In the mid 1950s, a young David Attenborough set off across Guyana, Indonesia and Paraguay with a large number of cigarettes and reels of 16mm film in search of extraordinary creatures for one of the BBC’s first nature programmes.
The Zoo Quest Expeditions is the story of those voyages. Originally published in 1980 and now re-issued by Two Worlds, it’s a pleasing testament to the enduring power of the written word that his tales convey the beauty of the wild world just as captivatingly as any of his contemporary TV hits.
The Attenborough we know and love today might be a rather grand old man famed for his soothing, wise timbre, but, in these pages, there’s a madcap filmmaker on display. It’s hard not to smile when reading about an escapee pig being chased down a Guyanese river or the capture of a savage caiman with a makeshift lasso.
However, in many ways, what makes this book such a good read is that so much of its charm lies not in Sir David remembering the animals that he caught, but, rather, his memories of the curious people he met.
Tiny McTurk, a pioneering cattle rancher who takes the young naturalist off to search for Jabiru storks, is one such. In response to a rodent infestation in his ramshackle house, Tiny innovatively captures a rat-devouring boa constrictor and installs it, to great effect, in his hallway.
There’s a lot here, too, for the armchair anthropologist, as Sir David recalls encounters with a variety of tribes, such as the group of Amerindians with whom he spends an evening as they call ‘spirits down from the sky’ to make their ailing chief well again.
Throughout The Zoo Quest Expeditions, Sir David conveys tremendous respect for all that he encounters, human and animal alike. But unlike so many natural-history books of late, this is not a worthy deluge of gloomy decrees about the environmental irresponsibility of Man. It’s a memoir of tremendous positivity, conjuring up the fascinating ability of Nature to unite and inspire us.
Adventures of a Young Naturalist: The Zoo Quest Expeditions by David Attenborough (Two Roads, £25)
Credit: Alamy
The joys of farming in December: Winter sunshine, leaping sheep and hens who lay an extra Christmas present
Rosamund Young, author of The Secret Life of Cows, on sparing walnut trees, freeing sheep and a very special Christmas
The Wildlife Photographer of the Year winners are inspiring, funny, uplifting – and shocking
The winning images from the Natural History Museum's 53rd Wildlife Photographer of the Year competition will make you laugh and
-
An eight-bedroom wonder in East Sussex where the outdoors are an adventureThe interiors of Old Middleton are pretty good too.
-
Seeing you seeing me: How did British artists portray eachother in the 20th and 21st centuries?The 'Seeing Each Other: Portraits of Artists' exhibitions comprises paintings, prints, drawings, photography, sculpture and installation spanning 125 years.
-
Food with a pinch of salt: The crops we can harvest from the seaFilling, rewarding and nutritious, vegetables and plants grown in saline environments — whether by accident or design — have plenty of potential. Illustration by Alan Baker.
-
White-tailed eagles could soon soar free in southern EnglandNatural England is considering licensing the release of the raptors in Exmoor National Park — and the threat to pets and livestock is considered to be low.
-
Britain's whale boom and and the predator that's far scarier than a great white shark, with wildlife cinematographer Dan AbbottThe wildlife cinematographer Dan Abbott joins us on the Country Life Podcast.
-
'They are inclined to bite and spray acid to protect territory': Meet the feisty red wood ant -
The King wants YOU: His Majesty's call-to-arms for under-35s across BritainThe King’s Foundation has launched its ‘35 under 35’ initiative — a UK-wide search for ‘the next generation of exceptional makers and changemakers’ who want to work holistically with Nature.
-
'A big opportunity for a small, crowded and beautiful country': Fiona Reynolds on how the Land Use Framework can make Britain betterThe Government’s Land Use Framework should be viewed as an opportunity to be smarter with our land, but conflicts need to be resolved along the way says Fiona Reynolds, chair of the Food, Farming and Countryside Commission.
-
Dawn Chorus: A river comes to life, more mews is good mews, and the new 400-mile electric VolvoRivers now have the legal right to flow, and to not be full of pollution. It's about time.
-
Dawn Chorus: The perfect job for incurable romantics, Britain's rudest roads, woodland workshops and spring in CornwallLiving on a near-deserted island, and getting paid for the privilege? No wonder tens of thousands of people were keen.
