Panther

by Roderick L. Haig-Brown

"Nothing in nature, so long as it is honestly observed and honestly described, can harm the mind of a child. Almost all the ills of the human race may be traced to the fact that it has strayed too far from nature and knows too little of the natural order of things . . . let them read and understand the ways of animals and birds, of water and wind and earth; for these things are pure and true and unspoiled."
--Roderick Haig-Brown

Ki-Yu roams the full length of Vancouver Island's Wapiti Valley without fear, hunting deer, visiting females, and using his cunning and strength to evade famed cougar hunter David Milton with his shotgun and barking dogs. Evocative of Jack London's White Fang, Panther captures the harsh reality of the Vancouver Island setting with Haig-Brown's skillful, unadorned prose, telling an enthralling-- and often bloody--story of elusive wild cats and the timber wolves, bears, blacktail deer and humans who are all led by instinct as they struggle for survival in an unforgiving wilderness.

256 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1934

About the author

Roderick Langmere Haig-Brown (February 21, 1908 — October 9, 1976) was a Canadian writer and conservationist, who is acclaimed internationally for his writing on fly fishing.

Reviews

[Lone Wolf · Rating 1 out of 5]

The “panther” of the title is a puma who is relentlessly pursued by a human hunter. Whilst “Florida panther” is one of the many names for the puma, “panther” on its own refers to a melanistic leopard (also used for melanistic jaguars, these days). Factual errors are abundant in the book – the way pumas kill their prey is portrayed incorrectly, and wolves killing and eating members of their own pack is especially ridiculous. In addition, the edition I read was illustrated with pictures that resembled caracals far more than pumas.

[Kamakana · Rating 5 out of 5]

if you like this review, i now have website: www.michaelkamakana.com

.??? childhood: this is a book i read first when about 11 or 12. i had not read jack london, but had read other work by naturalist haig-brown. this is a sentimental favorite to such extent i bought a used book copy of it i found through the web. to be following so closely, to be inside, this animal, was one of my first memories of the particular pleasures of lit...

[Michal · Rating 5 out of 5]

I liked how peaceful the lion's life was, it seemed more exciting than it actually was. It was a science book about mountain lions' lives, put into a really good book