THE LAST PANDA by George B....

THE LAST PANDA by George B. Schaller (University of Chicago Press: $13.95; 299 pp., illustrated). Their pudgy shape and black-and-white pelt make pandas one of the most beloved animals on the planet. Wildlife biologist George Schaller recounts his efforts to study these little-known animals in their remote habitats, despite inadequate facilities, bureaucratic snarls and indifferent co-workers. Frustrated in his efforts to protect even the specimens he encountered, Schaller concludes that the remaining pandas face an uncertain future: “Segregated on its mountaintops, harried by poachers, its habitat shrinking, the panda has become an elegy. No face-saving illusions can hide these facts. Unless sound planning and vigorous law enforcement are soon initiated, all the field research, impressive laboratories, educational campaigns, public appeals and legal assaults will be of no avail in saving the panda.”