Journey to South America on a search for endangered species with the author of My Family and Other Animals.

In 1950, Gerald Durrell set off for British Guiana (now Guyana) to collect native wildlife and bring it back to his Jersey Wildlife Preservation Trust on the island of Jersey in the English Channel.

On his journey, Durrell experienced all kinds of adventures: some amusing, some thrilling, and some extremely irritating. He traveled up the Essequibo River into the lush tropical forests and trekked across a landscape teeming with life and color. He encountered the sakiwinki monkey and the sloth with curiously green fur, heard the horrifying sounds of rampaging piranhas, and learned how to lasso a galloping anteater. He even met an ill-tempered anaconda and an overly affectionate bird.

This remarkable memoir will take you into a wild place in another time, accompanied by the highly entertaining naturalist whose writings inspired popular Masterpiece series The Durrells in Corfu.