The Drunken Forest by Gerald Durrell c1956 First Edition

The book recounts a six-month trip Durrell and his first wife, Jacquie, made to Argentina and Paraguay in 1954. The title refers to the Chaco territory, where many trees were so swollen with water they appeared “drunk”. 

The narrative details the challenges and comical incidents of collecting native fauna in the remote and often difficult conditions of the Argentine pampas and the Paraguayan Chaco, a sparsely populated region with few roads and many mosquitos. Durrell’s witty writing style brings both the animals and the people he encounters to life, from orange armadillos and horned toads to various local characters.