Island Press agrees with National Geographic: big cats are cool. In honor of the last day of Nat Geo's #BigCatWeek, we'd like to help celebrate by highlighting one of the most mysterious big cats in the world: the jaguar. The largest cat in the Americas, the jaguar has survived an onslaught of environmental and human threats partly because of a unique evolutionary history, and partly becuase of an indomitable spirit so strong the jaguar has shaped indigenous cultures and the beliefs of early civilizations on two continents.
In An Indomitable Beast: The Remarkable Journey of the Jaguar, big-cat expert Alan Rabinowitz shares his own personal journey to conserve a species that, despite its past resilience, is now on a slide toward extinction if something is not done to preserve the pathways it prowls. In a mix of personal discovery and scientific inquiry, he sweeps his readers deep into the realm of the jaguar, offering fascinating accounts from the field. Enhanced with maps, tables, and color plates, An Indomitable Beast brings important new research to life for scientists, anthropologists, and animal lovers alike. This book is not only about jaguars, but also about tenacity and survival. Check out the prologue from the book below.
