LAST CHANCE TO SEE by Douglas...

LAST CHANCE TO SEE by Douglas Adams and Mark Carwardine (Ballantine: $10; illustrated, 222 pp.). The author of “The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy” recounts his experiences observing critically endangered animals in their native habitats for a BBC documentary. Not surprisingly, Adams’ search for Komodo dragons, Yangtze dolphins and kakapos (an odd New Zealand parrot) recalls the misadventures of the hapless Arthur Dent. Reluctantly hiking through the jungle of Zaire, Adams notes that gorillas are close relatives of humans, but adds, “At least with the gorillas you know that there’s no danger of having to go out to dinner with them and catch up on several million years of family history, so you can visit them with impunity.” These hilarious observations enable Adams to present a strong ecological message without sounding preachy. He summarizes his position in the dismayingly accurate observation, “We are not an endangered species ourselves yet, but this not for lack of trying.”