Jonathan C. Slaght

A TELEGRAPH BEST NATURE BOOK 2025The remarkable conservation story of one of the worlds most iconic animalsDeep in the snowy forests of Northeast Asia roams the majestic and revered Amur tigers, more popularly known as The Siberian Tiger. But in the final years of the Cold War, only a few hundred of these graceful animals remained in their home of the Amur River basin. As the Soviet Union fell, catastrophe arrived, with poaching and logging taking a fast, astonishing toll on an already vulnerable species.Taking us on a journey through remote frozen landscapes, globally renowned conservationist Jonathan Slaght charts the incredible story of how Russian scientists and American conservationists came together to save these magnificent, solitary creatures. He retraces their steps to show how this dedicated, fearless coalition laid the foundations of new tiger research across Asia, transforming public opinion around tigers from something to be feared and hunted, to creatures we must protect.Today, tigers occupy 7% of the lands they did 100 years ago, disappearing in the wild from Bali to Iran. In the ongoing global crisis of species destruction, Slaght shows us that the revival of the Amur tiger can bring us hope for the future: a model for how to live alongside, and revive, the natural world.

The Times Nature Book of the Year 2020Winner of the PEN/E.O. Wilson Literary Science Writing Award A Finalist for the Stanford Dolman Travel Book of the Year AwardRemarkable. If only every endangered species had a guardian angel as impassioned, courageous and pragmatic as Jonathan SlaghtIsabella Tree, author of WildingGripping Dave Goulson, author of A Sting in the TalePrimorye, a remote forested region near to where Russia, China and North Korea meet in a tangle of barbed wire, is the only place where brown bears, tigers and leopards co-exist. It is also home to one of natures rarest birds, the Blakistons fish owl. A chance encounter with this huge, strange bird was to change wildlife researcher Jonathan C. Slaghts life beyond measure.This is the story of Slaghts quest to safeguard the elusive owl from extinction. During months-long journeys covering thousands of miles, he has pursued it through its forbidding territory. He has spent time with the Russians who struggle on in the harsh conditions of the taiga forest. And he has observed how Russias logging interests and evolving fortunes present new threats to the owls survival. Preserving its habitats will secure the forest for future generations, both animal and human - but can this battle be won? Exhilarating and clear-sighted, Owls of the Eastern Ice is an impassioned reflection on our relationship with the natural world and on what it means to devote ones career to a single pursuit.Slaght makes the people, wildlife and landscape of the Russian Far East come alive. I havent enjoyed a book on remote Russia as much as this since Ian Fraziers Travels in SiberiaSophy Roberts, author of The Lost Pianos of SiberiaTrue epic. Powerful, passionate Charles Foster, author of Being a Beast

Mejor libro del año según The Wall Street Journal, Smithsonian Magazine, Star Tribune (Minneapolis), The Times (Londres), The Globe and Mail (Toronto)Libro del año sobre la naturaleza según The Times (Londres)Libro destacado del New York TimesSeleccionado para el National Book Award en la categoria de No FiccionUna de las sorpresas editoriales del año: la historia de los cinco años de viaje de un hombre por el Lejano Oriente ruso con el objetivo de preservar la especie de buho mas misteriosa del mundo, un relato que cobra vida gracias a una brillante prosa y corre veloz entre el deshielo de los rios y unos personajes inolvidables. Irish Examiner Un espectacular ejemplo de la fructifera interseccion de las investigaciones cientificas, la defensa conservacionista de la vida silvestre y la aventura en la naturaleza salvaje [...]. Un retrato irresistible de una criatura singular.HELLER MCALPIN, The Wall Street JournalUn relato detallado y emocionante [...] que atraera al lector a la fascinacion de una cronica cientifica y aventurera. Publishers WeeklyLa busqueda de un grial moderno: este es el relato de los viajes de un hombre por los sobrecogedores parajes de hielo y nieve, de rios radiactivos, tras las huellas de una rapaz que mas bien parece un fantasma... Slaght tiene un inusual don para evocar el asombro ante el mundo natural. HELEN MACDONALD, autora de H de halconPrimorie, remota region boscosa entre Rusia, China y Corea del Norte, es el hogar de una de las aves mas raras de la naturaleza, el buho manchu, conocido tambien como el buho pescador de Blakiston. Un encuentro casual con esta imponente criatura cambio la vida de Jonathan C. Slaght, investigador de vida salvaje y conservacionista. Buhos de los hielos del este es la historia de la incansable busqueda de Slaght para proteger al escurridizo buho de su extincion. Durante meses, lo perseguira por los intrincados parajes de su ecosistema, conviviendo con los rusos que afrontan dia a dia las condiciones extremas de la taiga. Y observara como los intereses madereros de Rusia presentan nuevas amenazas para la supervivencia del buho, pues solo la preservacion de sus habitats asegurara el bosque para las generaciones futuras, tanto animales como humanas.Una apasionada reflexion sobre nuestra relacion con el mundo natural, una oda a estas majestuosas criaturas y una singular aproximacion al energico trabajo de un cientifico de campo decidido a adentrarse en la esencia de la naturaleza salvaje para intentar salvarla.

Mejor libro del año según The Wall Street Journal, Smithsonian Magazine, Star Tribune (Minneapolis), The Times (Londres), The Globe and Mail (Toronto) Libro del año sobre la naturaleza según The T