• A newly typeset edition of a work now long out of print and difficult to obtain • A fascinating read for all with an interest in the ecology and history of the Subcontinent India is home to one of the richest and most diverse populations of wildlife of any territory on earth, including big cats, many species of deer, the Indian elephant, the rhinoceros and a great multitude of reptiles and birds. At the beginning of the British Raj (1858) Indian wildlife populations were largely intact - with up to 100, 000 tigers in the territory alone. The following 100 years saw this rich heritage greatly depleted. A swelling native population and British big game hunting wreaked havoc on all Indian wildlife. By the mid-20th century the tiger population was reduced to less than 2, 000 animals and other important species were extinct. Recent Indian and international efforts have attempted to arrest or reverse the damage and today India hosts some 515 wildlife sanctuaries and 18 biosphere reserves. This volume, aside from being a fascinating historical travelogue, presents a sampling of Indian wildlife in the mid-19th century, prior to the devastation that was to follow. | Wanderings of a Naturalist in India the Western Himalayas and Cashmere by Andrew Leith Adams, Paperback | Indigo Chapters