Apologies if somebody else has already commented on this book but I cannot recall any previous mention of it on ZooChat.
A biography of William T. Hornaday was published last year:-
Mr. Hornaday’s War: How a Peculiar Victorian Zookeeper Waged a Lonely Crusade for Wildlife that Changed the World (Stefan Bechtel; 2012).
This book covers Hornaday’s early career as a museum taxidermist, his expeditions abroad to collect museum specimens, his role in founding the National Zoo in Washington, his position as first director of the Bronx Zoo, his role in creating the American Bison Society and his efforts in conserving the American bison. (And by today’s standards it is shocking to read that, during his expedition to Borneo, the future conservationist collected no less that forty-three orang-utans, as museum specimens.)
Given that the American bison features prominently in this book, it is odd that throughout it uses an invalid specific name americanus instead of bison for this animal. Even more bizarre is giving the Alaskan fur seal the scientific name Ursus marinus. Another error is the claim that Carl Hagenbeck pioneered the use of barless enclosures at Berlin Zoo (obviously that was Hamburg).
Nevertheless, despite various quibbles, it is an interesting book about a very interesting character.
A biography of William T. Hornaday was published last year:-
Mr. Hornaday’s War: How a Peculiar Victorian Zookeeper Waged a Lonely Crusade for Wildlife that Changed the World (Stefan Bechtel; 2012).
This book covers Hornaday’s early career as a museum taxidermist, his expeditions abroad to collect museum specimens, his role in founding the National Zoo in Washington, his position as first director of the Bronx Zoo, his role in creating the American Bison Society and his efforts in conserving the American bison. (And by today’s standards it is shocking to read that, during his expedition to Borneo, the future conservationist collected no less that forty-three orang-utans, as museum specimens.)
Given that the American bison features prominently in this book, it is odd that throughout it uses an invalid specific name americanus instead of bison for this animal. Even more bizarre is giving the Alaskan fur seal the scientific name Ursus marinus. Another error is the claim that Carl Hagenbeck pioneered the use of barless enclosures at Berlin Zoo (obviously that was Hamburg).
Nevertheless, despite various quibbles, it is an interesting book about a very interesting character.
