Book Review: West with Giraffes

The San Diego Zoo is easily one of the most famous - if not the most famous - zoos in the world, so it's hard to remember that there was a time when it was a younger, newer zoo, without all of the animals it has today.  Those animals all had to come from somewhere, and each of the species in the zoo has a story of how that first individual arrived.  Few species had a more dramatic arrival to the zoo than its first giraffes, which rode a deadly hurricane into New York City harbor in 1938, under the shadow of the looming World War.  From that chaotic entry, they made their perilous way across the country by truck (and this was before the interstate system was developed, mind you) on their way to California.

That much really happened, and would be a fascinating story on its own.

Author Lynda Rutledge tweaks and dramatizes the odyssey in West with Giraffes, a fictionalized story of the giraffes crossing Depression Era America from the Atlantic to the Pacific.  Interspersed with news articles, letters, and other communiques, West with Giraffes follows three unlikely human companions who join the giraffes on their quest.  The crusty-yet-caring zoo manager ends up picking up a homeless Oklahoma drifter, one of many such wandering young men of the era, as well as a young woman who is desperate to make a life for herself as a photographer and sees the giraffes as the story of her lifetime.  Together, they deal with dangerous roads, natural disasters, and scheming rogues who would steal the priceless, delicate animals away.  Adding to the drama is the very significant injury that one of the giraffes has suffered during the stormy arrival in New York, and the race to get them safely to San Diego.

West with Giraffes reminds me very much of Water for Elephants, Sara Gruen's tale of a Depression Era circus and its elephant, which was made into a major movie a few years ago.  (Readers of Gruen's book who may have been turned off by some of the violence against animals in it can rest assured that this book is tamer on that score).  Both stories offer a beautiful tale of the bond that can develop between animals and caretakers, as well as those that can form between people united by their love of animals.  It helps that it also takes place at a time when the vast majority of people in the US had never seen a giraffe.  Today they are one of the most common of all zoo animals.  Back then, they were almost mythical, their presence largely limited to a few elite East Coast zoos.

Rutledge's book jumps occasionally to the modern day, where the narrator's memory is called back to the 30's and its giraffes after he hears a news story mentioning how giraffes are silently going extinct.  I appreciate the recognition of this conservation crisis which, compared to elephants, rhinos, and tigers, has largely been overlooked by the world.  For the most part, however, it follows the trip from coast to coast.   That was the only part of this story that hampered my enjoyment.  

With each state that our protagonists - human and giraffe - crossed into, I knew that we were that much closer to the end of their journey... and ours.

West with Giraffes at Amazon.com