From Introduction to Enclosure 16:
Please contact Sandy Ferguson Fuller, Alp Arts Co. for complete manuscript:
Years ago, one of my childhood dreams came true. I had the chance to work at and manage a wildlife sanctuary filled with all kinds of wild animals that ranged from wolves and bears, to jaguars and mountain lions. I grew up with cats and always had a fascination for every kind of cat. The first time I got to see a mountain lion face to face was at this wildlife sanctuary, and it was probably the most magical experience of my life. While working at this sanctuary, I saw an old, beat up enclosure with a sign on it that said "Enclosure 16." I used to imagine that this was a secret enclosure full of rare animals. I decided right then that I would write a book someday and call it "Enclosure 16," and in this book I would write a myriad of exotic creatures back into existence. The creatures of Enclosure 16 are real animals, or at least they used to be. Their names, their colors, their behaviors, and their environments are all true. But the truth is also that they are all extinct—by the dates and by the methods described in this book. Through my imagination, they exist. And perhaps with your imagination, you can get a glimpse of what they used to look like and what it would be like to see them again. There are many species that are still on the brink of extinction. The Siberian Tiger is critically endangered. In the early 1900's, you could find them in northeastern China, the Korean Peninsula, and in parts of Mongolia and Russia. Today there are only a few hundred of them left in the wild, and a hundred or so in the Species Survival Plan—a breeding program to keep them in existence. Some of the animals we see now may one day have to be conjured up in imaginations and written about in fictional books if they can't be saved from extinction. Perhaps when we see what we are missing, we'll take more notice and care of the creatures that are still with us today
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