Heart of the Jaguar by James Campbell ~ a Review

by Donna Huber

A fascinating story of the movement to protect the jaguar, and the man who devoted his life to saving the species.

Amazon affiliate links are used on this site. A free audiobook was provided for an honest review.

November 2025; Highbridge Audio; 9781696622196
audio (10h 45m), ebook, print; nonfiction

It's the start of Nonfiction November, and I listened to Heart of the Jaguar. It's probably no secret that I love cats, no matter their size. I don't think jaguars ever came up in any of my wildlife biology courses. That's probably because they are mostly a South American animal with only occasional sightings in the southwestern U.S., and my classes focused mostly on eastern U.S. species, given that I live in the eastern U.S.

As much as the book is about jaguars, it is also a tribute to Alan Rabinowitz, who championed the jaguar's conservation. 

I've not read any of Campbell's other books, but it appears that he writes mostly about the outdoors and nature. However, it is clear he is not a scientist. When he was explaining the jaguar's scientific name, he said that the first word, Panthera, is the family name, but it is really the genus (the family is Felidae). He also said the second name, onca, was the species name. That isn't correct, but it is a common mistake (if you are interested, it is called the specific epithet).

Some of the stories of specific jaguars being studied brought tears to my eyes. Campbell captured the emotional connection between the researcher and subject wonderfully. 

I learned a lot about jaguar history and habits. Some of the conservation efforts are similar to those discussed with Florida panther conservation. I was particularly interested in how the cattle ranchers responded to mitigation efforts, and such as that was what I looked at when working on my dissertation. It was successful in South America, and now I wonder if similar methods have also proved to help in Florida as I haven't kept up with those efforts.

I find listening to nonfiction books to be easier than fiction books, as there aren't characters and plot twists to keep up with. But you do run the risk of it sounding like a lecture or droning on in a boring way. The personal stories kept it from sounding like a lecture. Adam Barr has a pleasant, conversational voice. 

Buy Heart of the Jaguar at Amazon

Donna Huber is an avid reader and natural encourager. She is the founder of Girl Who Reads and the author of how-to marketing book Secrets to a Successful Blog Tour.

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