GOLDEN BATS AND PINK PIGEONS

Mauritius, the green and mountainous island in the Indian Ocean, once the home of the ill-fated dod, by the 1970s still had many unique but seriously endangered species. To rescue some of them from extinction, Gerald Durrell passed uncomfortable nights in the jungle looking for bats and pink pigeons, spending his spare time exploring the enchanted worlds of the coral reefs. By the end of his trip, he had an extraordinary collection of animals to take to his Jersey sanctuary from where the progeny could, in time, be restored to Mauritius.