On Jungle Trails
Encyclopedia
On Jungle Trails is a book length compilation of Frank Buck
’s stories describing how he captures wild animals. For many years, this book was a fifth grade reader in the Texas public schools.
Some of the facts Buck relates are observational, such as his description of the pangolin
, a scaly anteater, getting his fill of red ants. Among the other accounts:
Buck brought these animals back to America; but when he obtained several tiny Malaysian mouse deer
, the smallest deer in the world, weighing two pounds, and made pets of them, a quarantine against ruminating animals made it impossible to bring them into the United States.
Buck's writes of his jungle camp and his methods for feeding and caring for his animals. At the end of the book there is a partial list of animals which Buck brought back alive to America. In an appendix there are several pages of information about various Asian animals, reptiles and birds. Buck emphasizes his refusal to kill animals and his insistence on kindness to them.
"Wherever I go, children mention this book to me and tell me how much they learned about animals and the jungle from it," said Buck.
Frank Buck (animal collector)
Frank Howard Buck was a hunter and "collector of wild animals," as well as a movie actor, director, writer and producer...
’s stories describing how he captures wild animals. For many years, this book was a fifth grade reader in the Texas public schools.
Some of the facts Buck relates are observational, such as his description of the pangolin
Pangolin
A pangolin , also scaly anteater or Trenggiling, is a mammal of the order Pholidota. There is only one extant family and one genus of pangolins, comprising eight species. There are also a number of extinct taxa. Pangolins have large keratin scales covering their skin and are the only mammals with...
, a scaly anteater, getting his fill of red ants. Among the other accounts:
- Buck describes the capture of a man-eating tigerTiger attackTiger attacks on humans occur for various reasons and have claimed more human lives than any other member of the cat family.-Reasons for attacking:Tigers are sometimes intimidated from attacking humans, especially if they are unfamiliar with people...
(the only one, he explains, which was ever brought to America , the Man-eater of JohorJohorJohor is a Malaysian state, located in the southern portion of Peninsular Malaysia. It is one of the most developed states in Malaysia. The state capital city and royal city of Johor is Johor Bahru, formerly known as Tanjung Puteri...
e); - Buck traps a rare Clouded LeopardClouded LeopardThe clouded leopard is a felid found from the Himalayan foothills through mainland Southeast Asia into China, and has been classified as vulnerable in 2008 by IUCN...
when, contrary to the usual leopard habit, the cat takes refuge in a tree; - Buck writes of trapping elephants and crocodiles;
- Buck tells of seizing of "the largest orangutan ever captured alive."
Buck brought these animals back to America; but when he obtained several tiny Malaysian mouse deer
Chevrotain
Chevrotains, also known as mouse deer, are small ungulates that make up the family Tragulidae, the only members of the infraorder Tragulina. There are 10 living species in three genera, but there are also several species only known from fossils...
, the smallest deer in the world, weighing two pounds, and made pets of them, a quarantine against ruminating animals made it impossible to bring them into the United States.
Buck's writes of his jungle camp and his methods for feeding and caring for his animals. At the end of the book there is a partial list of animals which Buck brought back alive to America. In an appendix there are several pages of information about various Asian animals, reptiles and birds. Buck emphasizes his refusal to kill animals and his insistence on kindness to them.
"Wherever I go, children mention this book to me and tell me how much they learned about animals and the jungle from it," said Buck.