When Jan Latta Walked with Wildlife (06/10/2013)
| Venue | ： | Tsimshatsui Book Centre, Exhibition Hall Shops B1007-1010, B1/F., Miramar Shopping Centre, 132 Nathan Road, Tsimshatsui, Kowloon |
| Speaker | ： | Ms. Jan Latta |
| Host | ： | Ms. Christa Tam |
Review
For most Hong Kong people, wildlife animals are just some creatures we see on TV and their survival has little to do with us. Yet for Jan Latta, author and wildlife photographer, they are the reason for a massive change in her life.
When Jan heard that there were fewer than 600 mountain gorillas left in the world during her first encounter with them in the African jungle 20 years ago, she decided to create True to Life books for children, to educate them about endangered animals in their natural habitat.
On the morning of 6 Oct 2013, Jan held an intimate session with our members. She recounted her many exciting adventures in Africa, China, Borneo, India, and Sri Lanka. Jan has played with chimps in Uganda, orangutans in Borneo and pandas in the mountains of China. She has walked with lions in Zambia and been charged by an elephant in Amboseli and she has held the horn of a live rhino! The audience was amazed.
The most magical moment in her life came when she was in Nanyanki, Kenya when a cheetah came up to her, so close that she could hold him and even put her hand under his throat to feel the vibration of his purring! Every extraordinary and unexpected adventure Jan has had completely captivated our audience, both the children and their parents.
They listened with great admiration when Jan explained that Lennie the Leopard was the most difficult book to create and it took her 15 years! The animal's camouflage is so excellent that it is the most difficult to see in the wild. After many years of searching, she finally found them in Yala Park in Sri Lanka where there is the world's highest concentration of leopards.
Everyone loved her story of traveling on Tara the elephant with a mahout, the elephant's keeper, in search of a tiger. What fun it was when Jan gave Tara a wash! She scrubbed her with a large stone. The children were so envious of her experience.
There were many questions during the Q and A time. Everyone wanted to learn more from Jan. Thanks to Jan's dedication, there are now 12 books in the series where children can find the animals talking to them in the first person. No only that, there are fun activities, lists of interesting websites for readers who want to find out more and information on wild animal adoption programmes.
Jan, thanks for the sharing your experience and for the lovely books you have created!
Parents and children, let's all learn more about the animals and help protect them for future generations to see!
