Monster of God: the man-eating predator in the jungles of history and the mind

David Quammen, 2003
W.W.Norton, New York.
Paperback, 515 pages, 140x210mm, ISBN: 0-393-32609-8
US$15.95 available from http://www.amazon.com/ or http://www.nhbs.com/

Probably most known for his best-selling book on island biogeography entitled 'The Song of the Dodo', David Quammen is one of the pre-eminent natural history journalist-authors at work today. His approach is to synthesise and analyse scientific findings in a meticulous way, travelling to all corners of the globe for a personal perspective. Every fact that he uncovers, every page he reads, and every opinion he garners, is questioned and scrutinised. Added to this quest for knowledge, truth and relevance, is a remarkable skill with the English language.

In this latest book, Quammen explores the relationship, past and present, between mankind and the small, select band of 'alpha predators' which - from time-to-time - regard Homo sapiens as food. Tigers, lions, sharks, crocodiles and bears stand alongside humans at the top of the food chain, and will kill and eat us when the opportunity arises. These large toothy carnivores, Quamman argues, have had an enormous impact on the human psyche, since we evolved alongside them on the sunburned African plains. Africa, however, is not the focus of this book. Instead, Quammen travels to the Gir Forest in India, the swampy wetlands of northern Australia, the boreal forests of Romania, and the Russian Far East. The characters involved are not only the Asiatic Lion, Saltwater Crocodile, Brown Bear and Amur Tiger, which survive in these landscapes, but the rural people who not only coexist with the carnivores, but whose culture is irrevocably linked to their presence. Through personal tales, and a detailed scouring of both modern and ancient literature, the author reveals the reality and the foundation of intimate primordial relationships between man and the alpha predators in these semi-wild outposts. Surprisingly, perhaps, the people who have most to fear and lose by living in close proximity with big cats, bears and crocodiles, typically display an approach of mutual respect, and have little desire to the see the carnivores exterminated. This is in stark contrast to the wholesale slaughter of these and other predators by colonial administrators and their ilk, who never really had to bear the brunt of the predatory threat. Thankfully, the wanton killing of these large predators (it is almost impossible to conceive that their populations were ever able to recover from the carnage over the past 200 years) has been greatly reduced in recent years, as protected areas have been created, and limitations on wildlife trade have been enforced (nevertheless, the Asiatic Lion and Amur Tiger - to mention just two - are highly endangered). Today, however, we have a generation of people who revere these predators without any real knowledge or understanding for the people whose lives they impact upon.

In contrast to most accounts on man-eating predators, Quammen rarely slips into sensation - he provides a unique perception of ecological and social truth. This absorbing book has considerably broadened my own understanding of the relationship between mankind and large predators, and should interest anyone concerned with the natural world.

- Duncan Butchart -

Posted: Plants by Duncan Butchart, Date: 23 November 2006