Fat Legs Don’t Matter: My Animals, My Life

It was Dr Marijcke Jongbloed’s young nephew who gave her the title of this very personal memoir of her life and times in the Arabian Gulf, but it was the animals she cared for and loved who proved that ‘fat legs don’t matter’. Over a period of twenty years, Marijcke edged away from medicine into a deep involvement in the study and preservation of wildlife of the Arabian peninsula. Along the way she fell in love with her mentor only to have her heart broken. She turned to her animals, buried herself in work and carved a niche mainly by championing the cause of the endangered Arabian leopard – work that brought great pleasure and, ultimately, pain. This memoir combines a conventional autobiographical narrative (albeit of an unconventional life) with anecdotes and reflections on Marijcke’s work with animals. It is a fascinating, readable, personal record of a time of extraordinary change in Arabia; a literate commentary on our times, which encourages the reader to reflect, just a little, on our prejudices and where true value lies.