AN IMPOSSIBLE DREAM
Some of Kenya's Last Colonial Wardens Recall the Game Department
in the Closing Years of the British Empire

Edited by
IAN PARKER & STAN BLEAZARD

LIBRARIO PUBLISHING
2002

Few people realise that conservation of wildlife in Africa is far from being a modern 'Green' phenomenon. In fact the Dutch introduced stringent game laws as far back as 1642 and conservation has hardly been off the agenda ever since.

Seventeen men who were Game Wardens, record their recollections of the Kenya Game department in the closing years of the British Empire. Tragedy, farce and hardship are mixed in equal measure with a real concern for the animals, as well as helping the indigenous population to co-exist with Africa's greatest asset. How do you remove an errant lion from down town Nairobi? What do you do when a buffalo 'explodes' out of a bush in front of you? From early experiments in darting and relocating animals, to combating the insidious activities of ivory poachers, these men 'tell it how it was' and give an insight into what being a warden was like in the 1950's and 60's.

Understaffed, underfunded and largely untrained, they and their assistants fought against bureaucracy as much as poachers, to establish a safe haven where animals might continue to live as they have for thousands of years. That was their impossible dream.

A fascinating and unique history told with humour and honesty.

21 x 15 cm. x + 350 pp.

Very good condition. Card cover slightly faded on the spine and with a couple of small chips to the rear. Contents clean and tidy.