Menagerie Manor

 

Shirley J.             Adult Non-Fiction                       Gerald Durrell's Zoo,  Endangered Species, etc.

Menagerie Manor by Gerald Durrell    177 pages

Wonderful book about the Zoo that Gerald Durrell set up, the animals that live there and how he acquired each of those mentioned and his quest for conservation of endangered species.   Gerald Durrell tells his story with love in each word as he not only describes several of the animals in his menagerie and their antics but there are the most beautiful illustrations of the animals done by Ralph Thompson on many of the pages.   Life in your own Zoo is not all a lark by no means and Gerald in his usual comic style shares experiences chasing an escaped tapir at 4:00a.m. in the morning to baby orangutans who developed a taste for recycling each other's urine and feces (not for the queasy).  Some animals adapt to captivity and some have to be cajoled into their new environments but it is always done with such care and respect that it makes me wish I could have volunteered to help him and his crew and makes me want to explore the local Zoo for an animal fix it has been way too long since I have done.   Great book for elementary schoolers on up.  If you love animals, you will love this book and all the writings of Gerald Durrell.