Collecting in the Cameroons

THE NEW NOAH

 

Written by GERALD DURRELL

 

Illustrated by Ralph Thompson

 

 

It is no secret that animals and children have a special fondness for one another. Realizing this, Gerald Durrell has selected some of his more colorful animal stories that have delighted adults, and included them in this book especially (but not exclusively) for young people.

The New Noah is about three animal-collecting trips – to the Cameroons, Guiana, and Paraguay. On each of these trips Durrell was looking for the small, unusual animals about which little is known. In the Cameroons he had adventures with a “Nile monitor, ” a bush-tailed porcupine, hairy frogs, tortoises, and “other beasts.” In Guiana he met a mischievous bird who became known as Cuthbert the Curossow. His perambulations in Paraguay included hunts with Gauchos and the capture of a delightful creature he named Sarah Huggersack – the only anteater film star.

Each animal that came into his hands soon showed its own distinct personality and usually became a great friend of the author – while at the same time presenting its own problems of how it should be fed and kept happy in captivity.

This is a book to be enjoyed by any reader, of whatever age, who is interested in animal life and exploration. It is illustrated with Ralph Thompson’s lively and often humorous line drawings.

 

Jacket Design by Al Cetta

 

 

* * *

 

 

Gerald Durrell was born in Jamshedpur, India, in 1925. He was educated on the Continent in France, Italy, Switzerland, and Greece; his special study was zoology. After working in various zoological institutions in Great Britain, in 1945 he went for a year as a student-keeper to Whipsnade Park, working in all sections.

Soon after, Mr. Durrell took up the work of collecting. He made several collecting trips to West Africa and South America. Between expeditions, he was kept busy writing, lecturing, and broadcasting for the B.B.C.

Back in their boyhood days, Gerald Durrell’s older brother, Lawrence (now an acclaimed author), was always disparaging Gerald’s interest in wild animals. Now the hobby has turned into a full-fledged private zoo which Gerald Durrell runs as a sight-seeing attraction. The zoo, on the island of Jersey in the English Channel, houses about six hundred varied animals.

 

 

 

The New Noah

 

By Gerald Durrell

 

Illustrated by Ralph Thompson

 

 

The Viking Press

 

New York

 

 

Copyright 1953, 1954, by Gerald M. Durrell

All rights reserved

Published in 1964 by The Viking Press, Inc.

625 Madison Avenue, New York, N. Y. 10022

Second printing July 1966

Library of Congress catalog card number: 64-21480

591 1. Animals – Habits and behavior

2. Zoological specimens – Collection and preservation

 

 

Printed in the U.S.A. by The Colonial Press Inc.

 

 

This book is for

my niece Sappho Jane

and my nephews Gerald Martin

and David Nicholas

 

 

 

Contents

 

 

Introduction

 

Part One. Collecting in the Cameroons

 

1. In Which I Have a Tug-of-War with a Nile Monitor

2. In Which I Become Involved with Baby Crocodiles, Bush-Tailed Porcupines,

and Various Snakes

3. In Which Puff and Blow Take Over

4. In Which I Am Bitten by Bandits

5. In Which I Become Involved with a Number of Monkeys

6. The Story of Cholmondely the Chimpanzee

7. Problems of Hairy Frogs, Tortoises, and Other Beasts

8. In Which the New Noah Sets Sail in His Ark

 

Part Two. Hunts and Captures in Guiana

 

9. In Which Amos the Anteater Leads Us a Dance

10. Toads That Have Pockets and Other Weird Beasts

11. In Which Cuthbert the Curassow Causes Trouble

12. In Which I Meet Several New Animals Including the Moonshine Unwarie

13. In Which I Acquire a Fish with Four Eyes

14. Which Describes the Giant Caiman and the Shocking Electric Eel

 

Part Three. Perambulations in Paraguay

 

15. In Which I Hunt with the Gauchos

16. In Which I Have Trouble with Toads, Snakes, and Paraguayans

17. The Story of Cai, Pooh, and Sarah Huggersack – the Only Anteater Film Star

 

 

 

Introduction

 

 

Most people at one time or another pay a visit to the zoological gardens. While there, they are so interested in the animals to be seen that they do not stop to wonder how a great many of them got to the zoo in the first place.

I am an animal collector and my job is to travel to the faraway places where these beasts live, and bring them back alive for the zoos. In this book I have described three animal-collecting trips that I have taken to various parts of the world, and have tried to show how the difficult but interesting job of collecting is done.

Most people have no idea of the hard work and worry that go into a collecting trip to produce the fascinating birds and animals that they pay to see in the zoo. One of the questions that I am always asked is how I became an animal collector in the first place. The answer is that I have always been interested in animals and in zoos.

According to my parents, the first word I was able to say with any clarity was not the conventional “Mamma” or “Dadda, ” but the word “Zoo, ” which I would repeat over and over again in a shrill voice until someone, in order to shut me up, would take me to the zoo. When I grew a little older, we lived in Greece and I had a great number of pets, ranging from owls to sea horses, and I spent all my spare time exploring the countryside in search of fresh specimens to add to my collection of pets. Later on I went for a year to Whipsnade Zoo, as a student keeper, to gain experience with larger animals such as lions, bears, bison, and ostrich, which were not so easy to keep at home. When I left, I luckily had enough money of my own to be able to finance my first trip and I have been going out regularly ever since then.

Though a collector’s job is not an easy one and is full of many disappointments, it is certainly a job which will appeal to all those who love animals and travel. In this book I have tried to show that the hard work and disappointments are nearly always more than offset by the thrill of your successes and the excitement and pleasure not only of capturing your animals but seeing them alive in their natural haunts.

 

 

 

Part One

 

Collecting in the Cameroons

 

Chapter One

 

Chapter Two

 

Chapter Three

 

Chapter Four

 

Chapter Five

 

Chapter Six

 

Chapter Seven

 

Chapter Eight

 

Part Two

 

Chapter Nine

 

Chapter Ten

 

Chapter Eleven

 

Chapter Twelve

 

Chapter Thirteen

 

Chapter Fourteen

 

Part Three

 

Perambulations in Paraguay

 

Chapter Fifteen

 

Chapter Sixteen

 

Chapter Seventeen

 

THE NEW NOAH

 

Written by GERALD DURRELL

 

Illustrated by Ralph Thompson

 

 

It is no secret that animals and children have a special fondness for one another. Realizing this, Gerald Durrell has selected some of his more colorful animal stories that have delighted adults, and included them in this book especially (but not exclusively) for young people.

The New Noah is about three animal-collecting trips – to the Cameroons, Guiana, and Paraguay. On each of these trips Durrell was looking for the small, unusual animals about which little is known. In the Cameroons he had adventures with a “Nile monitor, ” a bush-tailed porcupine, hairy frogs, tortoises, and “other beasts.” In Guiana he met a mischievous bird who became known as Cuthbert the Curossow. His perambulations in Paraguay included hunts with Gauchos and the capture of a delightful creature he named Sarah Huggersack – the only anteater film star.

Each animal that came into his hands soon showed its own distinct personality and usually became a great friend of the author – while at the same time presenting its own problems of how it should be fed and kept happy in captivity.

This is a book to be enjoyed by any reader, of whatever age, who is interested in animal life and exploration. It is illustrated with Ralph Thompson’s lively and often humorous line drawings.

 

Jacket Design by Al Cetta

 

 

* * *

 

 

Gerald Durrell was born in Jamshedpur, India, in 1925. He was educated on the Continent in France, Italy, Switzerland, and Greece; his special study was zoology. After working in various zoological institutions in Great Britain, in 1945 he went for a year as a student-keeper to Whipsnade Park, working in all sections.

Soon after, Mr. Durrell took up the work of collecting. He made several collecting trips to West Africa and South America. Between expeditions, he was kept busy writing, lecturing, and broadcasting for the B.B.C.

Back in their boyhood days, Gerald Durrell’s older brother, Lawrence (now an acclaimed author), was always disparaging Gerald’s interest in wild animals. Now the hobby has turned into a full-fledged private zoo which Gerald Durrell runs as a sight-seeing attraction. The zoo, on the island of Jersey in the English Channel, houses about six hundred varied animals.

 

 

 

The New Noah

 

By Gerald Durrell

 

Illustrated by Ralph Thompson

 

 

The Viking Press

 

New York

 

 

Copyright 1953, 1954, by Gerald M. Durrell

All rights reserved

Published in 1964 by The Viking Press, Inc.

625 Madison Avenue, New York, N. Y. 10022

Second printing July 1966

Library of Congress catalog card number: 64-21480

591 1. Animals – Habits and behavior

2. Zoological specimens – Collection and preservation

 

 

Printed in the U.S.A. by The Colonial Press Inc.

 

 

This book is for

my niece Sappho Jane

and my nephews Gerald Martin

and David Nicholas

 

 

 

Contents

 

 

Introduction

 

Part One. Collecting in the Cameroons

 

1. In Which I Have a Tug-of-War with a Nile Monitor

2. In Which I Become Involved with Baby Crocodiles, Bush-Tailed Porcupines,

and Various Snakes

3. In Which Puff and Blow Take Over

4. In Which I Am Bitten by Bandits

5. In Which I Become Involved with a Number of Monkeys

6. The Story of Cholmondely the Chimpanzee

7. Problems of Hairy Frogs, Tortoises, and Other Beasts

8. In Which the New Noah Sets Sail in His Ark

 

Part Two. Hunts and Captures in Guiana

 

9. In Which Amos the Anteater Leads Us a Dance

10. Toads That Have Pockets and Other Weird Beasts

11. In Which Cuthbert the Curassow Causes Trouble

12. In Which I Meet Several New Animals Including the Moonshine Unwarie

13. In Which I Acquire a Fish with Four Eyes

14. Which Describes the Giant Caiman and the Shocking Electric Eel

 

Part Three. Perambulations in Paraguay

 

15. In Which I Hunt with the Gauchos

16. In Which I Have Trouble with Toads, Snakes, and Paraguayans

17. The Story of Cai, Pooh, and Sarah Huggersack – the Only Anteater Film Star

 

 

 

Introduction

 

 

Most people at one time or another pay a visit to the zoological gardens. While there, they are so interested in the animals to be seen that they do not stop to wonder how a great many of them got to the zoo in the first place.

I am an animal collector and my job is to travel to the faraway places where these beasts live, and bring them back alive for the zoos. In this book I have described three animal-collecting trips that I have taken to various parts of the world, and have tried to show how the difficult but interesting job of collecting is done.

Most people have no idea of the hard work and worry that go into a collecting trip to produce the fascinating birds and animals that they pay to see in the zoo. One of the questions that I am always asked is how I became an animal collector in the first place. The answer is that I have always been interested in animals and in zoos.

According to my parents, the first word I was able to say with any clarity was not the conventional “Mamma” or “Dadda, ” but the word “Zoo, ” which I would repeat over and over again in a shrill voice until someone, in order to shut me up, would take me to the zoo. When I grew a little older, we lived in Greece and I had a great number of pets, ranging from owls to sea horses, and I spent all my spare time exploring the countryside in search of fresh specimens to add to my collection of pets. Later on I went for a year to Whipsnade Zoo, as a student keeper, to gain experience with larger animals such as lions, bears, bison, and ostrich, which were not so easy to keep at home. When I left, I luckily had enough money of my own to be able to finance my first trip and I have been going out regularly ever since then.

Though a collector’s job is not an easy one and is full of many disappointments, it is certainly a job which will appeal to all those who love animals and travel. In this book I have tried to show that the hard work and disappointments are nearly always more than offset by the thrill of your successes and the excitement and pleasure not only of capturing your animals but seeing them alive in their natural haunts.

 

 

 

Part One

 

Collecting in the Cameroons

 

Chapter One

 

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