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Takes the reader on a journey of exploration, danger, and discovery in Hkakabo Razi National Park, at the southeast edge of the Himalayas, now one of Southeast Asia's largest protected areas. As Rabinowitz takes us through this "lost world", he describes the Rawang, a former slave group, the Taron, a solitary enclave of the world's only pygmies of Asian ancestry, and Myanmar Tibetans living in the furthest reaches of the mountains. He also describes the territories of strange, majestic-looking beasts that few people have ever heard of and fewer have ever seen, including golden takin, red goral, blue sheep, black barking deer. The survival of these ancient species is now threatened, not by natural forces but by hunters with snares and crossbows, trading body parts for basic household necessities. Rabinowitz delivers a powerful message.
In 1993, Alan Rabinowitz, called "the Indiana Jones" of wildlife science by The New York Times, arrived for the first time in the country of Myanmar, known until 1989 as Burma, uncertain of what to expect. Working under the auspices of the Wildlife Conservation Society, his goal was to establish a wildlife research and conservation program and to survey the country's wildlife. He succeeded beyond all expectations, not only discovering a species of primitive deer completely new to science but also playing a vital role in the creation of Hkakabo Razi National Park, now one of Southeast Asia's largest protected areas.
A fascinating account of inner and outer exploration and discovery in one of the last remote regions of the world - sharp-eyed, insightful, candid, and well written. - Peter Matthiessen, author of The Snow Leopard
