemporary research into fantastic travelogue.

To the local people of the Amazon, pink river dolphins are botos, shape shifters that, in the guise of human desire, can claim your soul and take you to the Encante, an enchanted underwater world. Travel to the Amazon forest, where dolphins swim among treetops and the twenty-first century dissolves into the beginning of time.

Publishers Weekly

In a deeply felt, magical voyage to the tropics, Boston Globe nature columnist Montgomery (Spell of the Tiger) pursues the pink dolphin, a rare freshwater species, in the Brazilian and Peruvian Amazon. This elusive creature, with bulbous gray forehead, tiny eyes, chameleonlike color changes and pink back or fins, has inspired much local lore. Brazilian natives believe boto is a shape-shifter that makes love to humans, embodies spirits and carries people to the Encante, an enchanted underwater city. Combining a journalist's cool objectivity with a dolphin lover's almost mystical ecological consciousness, Montgomery luxuriates in the myths and legends as she swims with pink dolphins or tracks down radio-tagged boto in twisty, dangerous waterways, but she also ably reports the scientific facts. Boto mothers and offspring maintain a close bond, and though hard to spot in the wild, pink dolphins can be boldly playful and interactive with people. The Amazon, notes Montgomery, is polluted with cans, bottles, plastic bags and toxic wastes, yet the region is still an incredible incubator of biodiversity, and she describes her encounters with a veritable Noah's ark of exotic animals. She also mingles with field biologists, expatriates, conservationists, community leaders and a shaman (with whom she ceremonially imbibes ayahuasca, a hallucinogenic potion). Montgomery writes passionately about the destruction of rain forests, the ongoing extinction of Brazil's tribes and her visit to Mamiraura--Brazil's largest conservation experiment--where local residents act as guardians over a vast realm of manatees, dolphins, fish, turtles and timber. Her rhapsodic book winsomely blends travel, reportage, adventure and natural history. Illus. not seen by PW. (Mar.) Copyright 2000 Cahners Business Information.|

Three astounding women scientists have in recent years penetrated the jungles of Africa and Borneo to observe, nurture, and defend humanity's closest cousins. Jane Goodall has worked with the chimpanzees of Gombe for nearly 50 years; Diane Fossey died in 1985 defending the mountain gorillas of Rwanda; and Biruté Galdikas lives in intimate proximity to the orangutans of Borneo. All three began their work as protégées of the great Anglo-African archeologist Louis Leakey, and each spent years in the field, allowing the apes to become their familiars and ultimately waging battles to save them from extinction in the wild.

Their combined accomplishments have been mind-blowing, as Goodall, Fossey, and Galdikas forever changed how we think of our closest evolutionary relatives, of ourselves, and of how to conduct good science. From the personal to the primate, Sy Montgomery explores the science, wisdom, and living experience of three of the greatest scientists of the twentieth century.

Publishers Weekly

In this study of three great female primatologists, science journalist Montgomery moves beyond biography into ethology, taking a step that goes well beyond even her subjects' research. Goodall, Fossey and Galdikas each made a similar leap, the author contends, moving from observers and recorders to an almost shamanistic quest to enter the world of the apes they studied. These personal transformations are sketchily supported with anecdotes from the field, personal interviews and even a jarring account of an attempt to contact Fossey, after her death, via channeling. Montgomery adds little to Farley Mowat's 1988 biography of Fossey, Woman in the Mists , but she offers a few fresh angles on Goodall, Galdikas and other characters, human and ape, met before in their books. In an epilogue, Montgomery offers the intriguing view of these scientists as pioneers of a particularly female way of scientific knowing that deserves fuller argument than three portraits allow. Photos. (Mar.)

"With Adobe Homes for all Climates, [Schroder and Ogletee] offer a fresh, modern voice to the lively revival of earthen building, and provide a wealth of practical detail as well. People who are considering building with earth---or just wondering why we would want to---would do well to consult this book."---Bruce King, director, Ecological Network, from the Foreword" "Much admired for the adobe homes she has built in the Southwest, Lisa Schroder gives a thorough description in Adobe Homes for all Climates of the techniques of adobe construction in the United States... and guides the eager builder in great detail through the intricacies of earth construction. As we mud freaks know, earth architecture is eminently the solution for the future."---Simone Swan, designer/builder and founder of The Adobe Alliance" "Adobe has always been thought of as a material for the hot, arid parts of the world. Now Lisa and Vince show us how to build with adobe in cold and wet climates, too. This is good news!"---Quentin Wilson, director, Adobe Construction Program, Northern New Mexico College" "Humble adobe bricks make the ideal building blocks for eco-friendly structures. They provide an easy, forgiving, and cost-effective means for building solid masonry-wall systems. And adobe construction can also be adapted far beyond the hot and dry climates we typically associate with it." In Adobe Homes for All Climates, two veteran adobe builders show how modern spins on an old art can make adobe practical even for cold, wet, or earthquake-prone areas. Written for both do-it-yourselfers and experienced adobe builders seeking to improve their craft, the book describes Adobe Building Systems' patented reinforcement and scaffolding systems and shows readers how to construct adobe homes easily and safely, and with superior strength, durability, structural integrity, and aesthetic appeal.

The lay-up of adobe bricks is an easy, forgiving way to achieve a solid masonry-wall system. Contrary to stereotypes, adobe is perfectly adaptable for use in cold, wet climates as well as hot and dry ones, and for areas prone to earthquakes. With its efficient use of energy, natural resources for construction, and minimal effort for long-term maintenance, it's clear that the humble adobe brick is an ideal option for constructing eco-friendly structures throughout the world. The book is ideal both for first-time do-it-yourselfers and for experienced adobe builders seeking to improve their craft. Drawing on the experience of more than fifty major adobe projects since 1993, Adobe Homes for All Climates describes Adobe Building Systems'patented reinforcement and scaffolding systems, showing readers how to construct adobe homes more easily and safely, and with superior strength, durability, structural integrity, and aesthetic appeal, as compared to earthen homes of the past. All aspects of adobe construction are covered, including making and laying adobe bricks, installing lintels and arches, conduits and pipes, doors and windows, top plates and bondbeams, ideal wall dimensions, adobe finishes, and other adobe construction components, such as the inexpensive use of scaffolding. These methods will produce a premium product that will meet and often exceed inspection standards. Equipped with this manual, you will be able to obtain a building permit, make adobe bricks swiftly, and confidently lay them up. You will be able to beautifully finish your adobe walls with earth plasters creating stunning colors and outstanding light effects and create a beautiful, energy-efficient home that will last for generations to come. The lay-up of adobe bricks is an easy, forgiving way to achieve a solid masonry-wall system. Contrary to stereotypes, adobe is perfectly adaptable for use in cold, wet climates as well as hot and dry ones, and for areas prone to earthquakes. With its efficient use of energy, natural resources for construction, and minimal effort for long-term maintenance, its clear that the humble adobe brick is an ideal option for constructing eco-friendly structures throughout the world. The book is ideal both for first-time do-it-yourselfers and for experienced adobe builders seeking to improve their craft. Drawing on the experience of more than fifty major adobe projects since 1993, Adobe Homes for All Climates describes Adobe Building Systems patented reinforcement and scaffolding systems, showing readers how to construct adobe homes more easily and safely, and with superior strength, durability, structural integrity, and aesthetic appeal, as compared to earthen homes of the past. All aspects of adobe construction are covered, including making and laying adobe bricks, installing lintels and arches, conduits and pipes, doors and windows, top plates and bondbeams, ideal wall dimensions, adobe finishes, and other adobe construction components, such as the inexpensive use of scaffolding. These methods will produce a premium product that will meet and often exceed inspection standards. Equipped with this manual, you will be able to obtain a building permit, make adobe bricks swiftly, and confidently lay them up. You will be able to beautifully finish your adobe walls with earth plasters creating stunning colors and outstanding light effects and create a beautiful, energy-efficient home that will last for generations to come. By the acclaimed author of The Soul of an Octopus and the bestselling memoir The Good Good Pig. When Sy Montgomery ventured into the Amazon to unlock the mysteries of the littleknown pink dolphins, she found ancient whales that plied the Amazon River at dawn and dusk, swam through treetops in flooded forests, and performed underwater ballets with their flexible bodies. But she soon found out that to know the botos, as the dolphins are locally called, you must also know the people who live among them. And so in Journey of the Pink Dolphins, Montgomery—part naturalist, part poet, part Indiana Jones—winds her way through watery tributaries and riverside villages, searching for botos and hearing the tales of locals who believe these ethereal dolphins are shape-shifters—creatures that emerge from the water as splendidly dressed men or women only to enchant their human onlookers, capture their souls, and then carry them away to the Encante, an underwater world. Montgomery takes readers on four separate journeys, exploring the river-dwelling dolphins'natural history, chronicling their conservation pressures, unraveling their prehistoric roots, and visiting with shamans who delve into the Encante. 2017 is the 50th anniversary of The Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund and Karisoke Research Center in Rwanda. Three astounding women scientists have in recent years penetrated the jungles of Africa and Borneo to observe, nurture, and defend humanity's closest cousins. Jane Goodall has worked with the chimpanzees of Gombe for nearly 50 years; Diane Fossey died in 1985 defending the mountain gorillas of Rwanda; and Biruté Galdikas lives in intimate proximity to the orangutans of Borneo. All three began their work as protégées of the great Anglo-African archeologist Louis Leakey, and each spent years in the field, allowing the apes to become their familiars--and ultimately waging battles to save them from extinction in the wild. Their combined accomplishments have been mind-blowing, as Goodall, Fossey, and Galdikas forever changed how we think of our closest evolutionary relatives, of ourselves, and of how to conduct good science. From the personal to the primate, Sy Montgomery--acclaimed author of The Soul of an Octopus and The Good Good Pig--explores the science, wisdom, and living experience of three of the greatest scientists of the twentieth century. Sy Montgomery--acclaimed author of The Soul of an Octopus and bestselling memoir The Good Good Pig--has shared with readers her amazing encounters with intelligent octopi, great apes, man-eating tigers, and pink river dolphins, but here her muse is an animal whose name and appearance evoke another world altogether. Southeast Asia's golden moon bear, with its luminous coat, lionlike mane, and Mickey Mouse ears, was unknown to science--until Montgomery and her colleagues got on the trail at the dawn of the new millennium. Search for the Golden Moon Bear recounts Montgomery's quest--fraught with danger and mayhem--to reconstruct an evolutionary record and piece together a living portrait of her littleknown subject. This beautiful animal is not just a scientific eureka! It is also a powerful symbol of conservation. Search for the Golden Moon Bear is a field report from the frontiers of science and the ends of the earth, seamlessly weaving together folklore, natural history, and contemporary research into fantastic travelogue. "Only eight bear species are known to science: the American black bear; the grizzly; the polar bear; the South American spectacled bear; Asia's sun bear, moon bear, and sloth bear; and the Chinese panda. The moon bears' lineage (most similar to that of the American black bear) as black-coated mountain dwellers had never been challenged - until, on the edge of the new millennium, Montgomery and her scientific colleagues turned up this new golden form.". "Search for the Golden Moon Bear travels to Southeast Asia, home of these luminous bears, for a look through the broken mirror of the evolutionary record into the present day. Hobnobbing with scientists and locals, Montgomery pieces together a living portrait of her elusive subject.". "Search for the Golden Moon Bear is a field report from the frontiers of science and the ends of the earth, seamlessly weaving together folklore, natural history, and contemporary research into a fantastic travelogue."--BOOK JACKET. From the author of The Soul of an Octopus and bestselling memoir The Good Good Pig , a book that earned Sy Montgomery her status as one of the most celebrated wildlife writers of our time, Spell of the Tiger brings readers to the Sundarbans, a vast tangle of mangrove swamp and tidal delta that lies between India and Bangladesh. It is the only spot on earth where tigers routinely eat people--swimming silently behind small boats at night to drag away fishermen, snatching honey collectors and woodcutters from the forest. But, unlike in other parts of Asia where tigers are rapidly being hunted to extinction, tigers in the Sundarbans are revered. With the skill of a naturalist and the spirit of a mystic, Montgomery reveals the delicate balance of Sundarbans life, explores the mix of worship and fear that offers tigers unique protection there, and unlocks some surprising answers about why people at risk of becoming prey might consider their predator a god. Sy Montgomery has already shared with readers her amazing encounters with great apes, man-eating tigers, and pink river dolphins, but her latest muse is an animal whose name and appearance evoke another world altogether. Southeast Asia's golden moon bear, with its luminous coat, lionlike mane, and Mickey Mouse ears, was unknown to science—until Montgomery and her colleagues got on the trail at the dawn of the new millennium. Search for the Golden Moon Bear recounts Montgomery's quest—fraught with danger and mayhem—to reconstruct an evolutionary record and piece together a living portrait of her littleknown subject. This beautiful animal is not just a scientific eureka! It is also a powerful symbol of conservation. Search for the Golden Moon Bear is a field report from the frontiers of science and the ends of the earth, seamlessly weaving together folklore, natural history, and contemporary research into fantastic travelogue. , Sy Montgomery has already shared with readers her amazing encounters with great apes, man-eating tigers, and pink river dolphins, but her latest muse is an animal whose name and appearance evoke another world altogether. Southeast Asia's golden moon bear, with its luminous coat, lionlike mane, and Mickey Mouse ears, was unknown to science0́4until Montgomery and her colleagues got on the trail at the dawn of the new millennium.Search for the Golden Moon Bear recounts Montgomery's quest0́4fraught with danger and mayhem0́4to reconstruct an evolutionary record and piece together a living portrait of her littleknown subject. This beautiful animal is not just a scientific eureka! It is also a powerful symbol of conservation. Search for the Golden Moon Bear is a field report from the frontiers of science and the ends of the earth, seamlessly weaving together folklore, natural history, and contemporary research into fantastic travelogue
A book that earned Sy Montgomery her status as one of the most celebrated wildlife writers of our time, Spell of the Tiger brings readers to the Sundarbans, a vast tangle of mangrove swamp and tidal delta that lies between India and Bangladesh. It is the only spot on earth where tigers routinely eat people--swimming silently behind small boats at night to drag away fishermen, snatching honey collectors and woodcutters from the forest. But, unlike in other parts of Asia where tigers are rapidly being hunted to extinction, tigers in the Sundarbans are revered. With the skill of a naturalist and the spirit of a mystic, Montgomery reveals the delicate balance of Sundarbans life, explores the mix of worship and fear that offers tigers unique protection there, and unlocks some surprising answers about why people at risk of becoming prey might consider their predator a god. "Three astounding women scientists have in recent years penetrated the jungles of Africa and Borneo to observe, nurture, and defend humanity's closet cousins. Jane Goodall has worked with the chimpanzees of Gombe for nearly 50 years; Dian Fossey died in 1985 defending the mountain gorillas of Rwanda; and Biruté Galdikas lives in proximity to the orangutans of Borneo. All three are protégées of archeologist Louis Leakey, and each spent years in the field."--Publisher description Drawing on the experience of more than fifty major adobe projects since 1993, Adobe Homes for all Climates shows readers how to construct adobe homes more easily and safely, and with superior strength, durability, structural integrity, and aesthetic appeal, as compared to earthen homes of the past. Citing the predatory relationship between India Bay's Bengal tigers and the natives of Sundarbans, a study notes how the tigers are worshipped by the people there and recounts the many legends that associate the tigers with supernatural qualities Montgomery takes readers on an exciting adventure as she travels Southeast Asia in search of the golden moon bear. Here, she chronicles the detective work and science behind tracking a new species in a different part of the world The author recounts her search for the pink river dolphins of the Amazon, describing their history and habits, threats to their survival, and their role as shapeshifting guides to another realm in the lore of local peoples. A guide for do-it-yourselfers or experienced adobe builders to building adobe homes that are eco-friendly, cost-efficient, earthquake resistent, and resilient homes for any climate Studies the work and unique methods of three women scientists who contributed to understanding chimpanzees, mountain gorillas, and orangutans