Chimpanzee Rescue: Changing the Future for Endangered Wildlife

Steve Pitt is a Toronto-based freelance writer and an award-winning journalist. He has written many young adult and children's books, including Day of the Flying Fox: The True Story of World War II Pilot Charley Fox.

Firefly’s highly acclaimed “animal rescue” series profiles a
different endangered species in each volume. The first three volumes
covered tigers, pandas, and whales. Each book examines why the species
in question is on the endangered list and what is being done to prevent
it from going extinct.

Chimpanzee Rescue looks at how humankind’s closest cousins in the
animal kingdom are doing—and the news is not good. Chimps in captivity
have been exploited and mistreated for centuries. Those in the wild are
feeling the pressure of human encroachment. In Frog Rescue, readers will
learn why these shy little amphibians are so important to the world’s
ecology and why their survival helps ensure our survival. Readers will
also learn how to tell a “true” frog from a “true” toad—and
that sometimes even experts cannot tell the difference. Elephant Rescue
explains how war, farming, and human greed for ivory has caused the
world’s elephant population to shrink alarmingly over the past 25
years; how elephants live in the wild; and how they serve humankind as
four-legged bulldozers. One of the more intriguing chapters discusses
“Green Hunting,” where modern big-game hunters pay big bucks for the
privilege of bagging a trophy elephant—but the gun they use is loaded
only with a tranquilizer. Instead of ending up as an umbrella stand, the
elephant wakes up with a radio collar that will help local scientists
learn even more about elephants.

Like the first three volumes, these books are elegantly written and
packed with more than 50 gorgeous full-colour photographs. There is a
chapter of “fast facts” and an index at the back. A “How You Can
Help” chapter lists addresses and websites that allow the reader to
get involved with saving these precious animals. The entire series is
highly recommended.