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Notes on the Sources
The facts of this book were gathered from literature, films, personal experience, and dialogues with those involved. Many of these sources are cited in the text, or in the bibliography, or both. Those quotations not specified as to publication come either from interviews with me, or from historical references and documentaries, a few of which deserve the following special mention.
The history of New Zealand’s predator invasion was thoroughly detailed by Carolyn King in her book, The Immigrant Killers, on which I heavily relied. And the amended legend of Tibbles was largely informed by Ross Galbreath and Derek Brown in their paper “The tale of the lighthouse-keeper’s cat.”
Richard Henry’s heroic but unheralded life was admirably covered by the authors John and Susanne Hill in their biography, Richard Henry of Resolution Island. Don Merton, also a keen student and admirer of Henry, openly shared with me his own appreciations for the great naturalist’s uncanny grasp of the indefinable kakapo, and his gallant but tragic history in saving it.
Certain island campaigns were captured, to my great benefit, in films by Roy Hunt (Battle for Breaksea Island), Peter and Judy Morrin (The Battle for Campbell Island), Scott Mouat (The Unnatural History of the Kakapo), and Kevin White (Restoring Balance: Removing the Black Rat from Anacapa Island.)
The life and work of Don Merton was gathered in large part from Alison Ballance’s book, Don Merton: The Man Who Saved the Black Robin, from David Butler’s Quest for the Kakapo, and from Merton himself. Additional details were granted by Merton’s fr
iends and colleagues.
A Note on the Author
WILLIAM STOLZENBURG has written hundreds of magazine articles about the science and spirit of saving wild creatures. A 2010 Alicia Patterson Journalism Fellow, he is the author of the book Where the Wild Things Were and the screenwriter of the documentary Lords of Nature: Life in a Land of Great Predators. He lives in Shepherdstown, West Virginia, and Fairfax, Virginia. Visit his Web site at www.williamstolzenburg.com.
By the Same Author
Where the Wild Things Were
Copyright © 2011 by William Stolzenburg
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Published by Bloomsbury USA, New York
LIBRARY OF CONGRESS CATALOGING-IN-PUBLICATION DATA
Stolzenburg, William.
Rat island : predators in paradise and the world's greatest wildlife rescue / William Stolzenburg.—1st ed.
p. cm.
ISBN: 978-1-60819-103-1 (hardback)
1. Wildlife rescue—Alaska—Rat Islands. 2. Predation (Biology)—Alaska—Rat Islands. 3. Predatory animals—Alaska—Rat Islands. 4. Wildlife conservation—Alaska—Rat Islands. 5. Endangered species—Alaska—Rat Islands. 6. Rat Islands (Alaska) I. Title.
QL83.2.S76 2011
333.95’1609142—dc22
2010051457
First published by Bloomsbury USA in 2011
This e-book edition published in 2011
E-book ISBN: 978-1-60819-331-8
www.bloomsburyusa.com