EURAMERICA Vol. 52, No. 3 (September 2022), 373-412 DOI: 10.7015/JEAS.202209_52(3).0001 http://euramerica.org Bring ’em Back Alive: Two Popular Narratives of Wildlife Capture TP PTP P Catherine Diamond Department of English Language and Literature, Soochow University (Taipei) E-mail: diamondcatherine53@gmail.com Abstract In the mid-twentieth century, when the United States and Britain were building up their public zoos, they sent collectors to capture wild animals in the Global South. These collectors’ narratives included both the thrill of the chase and the challenges facing animal caretakers, and became source material for popular books, television programs and films. American Frank Buck and Englishman Gerald Durrell achieved exceptional local and international success, first through their written memoirs of animal capture, later in visual media, and finally through the establishment of their own zoos. While both Buck and Durrell featured their personal relationships with animals, their individual narratives exemplified contrasts between British and American humor and wildlife programing styles, as well as reflecting shifting attitudes toward wild animal captivity before and after World War II. This essay © Institute of European and American Studies, Academia Sinica Received August 21, 2021; accepted December 23, 2021; last revised November 14, 2021 Proofreaders: Yi-Han Huang, Pi-Mei Lin, Hsin-Wen Fan
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