Download Bushmaster : Raymond Ditmars and the Hunt for the World's Biggest Viper AudioBook Free
The amazing account of 1 man's obsession with an enigmatic and dangerous reptile. Raymond Ditmars (1876-1942), the first curator of reptiles at New York's famous Bronx Zoo, brought cold-blooded pets or animals to open public attention as never before. Through wildly successful catalogs and films, he inspired a era of zoologists with his fascination for snakes, bugs, and other misunderstood animals. Ditmars was among the most celebrated naturalists in America. His reptile-collecting journeys for the zoo spawned papers headlines across the world. Although a serpent enthusiast, he was all too aware of the devastating ramifications of snakebites and was instrumental in the introduction of antivenin. His films and writings brought him fame, but he remained a committed zoo staff, doing what he enjoyed most: looking after animals. Bushmaster says the story of the impressive man and what became an obsession with the incomprehensible bushmaster of the South American rainforest. Measuring up to 13 legs in length, this is actually the world's major viper, and its own scientific name, Lachesis muta, means "silent destiny." Despite numerous expeditions to jungles from Honduras to Brazil, Ditmars could never catch a bushmaster for himself. Now, British creator Dan Eatherley follows in Ditmars's footsteps, revisiting his early on haunts in the United States and South America. He makes an attempt to do what Ditmars himself failed to achieve: to discover a bushmaster in the wild. But 80 years later, will Dan have any longer luck? From the author's own mission, Bushmaster reveals the life of an pioneer herpetologist, animals filmmaker, and zoo curator.
