The Return of the Unicorns: The Natural History and Conservation of the Greater One-Horned Rhinoceros

Eric Dinerstein

Jul 2003 · Columbia University Press

About this ebook

Beginning in 1984, Eric Dinerstein led a team directly responsible for the recovery of the greater one-horned rhinoceros in the Royal Chitwan National Park in Nepal, where the population had once declined to as few as 100 rhinos. The Return of the Unicorns is an account of what it takes to save endangered large mammals. In its pages, Dinerstein outlines the multifaceted recovery program—structured around targeted fieldwork and scientific research, effective protective measures, habitat planning and management, public-awareness campaigns, economic incentives to promote local guardianship, and bold, uncompromising leadership—that brought these extraordinary animals back from the brink of extinction. In an age when scientists must also become politicians, educators, fund-raisers, and activists to safeguard the subjects that they study, Dinerstein's inspiring story offers a successful model for large-mammal conservation that can be applied throughout Asia and across the globe.

About the author

Eric Dinerstein is director of WildTech and the Biodiversity and Wildlife Solutions Program at RESOLVE. He also leads a team of biologists who help add biodiversity information to Global Forest Watch.

George B. Schaller is vice president of Panthera and has taught as an adjunct associate professor at Rockefeller University, East China Normal University in Shanghai, and Peking University.