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Jaguar: One Man's Struggle to Establish the World's First Jaguar Preserve
In 1983, zoologist Alan Rabinowitz ventured into the rain forest of Belize, determined to study the little-known jaguar in its natural habitat and to establish the world's first jaguar preserve. Within two years, he had succeeded. In Jaguar he provides the only first-hand account of a scientist's experience with jaguars in the wild. Jaguar presents an irresistible blend of natural history and adventure; intensely personal, it is a portrait of an elusive, solitary predator and the Mayas with which it shares the jungle. Strong and sensitive, the book excitingly describes the rewards and hardships of fighting to protect this almost mythical cat." - George Schaller, author of The Last Panda and Wildlife of the Tibetan Stepp.
The glimpse which Rabinowitz's painstaking and careful research gives us of the world of the mysterious jaguar is tantalizing ....... Packed with interest and adventure." - Jane Goodall, author of Reason for Hope and In the Shadow of Ma.
"An intimate look at the lives of rural Central Americans. At times Rabinowitz resembles a character from Joseph Conrad ... the tension between man and beast becomes startlingly vivid." - The Washington Pos.
"A jungle adventure story in the classic mold, of a daredevil westerner who penetrates the deepest jungles of Belize in search of his quarry. There are thrills and chills aplenty in this quest for the mighty feline." - Kirkus Review.
Originally published in 1986, this edition includes a new preface and epilogue by the author that bring the story up to date with recent events in the region and around the world.
The glimpse which Rabinowitz's painstaking and careful research gives us of the world of the mysterious jaguar is tantalizing ....... Packed with interest and adventure." - Jane Goodall, author of Reason for Hope and In the Shadow of Ma.
"An intimate look at the lives of rural Central Americans. At times Rabinowitz resembles a character from Joseph Conrad ... the tension between man and beast becomes startlingly vivid." - The Washington Pos.
"A jungle adventure story in the classic mold, of a daredevil westerner who penetrates the deepest jungles of Belize in search of his quarry. There are thrills and chills aplenty in this quest for the mighty feline." - Kirkus Review.
Originally published in 1986, this edition includes a new preface and epilogue by the author that bring the story up to date with recent events in the region and around the world.
416 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1986
15 people are currently reading
912 people want to read
About the author
Alan Rabinowitz
35 books53 followersAlan Robert Rabinowitz was an American zoologist, conservationist, field biologist and the CEO of Panthera, a nonprofit conservation organization devoted to protecting the world's 37 wild cat species. Called the "Indiana Jones of Wildlife Protection" by Time, Rabinowitz has studied jaguars, clouded leopards, Asiatic leopards, tigers, Sumatran rhinos, bears, leopard cats, raccoons, and civets. Today, Rabinowitz’s work focused on conserving the world’s largest, most imperiled cats—tigers, lions, jaguars, and snow leopards—and their habitats.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 60 reviews
March 2, 2009
Wow. Best nonfiction conservation book I've read in years. Excellent book that at first glance is a history of jaguar conservation in the jungles of Belize, which has only begun in the 1980s. Interesting to think that these animals have been hunted for hundreds of years, and it's been less than 30 that any research has been done on them at ALL, and that there were NO preserves for these cats until then. After reading this book, you also realize that this is a story about human fears, struggles, relationships, love and loss, and conflict resolution. This author is the head of large cat conservation throughout the world, and his story is incredible.
September 5, 2019
Interesting book about jaguars, conservation, and the difficulties involved in even learning enough about the animals to help them. Author Alan Rabinowitz goes to Belize to set up a jaguar preserve (first in the world).
Everything about this is so much harder than we on the outside could have imagined! First of all, just getting there is a pain—even if the plane doesn't crash. The natives are helpful—except when it works in their favor to just kill and skin a jaguar to sell the pelt. Trapping the jaguars is hard. Sedating them is hard. Tracking them is hard. This is an unimaginable task!!! I just sort of assumed that once a country agreed to protect an endangered animal and was setting up a preserve, that the battle was 90% done—not so! The pain and frustration Alan experiences, and the moments of pure joy when things go right are well done and bring this whole adventure home.
There are nice descriptions of the land, and vignettes of the natives (including native medicine and even black magic!). In fact, more than half of the book seems to be about the whole Belize experience, from the food to the native workers and their families, to the drug trade, plumbing, and insects, etc. That would be in fact one of two complaints...I was looking for more about animals. Since the book is called “Jaguar”, I assumed it was mostly about them, when it is about the whole effort to get the preserve going, and about the Belize rain forest itself.
The other thing that bothered me was that so many jaguars were injured and died as a result of the trapping methods used in order to study them...
Everything about this is so much harder than we on the outside could have imagined! First of all, just getting there is a pain—even if the plane doesn't crash. The natives are helpful—except when it works in their favor to just kill and skin a jaguar to sell the pelt. Trapping the jaguars is hard. Sedating them is hard. Tracking them is hard. This is an unimaginable task!!! I just sort of assumed that once a country agreed to protect an endangered animal and was setting up a preserve, that the battle was 90% done—not so! The pain and frustration Alan experiences, and the moments of pure joy when things go right are well done and bring this whole adventure home.
There are nice descriptions of the land, and vignettes of the natives (including native medicine and even black magic!). In fact, more than half of the book seems to be about the whole Belize experience, from the food to the native workers and their families, to the drug trade, plumbing, and insects, etc. That would be in fact one of two complaints...I was looking for more about animals. Since the book is called “Jaguar”, I assumed it was mostly about them, when it is about the whole effort to get the preserve going, and about the Belize rain forest itself.
The other thing that bothered me was that so many jaguars were injured and died as a result of the trapping methods used in order to study them...
April 2, 2025
I recently acquired a bee in my bonnet to visit Cockscomb Basin Wildlife Sanctuary in Belize, and I heard about this book when I was researching it. This sanctuary was the world's first jaguar preserve, and now is home to around 200 jaguars. Alan Rabinowitz spent 2 years in the area in the eighties, studying jaguars and fighting for the area to be made into a preserve.
This book is about his discoveries, and the connections he made while he was there.
It was a grueling two years, with triumphs certainly, but also an abundance of hardship and heartbreak. Many of the jaguars and other cats he was studying were killed, a man helping him track a jaguar died from a fer-de-lance bite, and the author was in a terrifying plane crash that he spent months recovering from.
His writing about the experience felt very honest, including depictions of himself that made me not sure I'd want to be around him for long in real life. He came across as intense, short-tempered, and kind of bad at relationships, but his dedication to jaguars and the cause of preserving them was undeniable.
It's an engrossing read, and I'm glad I checked it out. I read the updated version from 2000, which was nice because it had an Afterward with info about how everything panned out over the years and where some of the people he worked with ended up.
I'm hoping to see the place myself sometime next year, and I'm happy to know some of its history.
This book is about his discoveries, and the connections he made while he was there.
It was a grueling two years, with triumphs certainly, but also an abundance of hardship and heartbreak. Many of the jaguars and other cats he was studying were killed, a man helping him track a jaguar died from a fer-de-lance bite, and the author was in a terrifying plane crash that he spent months recovering from.
His writing about the experience felt very honest, including depictions of himself that made me not sure I'd want to be around him for long in real life. He came across as intense, short-tempered, and kind of bad at relationships, but his dedication to jaguars and the cause of preserving them was undeniable.
It's an engrossing read, and I'm glad I checked it out. I read the updated version from 2000, which was nice because it had an Afterward with info about how everything panned out over the years and where some of the people he worked with ended up.
I'm hoping to see the place myself sometime next year, and I'm happy to know some of its history.
Want to read
July 3, 2016Ridiculous. Kindle price is currently $28 as of July 3rd, 2016.
Pity, looks like a good one.
Pity, looks like a good one.
February 19, 2014
I usually get a bit bored by non-fiction half way through, but this book reads like a suspense-filled detective novel! It's a great story, full of various subtle points and questions related to the human relationship with the rest of Nature, especially the large mammals whose very existence as a species is threatened by our destruction of their habitat.
This man's courage and insight are very engaging, as are the on-going dialogues with Mayan families who lived in the Jaguar Habitat, and helped with Rabinowitz' preserve, the first of its kind. My students always want to divert classes on Environmental Ethics and similar topics with discussion of these large mammals, and at a college where the Jaguar is our Totem Animal, our "Mascot," all ought to read this fast-reading, easy to comprehend and discussion-provoking book. Our students really want a COLLEGE education, and to explore the wider world beyond the concerns of the Rio Grande Delta. We need to expand their horizons and career options by showing them the new sort of career, which not narrowly focused on humans only. They will love this book! There are also LOTS of audio-visual ancillaries instructors can easily use, and the activism and new "Jaguar" Corridor to preserve the species resembles the Rio Grande Wildlife Corridor being constructed slowly but surely over the past ten years by Sierra Club and other environmental and Master Naturalist activists here. Our student are likely to find jobs in Eco-Tourism out of our college. This book is a "MUST READ" and meets ALL the requirements of a Common Reading Program book. TIME for some REALITY, and hope for a more Earth-friendly future.
This man's courage and insight are very engaging, as are the on-going dialogues with Mayan families who lived in the Jaguar Habitat, and helped with Rabinowitz' preserve, the first of its kind. My students always want to divert classes on Environmental Ethics and similar topics with discussion of these large mammals, and at a college where the Jaguar is our Totem Animal, our "Mascot," all ought to read this fast-reading, easy to comprehend and discussion-provoking book. Our students really want a COLLEGE education, and to explore the wider world beyond the concerns of the Rio Grande Delta. We need to expand their horizons and career options by showing them the new sort of career, which not narrowly focused on humans only. They will love this book! There are also LOTS of audio-visual ancillaries instructors can easily use, and the activism and new "Jaguar" Corridor to preserve the species resembles the Rio Grande Wildlife Corridor being constructed slowly but surely over the past ten years by Sierra Club and other environmental and Master Naturalist activists here. Our student are likely to find jobs in Eco-Tourism out of our college. This book is a "MUST READ" and meets ALL the requirements of a Common Reading Program book. TIME for some REALITY, and hope for a more Earth-friendly future.
July 30, 2016
4.5 stars
In the early/mid 1980s, Alan Rabinowitz went to Belize to study jaguars in the wild. He was the first to do so. He found not only was he studying the animals, he was making friends with and learning about the local Maya Indians, and having to plead a case to the Belizean government to protect the area. He spent two years there.
I really liked this. I love animals, so learning about the jaguars was always interesting. It's extra interesting to be able to see the patterns of individual animals, which these kinds of studies do. This also confirmed for me that there are risks (for both human and animal) in these kinds of studies. There were also plenty of frustrating parts where Alan was confronting hunters, marijuana growers, even some of the Maya (who see nothing wrong with shooting any animal, for whatever reason), and having to plead with the government over and over, etc. There are so many obstacles for these animals (and every other animal) to overcome. It can be frustrating and heartbreaking.
In the early/mid 1980s, Alan Rabinowitz went to Belize to study jaguars in the wild. He was the first to do so. He found not only was he studying the animals, he was making friends with and learning about the local Maya Indians, and having to plead a case to the Belizean government to protect the area. He spent two years there.
I really liked this. I love animals, so learning about the jaguars was always interesting. It's extra interesting to be able to see the patterns of individual animals, which these kinds of studies do. This also confirmed for me that there are risks (for both human and animal) in these kinds of studies. There were also plenty of frustrating parts where Alan was confronting hunters, marijuana growers, even some of the Maya (who see nothing wrong with shooting any animal, for whatever reason), and having to plead with the government over and over, etc. There are so many obstacles for these animals (and every other animal) to overcome. It can be frustrating and heartbreaking.
February 13, 2010
An account of the author's two years in Belize studying jaguars. I was surprised by the passion, emotion and honesty in this book. Although his ego sometimes threatened to overwhelm the story, mostly I welcomed his approach. It gave a fuller picture of his environment than if it had focused narrowly on the jaguars, and so illuminated a complex ecology that includes gringo scientists, Maya Indians, trophy hunters, government officials - not to mention tommy-goffs, botfly larvae, armadillos, peccaries and the reclusive jaguars themselves. Full of drama and adventure, too - a great read.
April 1, 2020
I love love love this book. It reminded me of Paul Rosolie's Mother of God about Rosolie's conservation work in the Madre de Dios region of Peru. Rabinowitz single handedly changed the course of conservation in Belize; on top of his incredible achievements his book is just plain entertaining. His writing is such that you feel you are there with him, through multiple maladies, heart-breaking frustration and danger. My only complaint is that I want to read 3,000 pages, not 300. Such a fascinating story!
September 6, 2008
I read this after spending a day in the jaguar preserve the author established in Belize. It is so impressive that he succeeded in his project in spite of the odds against it. His tales of trying to track jaguars and of living with the Mayan people were interesting and moving. Rabinowitz managed to combine a report of the scientific work he was doing along with personal stories of life in an isolated (at the time) part of Belize.
March 1, 2008
This is not an exceptional book but if you live in Belize or have traveled through Cockscomb (the worlds only Jaguar preserve) it's very interesting.
"The best part of him dripped down his mama's leg."
"The best part of him dripped down his mama's leg."
June 15, 2010
One of my favorite books. It was a perfect read for my time in Belize. It was as much about the Mayan people as it was about the jaguars that Rabinowitz is trying to study. A great telling of how science research is a struggle - and is sometimes dangerous.
December 17, 2009
I learned that DIY conservation of large carnivores in tropical forests is waaay cooler than my office job. Also, Belize is prolly my favorite country in the western hemisphere.
June 23, 2009
I had to read it for a Jaguar exhibit, but the more I read books written by field biologists, the more impressed I am with how well they write. George Schaller is still my favorite though.
January 24, 2014
Simply written yet powerful story. Lots of passion and emotion from the author make this one of the better books I've read in some time.
March 5, 2022
This was an interesting book about the author's two years living in Belize and catching, collaring and tracking wild jaguars alongside some small Mayan settlements in the rainforest.
It isn't about his battle to establish the world's first jaguar preserve. He does that barely before he leaves, and the majority of that story is told in the final few pages of the 355 pages of the book.
It's mainly about his relationship and actions with the jaguars and the locals. It's interesting to see the cultural differences, and to realize the author is one of those people who is fundamentally anti-social; he needs people but would rather not.
During his time in Belize, you can clearly see his obsessions with jaguars take stronger hold until his viewpoint becomes very skewed. You can also see him slipping from rationality into the locals' superstitions.
Lastly, it's sad to read how his trapping and study methods ended up outright killing or contributing to the deaths of almost all of the less-than-ten animals he crossed paths with. He felt guilty about their deaths, but he also felt it was somewhat justified in that it helped him make the case for the preserve.
I feel it's good to put those in this review in case readers who are sensitive to animal treatment are considering reading this book. It's very real, because it happened, but you may not enjoy reading about it.
It isn't about his battle to establish the world's first jaguar preserve. He does that barely before he leaves, and the majority of that story is told in the final few pages of the 355 pages of the book.
It's mainly about his relationship and actions with the jaguars and the locals. It's interesting to see the cultural differences, and to realize the author is one of those people who is fundamentally anti-social; he needs people but would rather not.
During his time in Belize, you can clearly see his obsessions with jaguars take stronger hold until his viewpoint becomes very skewed. You can also see him slipping from rationality into the locals' superstitions.
Lastly, it's sad to read how his trapping and study methods ended up outright killing or contributing to the deaths of almost all of the less-than-ten animals he crossed paths with. He felt guilty about their deaths, but he also felt it was somewhat justified in that it helped him make the case for the preserve.
I feel it's good to put those in this review in case readers who are sensitive to animal treatment are considering reading this book. It's very real, because it happened, but you may not enjoy reading about it.
May 29, 2019
Alan Rabinowitz went to one of the last wild places in Central America to study the jaguar - the jungle of Belize. The forest was dense and fearsome. There were snakes that could make a man's leg turn black, then kill him, insects that burrow into the skin causing agonizing pain, countless parasites that preyed on animals and humans and Maya indians that were friendly but mistrustful, some vaguely threatening. What happened? He fell in love with the place and stayed for two adventurous years. He trapped jaguars for scientific studies using live pigs. That disturbed me. What really impressed me about the author was his reverence for both the jaguars and the native people. He abhored the Mayans' casual hunting of his beloved jaguars, but he also managed to develop a deep rapport with them and a respect for their traditions. Though the events of this book occurred in the 1980s, to this day a Jaguar preserve exists in Belize, largely through the efforts of this one bravely dedicated man.
September 2, 2019
My first career ambition was jungle explorer (circa fourth grade) and I wore out my copy of Disney's "Jungle Cat" comic book and saw the movie it was based on many times, so this book was right up my alley. It did not disappoint. The writing style was very engaging and I like that the scope included so much on life among the Maya and other cultural aspects beyond the trapping and study of jaguars, including political and economic factors. Descriptions of the hardships endured in jungle field work--botflies, hookworm, mosquitoes, snakebite, and endless amounts of traipsing along jungle paths and cutting new trails with a machete were not part of my fourth grade career fantasy. (I couldn't even handle camping out in the back yard in eighth grade.) One thing that amazed me was the number of jaguars in this one spot in the early/mid '80s compared to recent population figures. I read the original edition. I understand more recent editions have an updated epilogue describing the progress made on the jaguar preserve since the mid-'80s.
January 21, 2023
What makes this book most interesting is that is a story story of a man who travels to Belize in order to study and save the jaguars. I read this book in four parts for my Belize ELO, as I will be visiting this reserve he established in April. Throughout the novel you can see how Rabinowitz was affected by the people and environment of the Cockscomb Basin. He grew obsessed with these jaguars and didn’t leave out any details on the horrors these jaguars faced. He didn’t attempt to make himself sound innocent when he accidentally caused the death of his favorite jaguar. That being said, sometimes he included information that felt unnecessary. I didn’t need to know the weight and paw size of eight different wild cats, nor about the sex life of his with Rosita and Sue(by Maggie, he had realized no one really wanted to hear about his sexual triumphs). I found it inspiring how even after jaguar after jaguar died, majorly caused by humans, his will to save them persevered until he achieved what he wished. Overall I would recommend this novel.
September 20, 2019
When most people hear about Belize, they think that it is a paradise. Alan shows the difficulty of living in Belize. He talks about how despite, spending time to learn about the local people, there were still many difficulties. He would talk about picking scorpions from his wall like they were just a mild pest. One greater hardship was when a worker died from a fer-de-lance bite, everyone believed he was cursed.
Another hardship that came about was when his trap led to the death of a jaguar, the animal he was trying to protect. The plane crash provided a good illustration to show how close he was to his breaking point. The book ends abruptly and news of the jaguar preserve being established comes as an afterword.
Another hardship that came about was when his trap led to the death of a jaguar, the animal he was trying to protect. The plane crash provided a good illustration to show how close he was to his breaking point. The book ends abruptly and news of the jaguar preserve being established comes as an afterword.
January 13, 2023
For anyone who appreciates a first-person narrative of wildlife preservation, few books could surpass Alan Rabinowitz's account of establishing the first jaguar preserve in the world in the rainforest of Belize. It also highlights a point in time when native Mayans were rapidly assimilating into modern society. The text is detailed, personal, and riveting, all the way to the epilogue. Having just returned form my first trip to Belize, this book made me fall even deeper in love with the country. I read with dismay that Rabinowitz died in 2018, after a successful lifetime of big cat preservation around the world. I hope his wish came true, as he wrote in his book that, "when the moment does come, I hope I'm taken to where the wild animals on the earth have gone."
January 14, 2019
Mashup of scientific research, personal diary, conservationist battle and adventure story (poisonous snake bites, plane crash, jaguars killing and killed, ...). Great story of an apex predator, but I am sure this account just touches the surface. Great to read while in Belize, and makes me want to return. And to read his story about Thailand and the clouded leopard.
October 21, 2021
Great science adventure story of a place I have grown to love…but haven’t seen a jaguar…it’s specialty mammal. The book brought out the gory details of field work and being a field biologist. Occasionally it was a bit “over the top” with emotions; however, I let it go and focused on the overall story.
September 7, 2025
Thrilling and honestly a little embarrassing to read juxtaposed in the comforts of my apartment where no fer-de-lances or botflies could be just around the corner. Rabinowitz’s experiences are something out of an adventure movie, except nobody is calling “cut” when the plane goes down.
It’s not my place, I think, to judge what he did in Belize. At least he had some self awareness to call out his bad behavior and impact on the people who lived in Cockscomb. His singular focus on jaguar conservation is admirable, if not unbelievable for me to apply to myself. I wonder how you can be so unrelentingly fixated on something that all other aspects of life just fall away. I wonder if that’s ultimately good or bad. It seemed to negatively impact a lot of his relationships.
Anyways I found this to be an interesting read even for someone who never knew that much about jaguars. It was less academic than you’d think and more like a slice of life recounting.
It’s not my place, I think, to judge what he did in Belize. At least he had some self awareness to call out his bad behavior and impact on the people who lived in Cockscomb. His singular focus on jaguar conservation is admirable, if not unbelievable for me to apply to myself. I wonder how you can be so unrelentingly fixated on something that all other aspects of life just fall away. I wonder if that’s ultimately good or bad. It seemed to negatively impact a lot of his relationships.
Anyways I found this to be an interesting read even for someone who never knew that much about jaguars. It was less academic than you’d think and more like a slice of life recounting.
December 4, 2017
A really inspiring and interesting book about jaguar conservation. My only complaint was that I didn't like the author too much, I thought he was a wee bit up himself.
But for anyone interested in conservation, or wanting to learn more about jaguars and Belize, I would recommend
But for anyone interested in conservation, or wanting to learn more about jaguars and Belize, I would recommend
January 16, 2018
If you love field research and big cats, this is a must read! Although Rabinowitz gives a bit too much information about the downsides of living in the jungle (talkin' about bugs), this is super well-written, funny, and interesting.
July 28, 2019
Amazing book about an amazing conservationist, who did so much to save big cats around the world. His first project in the jungles of Belize. Snakes, insects! Parasites, wild animals and many discomforts, but....Alan prevailed and got a jaguar preserve in the country. Fascinating and exciting
August 13, 2019
Alan has been an inspiration to me as a child, and he continues to be an inspiration to me as an adult. This book was heartfelt and adventurous. It made me laugh and cry for people I will never meet but feel as if they are a close friend. Thank you Alan.
January 16, 2024
For school. It was a really interesting read. This man is something 🫣. But it was a good read. A fun book to discuss with people. And a really cool experience to read it in Belize and be at Cockscomb 40 years after his work.
August 3, 2025
loved this book, i am both an animal lover and a lover of adventure, this book is such a good read and so much so that i have read this three times now and it sits on the bookshelf awaiting another dip.
January 22, 2018
Great book for field station junkies. Captured a time, a place, and a person.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 60 reviews