Mama Poc: An Ecologist's Account of the Extinction of a Species

by Anne LaBastille

“This is the first careful account I have ever read of the death of one of the myriad types of creation. It covers the last twenty years not of an individual life but of a form of life. These marvelous birds deserve at the very least an obituary, and Anne LaBastille has given them a fine and moving one.” ―Bill McKibben, author of The End of Nature Every day some species of plant or animal on our planet becomes extinct. In Mama Poc , the bestselling author of Woodswoman and Beyond Black Bear Lake relates her own attempts to halt the decline of a single species of bird found only in Guatemala. The giant grebe, a flightless bird living on mile-deep Lake Atitlan, came to LaBastille’s attention in 1964. Her population count revealed that a mere eighty-two birds remained. Over the course of twenty-five years, Anne LaBastille made the cause of the giant grebe her own. This is the story of her life in Guatemala, observing the birds and working to reclaim their habitat and―against odds that turned out to be overwhelming―give them a future.

Genres: Nonfiction

320 pages, Paperback

First published September 1, 1983

About the author

Anne LaBastille was an American author and ecologist. She was the author of more than a dozen books, including Woodswoman, Beyond Black Bear Lake, Woodswoman III, Woodswoman IIII, Assignment:Wildlife, and Women of the Wilderness. She also wrote more than 150 popular articles and over 25 scientific papers. She received her doctorate degree in Wildlife Ecology from Cornell University in 1969. She also had an M.S. in Wildlife Management from Colorado State University (1961), and a B.S. in Conservation of Natural Resources from Cornell (1955).[2][3] She was honored by the World Wildlife Fund and the Explorers Club for her pioneering work in wildlife ecology both in the United States and in Guatemala. She was a contributing writer to the Sierra Club, and National Geographic as well as many other magazines. LaBastille became a licensed New York State Guide in the 1970s and offered guide services for backpacking and canoe trips into the Adirondacks. She gave wilderness workshops and lectures for over forty years and served on many conservation organizations in the Adirondack Mountains of New York, including 17 years on the Board of Commissioners of the Adirondack Park Agency. She traveled around the world and worked with many non-profit organizations to study and alleviate the destructive effects of acid rain and pollution on lakes and wildlife. LaBastille was also a noted wildlife photographer and her work appeared in many nature publications.
LaBastille was born in Montclair, New Jersey, and died at a nursing home in Plattsburgh, New York.

Reviews

[Mary · Rating 5 out of 5]

Anne LaBastille's dedication to saving our environment is inspirational. She's enjoyed many successes and has also suffered some losses. In this book she reminds us that nature is delicate and cannot easily recoup our human mistakes.

I liked her problem solving skills: she identified the problem, checked for the source, corrected the source and continued to monitor her findings. All would have been well had not natural and human devastation interferred with her plans.

[Sandra · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was an excellent very readable book about the Giant Grebe bird in Guatemala that was endangered. It documented the entire process of conservation from discovery to inevitably including all of the environment in relation to the bird. I knew bits and pieces before but this really filled in the blanks of the field of conservation and protection of endangered species. It read like a novel and there were pictures!

[Red · Rating 3 out of 5]

this one wasn't nearly as compelling to me as Woodswoman, and I bristled frequently at the ways that Ms. LaBastille described and interacted with the people in Guatemala. it was still interesting reading about field research, ecology work, and the day-to-day life of a scientist.

[Christine · Rating 4 out of 5]

Anne LaBastille went to Lake Atitlan in Guatemala in her twenties to help an endangered bird species survive.
Interesting story, many photos.

[Judy Harris · Rating 4 out of 5]

You wouldn't think a book about the extinction of a bird would be so easy to read. I loved the writing style and the humanity of the writer.