''On Jungle Trails'' is a book-length compilation of Frank Buck’s stories describing how he captures wild animals. For many years, this book was a fifth grade reader in the Texas public schools, approved for state-wide use. Some of the facts Buck relates are observational, such as his description of the

pangolin Pangolins, sometimes known as scaly anteaters, are mammals of the order Pholidota (, from Ancient Greek ϕολιδωτός – "clad in scales"). The one extant family, the Manidae, has three genera: '' Manis'', '' Phataginus'', and '' Smut ...

, a scaly

anteater Anteater is a common name for the four extant mammal species of the suborder Vermilingua (meaning "worm tongue") commonly known for eating ants and termites. The individual species have other names in English and other languages. Together with ...

, getting his fill of red ants. Among the other accounts: * Buck describes the capture of a

man-eating tiger Tiger attacks are an extreme form of human–wildlife conflict which occur for various reasons and have claimed more human lives than attacks by any of the other big cats. The most comprehensive study of deaths due to tiger attacks estimates that ...

(the only one, he explains, which was ever brought to America , the Man-eater of

Johor Johor (; ), also spelled as Johore, is a States and federal territories of Malaysia, state of Malaysia in the south of the Malay Peninsula. Johor has land borders with the Malaysian states of Pahang to the north and Malacca and Negeri Sembilan ...

e); * Buck traps a rare

clouded leopard The clouded leopard (''Neofelis nebulosa''), also called the mainland clouded leopard, is a wild cat inhabiting dense forests from the foothills of the Himalayas through mainland Southeast Asia into South China. In the early 19th century, a cl ...

when, contrary to the usual leopard habit, the cat takes refuge in a tree; * Buck writes of trapping elephants and crocodiles; * Buck tells of seizing of "the largest orangutan ever captured alive." Buck brought these animals back to America; but when he obtained several tiny Malaysian

mouse deer Chevrotains, or mouse-deer, are small even-toed ungulates that make up the family Tragulidae, the only extant members of the infraorder Tragulina. The 10 extant species are placed in three genera, but several species also are known only f ...

, the smallest deer in the world, weighing two pounds, and made pets of them, a quarantine against ruminating animals made it impossible to bring them into the United States. Buck's writes of his jungle camp and his methods for feeding and caring for his animals. At the end of the book there is a partial list of animals which Buck brought back alive to America. In an appendix there are several pages of information about various Asian animals, reptiles and birds. Buck emphasizes his refusal to kill animals and his insistence on kindness to them. "Wherever I go, children mention this book to me and tell me how much they learned about animals and the jungle from it," said Buck.

Critical reception

"The book is so written as to be easily understood by boys and girls, and is intended to interest them especially. It is certainly quite likely to do that."Miscellaneous Brief Reviews. New York Times. November 28, 1937, Sunday. p. 40

References

{{Portal , Children's literature Children's non-fiction books 1936 children's books American autobiographies Natural history books Hunting in popular culture American children's books Frederick A. Stokes Company books