In The Whispering Land Durrell describes his adventures in obtaining wild life for his private zoo. When you think of a zoologist off in the back country searching for rare wild life thoughts come to mind of waterlogged rain forests and muddy swamps kind of like what you would see watching The Crocodile Hunter on PBS. This couldn't be farther from the truth. Durrell used a system in which he never got his hands dirty and was almost spoon-fed everything he needed.

Durrell's adventures started off in Buenos Aires, Argentina. It was in this city where one of his toughest tasks took place, getting through customs. Once all of the busy paper work was completed Durrell was on his way to the backcountry. Durrell's first quest took him deep into the heart of South America where he was to m

The second animal Durrell obtained came in a similar fashion. A small wild cat increasingly rare in South America with pale yellow fur and dark brown spots called a Geoffroy's cat was put up for sale by his owner. Knowing that this cat was rare Durrell jumped on the opportunity to have such a prize in his collection (Durrell 134).

Finally in the town of Puerto Deseado, Argentina the final purchases were made. A small puma like cat called an Ocelot was bought off a bum for pennies because the animal was in such bad condition. My personal favorite in the collection came last; two small Pouroucoulis or dwarf monkeys were purchased and made ready for the trip back to the private zoo (Durrell 202).

It's not only poor people trying to provide for their family that resort to the illegal practice of poaching. Many money hungry rich people take to the field to: a. make some more money and b. to know they have the power to kill. The money part is a strong influence for many of these poachers. A poacher in Russia may receive a call that a Bengal Tiger is wanted and has a high pay-off. It is estimated that the value of a full-grown Siberian Bengal Tiger is worth $60,000.00 (The Guardian Manchester). In Asia the Urine from a tiger alone is

worth $500.00 a bowl; it is believed to be natures equivalent of Viagra (Stealing Nature).

The prize for rare animals today is out of control. A ready to mount Big Horn Sheep is valued at $10,000.00, a Grizzly bear fetches $25,000.00, a simple butterfly can receive prices as high as $1000.00 a piece (The Killing Fields). The problem is that society today is lost in the money aspect of things. They do not take the time to look back and see what they are doing and that one-day their grandchildren will not be able to know what an elephant looks like because they were hunted to extinction. It has been predicted that the illegal killing of animals is a $200 million dollar business and that is excluding some of the black market trade (The Killing Fields).

It was at this point, when Durrell was far from any known destination that I figured the action and thrills of the chase would take place. To my surprise the chase came to him. Instead of hunting with nets and tranquilizers, people from the depths of the country came forth offering beautiful rare animals. The first animal was a Red-Fronted Tucuman Amazon Parrot. At his first glance he knew that this exceptional bird was a necessity for his rare bird collection and would turn the heads of his competitors back home. An offering was made to the poor peasant that had offered this rare species and the deal was made (Durrell 129).

best to save wild animals while the other is doing their best to collect as many dead ones as they can. Poaching is obviously wrong; it is illegal and needs to be put to an end. If it continues at the rate at which it is going, one day I will sit and talk to my grandchildren about the animals that used to roam the land when I was young and in some cases he is not going to have any

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Approximate Word count = 2046
Approximate Pages = 8 (250 words per page double spaced)