If you are a morani (warrior), you have your spear at the ready--you
could be the hero, but you will have to wait until the morning light
before you can go out and prove yourself. If it is a lion, you want to
be the first to spear it--and if the lion turns on you, make sure it
mauls you on your chest or stomach, on your face, shins, or throat. Any
place where you can show your scars with pride, show the
incontrovertible evidence of courage. A scar on your back would be a
permanent reminder of cowardice, an ineradicable trace of shame.
Monsters take many forms: from man-eating lions to the people who hunt
them, from armed robbers to that midnight knock at the door of a cheap
hotel room in Dar es Salaam. And celebrated biologist Craig Packer has
faced them all. Head on.
With Lions in the Balance, Packer takes us back into the complex,
tooth-and-claw world of the African lion, offering revealing insights
into both the lives of one of the most iconic and dangerous animals on
earth and the very real risks of protecting them. A sequel to his
prize-winning Into Africa--which gave many readers their first
experience of fieldwork in Africa, of cooperative lions on dusty
savannas, and political kidnappings on the shores of Lake
Tanganyika--this new diary-based chronicle of cutting-edge research and
heartbreaking corruption will both alarm and entertain. Packer's story
offers a look into the future of the lion, one in which the politics of
conservation will require survival strategies far more creative and
powerful than those practiced anywhere in the world today.
Packer is sure to infuriate millionaires, politicians, aid agencies, and
conservationists alike as he minces no words about the problems he
encounters. But with a narrative stretching from far flung parts of
Africa to the corridors of power in Washington, DC, and marked by
Packer's signature humor and incredible candor, Lions in the Balance
is a tale of courage against impossible odds, a masterly blend of
science, adventure, and storytelling, and an urgent call to action that
will captivate a new generation of readers.
