Saving the Zululand Wilderness: An Early Struggle for Nature Conservation

Chartering the dire cultural and environmental impact of poachers and the export of Africa’s incredibly diverse wildlife, this compelling account describes how Zululand’s rich natural heritage was rendered nearly extinct due to generations of greed and abuse. Documenting the steady decline of wild game—from the slaughter of 20,000 elephants so that 1,000 tons of ivory could be shipped from Durban Bay between 1820 and the 1880’s to the indiscriminate global export of rhino and buck horns; hides from lions, leopards, and other wildcats; and live wild animals—this staggering documentation bears witness to the careless depletion of the last surviving great African kingdom. Meticulously researched with emphasis on celebrating the heroic and eventually successful attempts to enforce environmental-protection policies through establishing strictly regulated game reserves, this incredible saga is a resounding affirmation of how commitment to preservation throughout history can end and then repair the damage done by decades of thoughtless desecration.