An Outdoor Writer Tells the Never-Before -Told Story of Returning a
Vast African Wasteland to its Former Glory as One of the World’s Premier Wildlands in
Bringing Back the Lions!
WATKINSVILLE, GA (July 12, 2022) — For generations, conservationists around the world have spent billions of dollars and countless hours trying to restore wildlife and wildlife habitat in areas of sub-Sahara Africa decimated by many factors, including poachers, corrupt governments, hungry local populations, and a lack of education and experience in how to balance current needs and wants with long-term, sustainable goals that benefit both wildlife and local people. And while these efforts often produce short-term results, long-term successes have been few and far between. In Bringing Back the Lions: International Hunters, Local Tribespeople, and the Miraculous Rescue of a Doomed Ecosystem in Mozambique, world-traveling outdoor writer Mike Arnold details how a small group of professional hunters and their partners turn a decimated and near-barren backcountry into one of the world’s premier African wildlands.
By the early 1990s, the once magnificent natural area known as Coutada 11 in Mozambique’s Zambeze Delta is poached-out and in ruins, a tragic but common situation in today’s wilderness areas. The arrival of hunting safari outfitter Mark Haldane and his many and varied partners began a decades-long, difficult – and often hilarious – journey to take the defiled and uninhabitable place and make it whole again. The result is both a modern conservation miracle and a blueprint for others to follow across Africa and around the world.
“With the earth’s population approaching 8 billion, working with local people to conserve wildlife is an urgent necessity, not an option, especially in Africa,” said Ludo Wurfbain, Director, Rowland Ward Foundation. “To be successful, conservation projects need to benefit local people, increase wildlife and habitat, and sustain fair-chase hunting opportunities. Bringing Back the Lions tells the story of how the restoration of the ecosystem and the social and economic advances of a local community in the Zambeze Delta have gone hand-in-hand. Mixing his personal experiences as a hunter in the region with an in-depth look at the challenges and hard work that have gone into this initiative, Arnold brings this fascinating conservation success story to life.”
“Professor Arnold’s work is a wonderful mix of travelogue, adventure yarn, historical novel, and environmental odyssey — an uplifting tale of ecological and social restoration,” said Ian Sherman of Oxford University Press.
Bringing Back the Lions: International Hunters, Local Tribespeople, and the Miraculous Rescue of a Doomed Ecosystem in Mozambique, is due out on July 12, 2022, and will be available at booksellers everywhere and at www.mikearnoldoutdoors.com or by CLICKING HERE.
About Mike Arnold
The Hunter’s Horn blew very early for Mike. Since the age of five he has spent months each year pursuing game animals – from quail and rabbits behind his parents’ house, to kudu and leopard in Africa, and Brocket deer in Mexico. Combined with his love of the outdoors and hunting is Mike’s passion for conservation and science which he pursues as a Distinguished Research Professor at the University of Georgia.
Mike has more than 150 published articles, including outdoor feature pieces in Sports Afield, Hunter’s Horn, Safari Magazine, and African Hunting Gazette. Mike also produced two TEDx presentations on the topic of conservation-through-trophy-hunting. Media outlets such as Science Magazine, The New York Times, and National Public Radio continue to contact Mike for interviews covering his research. He has published hundreds of science articles and four books on topics including conservation biology.
Editorial Contact:
Karen Lutto
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[email protected] HOC Website: www.hunteroc.com
