Yet, Slaght was interested in research with consequence, “something with broad conservation impact.” The owls, though undisturbed right now, would not remain so. None of this would seem to be promising for a Ph.D. Living in Russia’s Far East, Siberian Tiger habitat, the birds are rare and seldom-seen. They are best located in winter, when they are drawn to open stretches of river, from which they nab small fish, the bulk of their diet. Slaghtīlakiston’s fish owls are huge, the “size of a fire hydrant” according to researcher Jon Slaght. ' True epic.Owls of the Eastern Ice: A Quest to Find and Save the World’s Largest Owl by Jonathan C.

Sophy Roberts, author of The Lost Pianos of Siberia I haven't enjoyed a book on remote Russia as much as this since Ian Frazier's Travels in Siberia' ' Slaght makes the people, wildlife and landscape of the Russian Far East come alive. Preserving its habitats will secure the forest for future generations, both animal and human - but can this battle be won? Exhilarating and clear-sighted, Owls of the Eastern Ice is an impassioned reflection on our relationship with the natural world and on what it means to devote one's career to a single pursuit. And he has observed how Russia's logging interests and evolving fortunes present new threats to the owl's survival. He has spent time with the Russians who struggle on in the harsh conditions of the taiga forest. During months-long journeys covering thousands of miles, he has pursued it through its forbidding territory.

This is the story of Slaght's quest to safeguard the elusive owl from extinction. A chance encounter with this huge, strange bird was to change wildlife researcher Jonathan C. It is also home to one of nature's rarest birds, the Blakiston's fish owl. Primorye, a remote forested region near to where Russia, China and North Korea meet in a tangle of barbed wire, is the only place where brown bears, tigers and leopards co-exist.

' Gripping' Dave Goulson, author of A Sting in the Tale If only every endangered species had a guardian angel as impassioned, courageous and pragmatic as Jonathan Slaght' Isabella Tree, author of Wilding Wilson Literary Science Writing AwardĪ Finalist for the Stanford Dolman Travel Book of the Year Award

The owls of the eastern ice