Paul Rosolie

Paul Rosolie is an American conservationist and author. His 2014 memoir, Mother of God, detailed his work in the Amazon rainforest in southeastern Peru. He was also the host of the Discovery Channel's 2014 nature documentary special, Eaten Alive.

Paul Rosolie
Born
EducationEnvironmental studies
Alma materRamapo College
Occupation
Years active2005–present
OrganizationTamandua Expeditions
Notable work
Mother of God
Websitepaulrosolie.com

Life and career

Rosolie grew up in the U.S. state of New Jersey. He quit high school during his sophomore year and began attending college.[1] His long-time interest in rainforests led him to an Amazon research station in Peru's Madre de Dios region at age 18[2] in 2005.[3] That year, he also traveled to Brazil's Atlantic Forest through a study abroad program with Columbia University.[1] In 2007, Rosolie helped create Tamandua Expeditions (with Juan Julio Durand), an ecotourism company that offers trips to the Las Piedras Biodiversity Station on the Las Piedras River. Money raised from that endeavor is used to protect a patch of untouched forest.[2]

Rosolie earned his undergraduate degree in environmental studies from Ramapo College in New Jersey in 2010. While studying there, he spent his breaks flying back to Peru and working with Tamandua Expeditions.[1] In 2013, Rosolie published a short film on YouTube that showed footage of dozens of species of wild animals in the Madre de Dios forests captured on video by various camera traps.[4] The film, titled An Unseen World, won the short film contest at the 2013 United Nations Forum on Forests.[5] Also that year, Rosolie spent time in India researching tiger conservation.[6]

In March 2014,[7] his first book, Mother of God: An Extraordinary Journey into the Uncharted Tributaries of the Western Amazon, was published by HarperCollins. The book detailed his life, experiences, and conservation efforts in the Amazon.[3] In December 2014, he was the host of the Discovery Channel nature documentary special, Eaten Alive. During the program, Rosolie was purportedly going to be swallowed alive by a green anaconda while wearing a custom protective suit. While the anaconda did coil around Rosolie, he was never actually swallowed.[8] The show received criticism from both viewers and animal rights organizations,[9] but Rosolie maintained that he intended to raise money and bring broader public attention to the deforestation, gold mining, and hunting that threaten the anaconda's habitat. He also indicated that he was unaware that the Discovery Channel would cut a majority of the conservation-related content from the show.[10]

Beginning in 2015, Rosolie began spending more time on conservation efforts in India.[11] In 2017, he studied the migration habits of tigers and elephants in the forests of Wayanad.[12] As of 2018, he spends four months of the year in south India and splits the remainder of his time in Peru and New York City.[13] In 2019, he is due to release his second book, a literary fiction novel called The Girl and the Tiger. The book is based on the true story of an Indian girl who contacted Rosolie after finding three abandoned tiger cubs.[14]

Bibliography

Year Title Original publisher ISBN Notes
2014 Mother of God: An Extraordinary Journey into the Uncharted Tributaries of the Western Amazon HarperCollins ISBN 9780062259516
2019 The Girl and the Tiger Owl Hollow Press ISBN 9781945654312

References

  1. Hance, Jeremy (10 March 2010). "Secrets of the Amazon: giant anacondas and floating forests, an interview with Paul Rosolie". Monga Bay. Retrieved 27 April 2019.
  2. Hance, Jeremy (17 March 2014). "Mother of God: meet the 26 year old Indiana Jones of the Amazon, Paul Rosolie". Monga Bay. Retrieved 27 April 2019.
  3. Smith, Jennie Erin (14 March 2014). "Book Review: 'Mother of God' by Paul Rosolie". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 27 April 2019.
  4. "Camera Trap in Amazon Gives Stunning Glimpse of Species Diversity". Yale School of Forestry and Environmental Studies. 20 February 2013. Retrieved 27 April 2019.
  5. Luntz, Stephen (5 November 2014). "Man Claims He's Going To Put On A Snake-Proof Suit And Let An Anaconda Swallow Him On Camera". IFL Science. Retrieved 27 April 2019.
  6. Aravind, Indulekha (1 July 2013). "Eco situation in India is both terrifying and encouraging: Paul Rosolie". Business Standard. Retrieved 27 April 2019.
  7. "Mother of God - Kirkus Review". Kirkus Reviews. 19 January 2014. Retrieved 27 April 2019.
  8. Chappell, Bill (8 December 2014). "(Not) Eaten Alive: A Snake Tale, Made For TV". NPR. Retrieved 27 April 2019.
  9. Hawkes, Rebecca (9 December 2014). "Eaten Alive anaconda stunt: Paul Rosolie responds to critics". The Telegraph. Retrieved 27 April 2019.
  10. Bittel, Jason (15 January 2015). "Misssssssed Opportunities". National Resources Defense Council. Retrieved 27 April 2019.
  11. Rosolie, Paul (3 March 2016). "World Wildlife Day 2016: Why Wildlife Needs You". HuffPost. Retrieved 27 April 2019.
  12. Sanjiv, Deepthi (8 February 2017). "When Paul Rosolie was chased by an elephant". Bangalore Mirror. Retrieved 27 April 2019.
  13. Menon, Rajitha (23 October 2018). "Citizen activism strong in India, says Paul Rosolie". Deccan Herald. Retrieved 27 April 2019.
  14. Benu, Parvathi (25 October 2018). "Discovery's Eaten Alive guy is writing the 21st-century Jungle Book. Here's why it's awesome". Edex Live. Retrieved 27 April 2019.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.