The Bafut Beagles

The Bafut Beagles, like other installments of Durrell's endeavors in animal conservation, is filled with wonderful anecdotes of the animals he captures and his experiences with the local people. His sense of humor when describing some of the mishaps he has with the people and animals is laugh-out-loud funny, and his sense of wonder at the awe-inspiring scenery is extremely evocative. Unfortunately, I did not find this book to be quite as enjoyable as others of his that I have read, and my reaction boils down to two things: a heavy hand with pidgin English, which made my head hurt whenever I had to translate large sections, and the slight note of condescension I detected whenever Durrell spoke about the locals, although he did show more occasionally praise them.

Even though I did have trouble with those two things I mentioned, I still enjoyed the book-- especially since I'd just returned from a trip to a local zoo where I'd seen three or four species of animals that the author talked about in the book. I look forward to reading more of Durrell's work in animal conservation. show less

In this delightful book Durrell describes a trip he made to the Cameroons -probably in the late forties- to collect wild animals to take back to England (for a zoo or his own collection I am not sure). He plunges straight into the story without much introduction or explanation, but happily I have read enough of his other books that I recognized the context immediately. Having gained the support of the local headsman, the Fon, via copious drinking bouts and gathered a group of eager hunters and mongrel dogs (the "beagles" of title) he avidly gathers up as many animal "specimens" as possible. This is done by paying nice sums to local people for what they bring him, as well as going out on his own hunting forays. Several times he ran into show more difficulties convincing the people that an animal he knew of actually existed, as they had never seen one, or that an animal could be safely approached and caught, as they thought some innocent creatures deadly. I really enjoyed the story, the straightforward humor and the descriptions of the wildlife. Some species I had never heard of, or didn't recognize right away because the name Durrell used for them was unfamiliar. Definitely the most curious creature in the book was the hairy frog (also known as the horror frog)! Also described are several kinds of monkeys, flying mice, bush pigs, the golden cat, rock hyrax, numerous excitable squirrels, cane rats, snakes and many many others.

At first I found reading the book a bit awkward and uncomfortable, as he communicated with the natives in pidgin English and there are entire conversations written this way (reminiscent of certain parts of Peter Pan). It felt insulting, but there were a few times where moved by sudden excitement or indignation the author would burst out a sentence or two of grammatically correct English, which baffled his native hunting companions. So I guess the people actually spoke that way, and partly through the book I was able to accept this and just read it. The depictions of local customs and characters (especially the Fon himself) were really well-drawn and add a lot to the book.

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Gerald Durrell is all about the animals and the joy of his books is that he somehow manages to avoid the sort of sentimentality that usually makes me run a mile from such works. I can't even stomach Black Beauty but I can lap up the youngest Durrell brother morning, noon and night.

In The Bafut Beagles, Durrell gives his account of a collecting trip in the Cameroons (in the time when the country was split between French and the British control). The title is taken from the collective name Durrell christened the men and dogs that hunted for him. Unusually for Durrell, the real star of the book isn't one of the many engaging species that he finds, but the colourful Achirimbi II, the Fon (or king) of Bafut. The Fon, an Anglophile in a time show more of colonialism, welcomes Durrell and his team enthusiastically and helps him throughout the expedition in every way but one. The Fon likes a drink or four and he likes company. Many nights, Durrell was kept up late into the night drinking with his host and one gets a real sense of Durrell's almost permanent hangover. Fortunately for the convivial king, Durrell doesn't seem to mind one bit.

The people of Bafut have two languages, one of which is Cameroonian Pidgin English and this is the language used for dialogue throughout the book. It's easy enough to follow but there are times is gets a little wearying and one might wish that Durrell had avoided being quite so authentic.

So here's a tale of Brow-leaf Toads, who have the pained and reproachful look down pat, nannied affectionately by Pavlova, the Patas monkey; booming squirrels and flying mice; hyrax and hairy frogs and galagos and skinks and all other manner of beasties. There's much hilarity in the many attempts to capture them and the whole is underpinned by Durrell's casual style. It's not Durrell at his best, but the inclusion of the infectiously joyful Achirimbi makes it an enjoyable read. show less

Beautifully described, great characterisation (I love the Fon of Bafut!), very interesting too. Lovely stuff.

This is a memoir of the author's animal collecting trip in The Cameroons in 1949 for which no explanation was given. Durrell nicknamed the dogs belonging to the native men of Bafut who aided him "the Bafut beagles" a title the dog owners also assumed as it implied prestige and status. The Fon, the gin-loving Bafut chief, was described in Durrell's typically entertaining style.

Much of the dialogue is related in Pidgin English, which after a short time I skipped. And although not politically correct - in either the animal-collecting or attitudes - the story is filled with Durrell's humour and his love of all living creatures. His descriptions of animals are without equal. My favourite story was about the Brow-leaf Toads, who looked show more sneering and supercilious, "waddled with all the dignity of a couple of Lord Mayors" but were actually shy and easily embarrassed.

The book is sadly dated but the animal descriptions and stories are pure Durrell, for that reason alone I gave it 4 stars. show less

This book is an account of naturalist/zookeeper Gerald Durrell’s trip to Cameroon to collect animal specimens. An official suggests that Bafut would be a good place to collect specimens, so Durrell contacts the Fon of Bafut, who proves to be an eager host. Durrell employs several local hunters who become known as the Bafut Beagles. Durrell and the Beagles hunt for several species on Durrell’s wishlist. Many of the locals also bring wildlife to sell to Durrell. By the end of his stay, he has dozens of specimens to transport back to England, including monkeys, large cats, rodents, and frogs, and snakes.

Durrell and the Africans converse in pidgin English, and the dialogue in the book uses pidgin. The book reflects the colonial era in show more which it was lived and written. 21st century readers will cringe when Durrell is addressed as Masa by his African colleagues. I can’t wholeheartedly recommend the book for this reason. show less

The details and concerns of an animal collecting trip into colonial Africa March 1949. There is no background to the trip, I can't remember Gerald's personal history well enough to know if he's collecting for other zoos or trying to build up his own at this point. The book opens with a rattley lorry descending down the Cameroon mountains into Mamfe and shortly after, on the recommendation of the District Office, into Bafut, where the local tribe chieftain the Fon, holds sway.

Durrell makes various forays into the forests and grasslands with his trusty native hunters - the Bafut Beagles, in search of Hiary frogs, Flying mice and other similarly charming and improbable creatures. The native villagers also bring in various animals that show more they've caught, Durrell pays them for the creatures and has to build cages, stop them escaping and persuede awkward creatures to eat. Divided into short chapters each features the capture and problems of one or two especially noteworthy creatures. All too soon the "list" is complete and Durrell has to return to base camp and then ship the precious collection back to England. I'm sure this part could fill an entire book on it's own and it's a shame it get's condensed into one chapter.

The chapters also capture the flavour of African life at the time, with pigin english as spoken by the natives. This is faithfully recorded and can be a bit tricky to decipher at times. the Fon is the absolute ruler and centre of attention, fortunetly Durrell quickly gets on his good side, not only by providing copious quantities of gin, but alsoby teaching him and his entourage to dance the Conga. Activites probably frowned upon nowadays but reflecting the nature of the relationship between white man and the natives in that part of the world at that time. It does read as an amazingly condescending attitude at times, although I'm sure that Durrell had nothing but good will towards them - especially after they treated his snakebite.

It is all lightly told, gently sketched anecdotes which capture the scenes wonderfully. Very easy reading but also charming and frequently very funny. show less