Rescue: One New Zealander's crusade to save endangered animals: 2019

Description

Michael Willis was ten years old, already keeping rabbits, guinea pigs, frogs, possums and birds in his parents' garden and dreaming of running a zoo of his own. Then came a life-changing present: a copy of naturalist Gerald Durrell's The Bafut Beagles. Suddenly the idea of working with animals became more than just a fantasy. A lot of hard work and ingenuity later, the dream came true in 1974, when Michael opened Willowbank Wildlife Reserve, on the outskirts of Christchurch. An immensely popular and prize-winning tourist attraction, Willowbank is home to a rich collection of exotic and native animals, from kiwi and kea to otters, camels and monkeys. But that has been only part of the story. Over the years Michael has been increasingly driven to save and conserve rare livestock breeds, many of them far more endangered than some of their familiar native counterparts. He has travelled New Zealand, and the world, in his quest to save these often forgotten animals from extinction. Whether it is rediscovering the tasselled and beguiling kune kune pig, saving the goats of remote Arapawa Island, capturing wild pigs on the forbidding Auckland Islands, bringing back to life the lost wild cattle of Enderby Island or travelling to the Galapagos in search of threatened wild donkeys, his has been a life full of adventure, and full of the animals he loves. And the search continues. Just as he did in his delightful, best-selling first book, Some of My Best Friends are Animals, Michael Willis recounts his sometimes perilous and always riveting experiences with warmth, passion and infectiously laconic humour. Rescue will make you laugh and gasp, and think. For, as he reminds us, in an uncertain world, the saving of these animals could be the saving of us all.

Michael Willis MNZOM was born in Christchurch, New Zealand and educated at St Andrew's College. An ambition to own a zoo crystallised in 1974, when he opened Willowbank Wildlife Reserve, now one of New Zealand's major tourist attractions. Over the years the focus shifted from exotic animals to animals found in New Zealand and native species. As part of that he has led many expeditions into remote areas such as Fiordland, and the Sub-Antarctic and Galapagos Islands, capturing and relocating animals and establishing breeding groups. In 2017 he was made a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit for his conservation work.

`Remarkable stories of animal rescue and conservation. A delightful and memorable read.' - Adam Henson, British COUNTRYFILE TV presenter and rare breeds enthusiast.