Towards the dawn of the last century, the scientific
community was rocked by the introduction to western science of a variety of
strange, beautiful, and surprisingly large mammals from Central Africa’s Congo
Rainforest. These included the mountain
gorilla, the giant forest hog, and the poster-species for cryptozoology, the
giraffe-like okapi. Even now, over one
hundred years later, the great forest at the heart of Africa contains
biological wonders that are still unknown to science (albeit mostly on a
smaller scale). American herpetologist
Eli Greenbaum’s travelogue Emerald
Labyrinth takes the reader on a journey into those forests to see what is
still out there to be discovered.
Greenbaum is primarily interested in reptiles and amphibians
and his book is largely a recount of his search for small, elusive specimens,
especially of frogs and small lizards.
The reader gets an intimate view of what life is like for a field
herpetologist. While biologists who study
mammals in the wild spend much of their time hoping that their research
subjects will just allow them to observe them, field herping is much more of a
contact sport, perhaps more akin to the animal collecting expeditions of old. Greenbaum’s readers are treated to a world of
flipping rocks, rolling logs, and looking in every nook and cranny, trying to
get hands on potentially unknown species.
Sometimes, those specimens get their metaphorical hands on the
scientists instead… as one of Greenbaum’s unlucky colleagues found out after
receiving an eyeful of venom, courtesy of a spitting cobra.
If there is danger here in the Congo, however, relatively
little of it comes from the animals… or at least, not of the scaly or slimy
persuasion. As an outsider in Africa,
Greenbaum is repeatedly laid low by devastating diseases, which have a tendency
to strike at the least convenient times.
Even more dangerous – and certainly less predictable – are the armed
gangs that stalk the forests, from bandit chiefs to rebel militias to genocidal
warlords driven out of neighboring Rwanda.
There are times when we read about the author cautiously negotiating his
way through yet another confrontation with tense gunmen when you have to ask
yourself, is that frog really worth
it?
Perhaps what I love the most of all of Emerald Labyrinth is that is takes such careful pains to paint a
full picture of the Congo – not only its wildlife, but its landscape, its
people, and its history. You’ll learn a
lot about field research and collecting reptiles and amphibians. You’ll also learn about the corrupt occupation
of the Congo by Belgium’s Leopold II, who turned it into his private empire, as
well as the Congolese struggle for independence, Dian Fossey’s struggle to save
mountain gorillas, the Rwanda genocide, and what the author dub’s “Africa’s
World War,” which embroiled much of the continent in a violent battle for the
resources of the Congo, seemingly ignored by much of the world.
It struck me as I read the book that the Congo is a part of
the world that virtually everyone has heard of, but relatively few people
actually discuss. To me, it has largely
been an amorphous green blob in the center of Africa. It was fascinating to get an insight into its
complicated, often tragic history.
What also made this book enjoyable was the narrator
himself. Too often in these
scientist/conservationist abroad novels, the writer portrays themselves either
as some sort of western savior, or seems to view local people as at best a
distraction, at worst an obstacle to conservation or as a direct danger, either
to the animals or to the researchers.
Reading Emerald Labyrinth, you
really get the sense of much Greenbaum likes, values, and respects his Congolese
peers (and he does treat them as peers and colleagues, not as assistants or
bearers). All too often conservation in
the developing world has a sort of colonial undertone. It’s refreshing to read a more egalitarian
version… though it would be even more unique to read about an expedition such
as this through Congolese eyes and perspectives.
If that wasn’t enough to make me enjoy the book, towards the
end the author breaks off for a moment to voice his strong approval for zoos
and the work that they do for conservation, as well as reminiscing about his
early visits to the Buffalo Zoo helped shape his love of wildlife.
Conservation, adventure, history, and a plug for
zoos, combined with being a fun, easy read that still manages to take on
weighty topics make Emerald Labyrinth: A
Scientist’s Adventures in the Jungle of the Congo an enjoyable addition to
any naturalist’s library.
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