GOLDEN BATS AND PINK PIGEONS

Durrell belongs to that legion of conservationists supporting captive breeding of endangered species, a policy successfully employed at his New Jersey Wildlife Preservation Trust after roundup expeditions like this one. ""We looked not unlike the strangely ill-assorted collection of individuals that the Bellman had taken with him to hunt the Snark."" Along with these trusty colleagues, he explored Mauritius, east of Madagascar, for small, breedable colonies of geckos, skinks, boas, bats, and pigeons. The elusive, appealing bats look ""like strange indignant, miniature flying teddy bears""; the cyclamen-pink pigeons, easier to catch, emerge as more memorable couples--the male bows ""with a loud, husky chant,"" and the vacant female resembles ""a Regency maiden about to have the vapours."" As always, Durrell captures small enchantments along with his zoological specimens, and the unscheduled events add immeasurably: a perilous rock climb where a previous explorer almost lost his ""unwhisperables,"" a night spent chasing giant landsnails away from the food supply, and an overlong exposure to Jak fruit, ugly, knobby bat bait which exudes a lingering, near-lethal smell. Nearly as rosy as Rosy, and more likely to move than The Stationary Ark.