Watch Out!

If Douglas Adams does not present his sarcasm and metaphors throughout the book, then it would be very easy for a reader to misunderstand what he means when he writes that "Ecologically speaking, Mauritius is a war zone. . "(183). This could be mistaken that there are many animals and plants fighting against each other, physically. However, this is not true. Adams is trying to relate how difficult and intense the job of Carl, Richard, and several others is. They are attempting to save the multiple species of birds, and the Rodrigues fruit bats. The bats are the central reason for Adams and his companions visiting Mauritius. Adams says these ecologists "are like surgeons working just behind the front line"(183). Adams is trying to portray just how serious and devoted these people are to saving the endangered animals found on Mauritius. They have a huge load of work to do towards each species. The effect the reader will perceive from this is amazement at how devoted a group of people can be toward birds. Yes, birds, and not any national emblem that would stun a country if it was lost. These are just magnificent people attempting to save "some of the rarest, sexiest birds in the world"(183).
Adams is showing these ecologists, their duties, and their dedication to open ignorant minds to the fact that these birds need someone to help them, too. Also, this shows how serious these birds situation is. There is one bird named "Pink"(184), who is the main supplier of semen to the females of the species, Mauritius kestrel. He is a bird that believes he is a human because he was born and the first animal he saw was Carl, which resulted in Pink thinking that was his mother and that was what he was supposed to become one day. Pink does not know he is a bird, but he is very attracted to a hat that Carl has. When females mature, which is before the males, Pink must contribute his man-juice to allow the females to reproduce again. He does this by making love to the hat that Carl puts on in times of need. This is all told in the story to show how far these people will go to preserve these endangered birds.