The extinction club
(Book)

" ... the brilliant, peculiar, and complex tale of the Milu. For one thousand years, the Milu, an exotic species of deer with the neck of a camel, the horns of a stag, the feet of a cow, and the tail of a donkey, existed only in the Chinese emperor's private park in Beijing. But in the second half of the nineteenth century a Basque missionary, Pére David, became the first Westerner ever to see a Milu. Transfixed by the strange beast, he risked his life to obtain a specimen, then embalmed it and sent it to Paris in a diplomatic bag. ... Within a very short time, every major nation in Europe possessed a Muli. But most failed to thrive and died quickly ... yet the exotic deer were able to survive in one place--Bedfordshire, England--due to the nurturing of a devoted caretaker, the 11th Duke of Bedford ..."--Jacket.

BSLW RECAT 2023