How many times have we heard that question?
How many times have our lives been enhanced by taking the advice from someone asking that question?
Here are a few suggestions from critics, friends, and myself that might fit your particular fancy.
Enjoy! And please let us know what you think about this column.
Love for the animals!
Always,

Forbidden Creatures
Inside the World of Animal Smuggling and Exotic Pets
by Peter Laufer, PhD



"Forbidden Creatures," by serious writer Dr. Peter Laufer, is an excellent read on the enormous problem stemming from the exotic animal trade. It will grip you and you will be shocked. Please read it and bring it to the attention of your friends and associates. The international "trade" is (according to wildlife experts) on a par with illegal drugs. This information is not commonly known.
--Tippi Hedren

We do not belong to this material world that science constructs for us. We are not in it; we are outside. We are only spectators. The reason why we believe that we are in it, that we belong to the picture, is that our bodies are in the picture. Our bodies belong to it. Not only my own body, but those of my friends, also of my dog and cat and horse, and of all the other people and animals. And this is my only means of communicating with them.
--Erwin Schrodinger; from "What is Life" and other scientific essays
(Doubleday, 1956)

What is being smuggled, from where and how -and why do so many people keep illicit, dangerous pets? On the heels of his acclaimed "The Dangerous World of Butterflies", investigative journalist Peter Laufer is back to chronicle his worldwide quest to penetrate the underworld of international animal smuggling. In "Forbidden Creatures," Laufer exposes the network of hunters, traders, breeders, and customers who constitute this often nefarious business - which, estimated at $10 to $20 billion annually, competes with illegal drug and weapons trafficking in the money it earns criminals.

Hedren has married her celebrity status to her animal rights activism. She embraces her acting career and the notoriety it continues to bring to her, reveling in the adoration she receives as a former Hollywood star. And she works that attention to her animals' advantage at events
. . . raising money along with Shambala's public profile.
--Forbidden Creatures, p. 42

Tippi Hedren rejects the proposition that commercial breeding can be rationalized as morally responsible out of her concern for individual cats.
--Forbidden Creatures, p. 111


Forbidden Creatures:
Kindle Version

The Elephant Man
by Chris Gallucci

The history told in this book "The Elephant Man" is mesmerizing and powerful. The bond between this man and two of the largest land animals on our planet will leave you with many insights of the relationship between man and beasts. The friendship between Shambala's African elephants, Timbo and Cora, and Chris is unique. I have been fortunate to observe the amazing relationship between these three. I urge you to broaden your insight into these three amazing beings. Chris Gallucci is Shambala. Timbo is Shambala. I am Shambala.
-- Tippi Hedren

"I love you" and "I could kill you." The world the Elephant Man grew up in was mean and hard. He left home when he was only twelve. Throughout his teens he was involved with the violent biker culture that developed in and around Los Angeles in the late sixties. Thanks to a falsified ID and too much pride to admit it, he found himself in jail for first time at the tender age of seventeen. His only true philosophy in those days was to show no weakness. While this mantra fueled the flames of his rebellion and brought him nothing but trouble, it also led to his eventual salvation. Timbo was a five-ton grey giant, who at nearly fifty years of age was North America's biggest and oldest African elephant bull. As stubborn as Chris himself, he too was unpredictable, fearless and always ready for a fight.
--foreword by Daniel Opitz

The Elephant Man...The Journey
by Chris Gallucci
available online through blurb.com

If you get it! Enjoy the journey. If you don't! I feel sorry for you. -- Chris Gallucci

Comments from readers:

Loved the book, love the style, the notes, and some good photography. Good luck with your ventures. Save Elephants from the Evils of Man. Well done 5 star! -- fujitsu1522

What a Awesome Story on how he was a Biker and turned into this Grrrrreat Elephant Trainer . . .
-- Todd

Amazing Man. Fabulous Story! And Photos! -- Allison

The photographs are AMAZING! . . . Bill Dow is an AMAZING photographer! -- BC659

serval son

Serval Son: Spots and Stripes Forever
by Kristine M. Smith

You are responsible for all you tame...

If you've ever wondered what it's like to own (and be owned by) a wild animal—especially a wild cat—get ready to experience it in ways you will never forget.  The author, Kris Smith, does not advocate the keeping of wild pets, especially wild cats, wild dogs and simians. To the contrary, for the many reasons she explains and has endured, she is opposed to wild animal ownership for most people.  The commitment is brutal, the risks enormous, the memories indelible (good and bad).

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OfIlFw1TYf8

"Kris Smith is a warrior, filled with tenacity, with a true love and respect for all animals."
— Tippi Hedren

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Photos by  Bill Dow  ©2018 The Roar Foundation
No images may be removed from this web site without written permission from the Roar Foundation

The Roar Foundation is a 501 (c) (3) non-profit organization.
Shambala is a member of the American Sanctuary Association.