# Jonathan Slaght

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**Jonathan C. Slaght** is an American writer and conservation biologist who studies endangered species of northeast Asia.

## Early life and education

Slaght went to [George School](/source/George_School), graduating in 1994.[1] He got his B.A. from [Drew University](/source/Drew_University) where he studied the Russian language.[2] He served in the [Peace Corps](/source/Peace_Corps) in [Primorye](/source/Primorsky_Krai) for three years.[3][4] He earned an MS (2005) in Conservation Biology and a PhD in Wildlife Conservation (2011) from the [University of Minnesota](/source/University_of_Minnesota).[5] He lives in South Minneapolis.[6]

## Career

Slaght is the regional director of the [Wildlife Conservation Society's](/source/Wildlife_Conservation_Society) Temperate Asia Program where he oversees programs and projects in China, Mongolia, Afghanistan, Russia and Central Asia.[7] He has worked there since 2011.[3]

## Books

Slaght has written two books about conservation biology and fieldwork: *Owls of the Eastern Ice* (2020) and *Tigers Between Empires* (2025), both published by [Farrar, Straus, and Giroux](/source/Farrar,_Straus_and_Giroux).

His first book describes his four years of fieldwork in the forests of [Primorye](/source/Primorsky_Krai) studying [Blakiston's fish owl](/source/Blakiston's_fish_owl) drawing largely from his field notes taken while working on his PhD.[8] [Helen Macdonald](/source/Helen_Macdonald_(writer)) called it "a wonderful guide to the reality of fieldwork."[9] The book was named *[The Times](/source/The_Times)* Nature Book of the Year in 2020, and received the [PEN/E. O. Wilson Literary Science Writing Award](/source/PEN/E._O._Wilson_Literary_Science_Writing_Award) in 2021 as well as the [Minnesota Book Award](/source/Minnesota_Book_Awards) in 2021, and was nominated for a National Book Award in 2020.[10][11][12][13] He was inducted into the World Owl Hall of Fame in 2017.[14]

His second book, *[Tigers Between Empires](/source/Tigers_Between_Empires)*, highlights thirty years of conservation projects centered around the [Siberian tiger](/source/Siberian_tiger). Kirkus Reviews described it "as much about human history as it is about wild cats."[15] Slaght was in the area during his time in the Peace Corps and met the tiger conservationists while he was there, occasionally assisting with their fieldwork.[16] The book highlights the cooperation between Russian and US conservationists working together on the launch and maintenance of the [Siberian Tiger Project](/source/Siberian_Tiger_Introduction_Project).[17] It was named one of the Best Books of 2025 by the [Minnesota Star Tribune](/source/The_Minnesota_Star_Tribune), BookPage, and [CounterPunch](/source/CounterPunch).[18][19][20]

Slaght has also translated books by other writers. He published and annotated a translation of [Vladimir Arsenyev's](/source/Vladimir_Arsenyev) book *Across the Ussuri Kray* (2016, [Indiana University Press](/source/Indiana_University_Press)), a book which was inspirational for him.[21][8] He also co-translated *Winter Ecology of the Amur Tiger* which was written by A. G. Yudakov and I. G. Nikolaev.[21]

## Book Reviews

Slaght has reviewed books for both *[The New York Times](/source/The_New_York_Times)* and *[The Atlantic](/source/The_Atlantic)*, including [Suzanne Simard](/source/Suzanne_Simard)'s [Finding The Mother Tree](https://www.nytimes.com/2021/05/03/books/review/finding-the-mother-tree-suzanne-simard.html), Ben Goldfarb's [Crossings](https://www.theatlantic.com/books/archive/2023/09/roadkill-crossings-ben-goldfarb-book-review/675330/), and Adam Weymouth's [Lone Wolf](https://www.theatlantic.com/books/archive/2025/06/lone-wolf-adam-weymouth-book-review/683092/).

## Other Writings

His other writings have appeared in *[The New York Times](/source/The_New_York_Times)*, *[The Guardian](/source/The_Guardian)*, *[Orion Magazine](/source/Orion_(online_magazine))*, and *[Scientific American](/source/Scientific_American)* where he was a columnist.[3][22]

## References

1. ["Class Notes"](https://issuu.com/georgeschool/docs/gs_georgian_spring_24-final). *Georgian*. May 30, 2024. Retrieved 18 January 2026.

1. ["Jonathan C. Slaght, Ph.D."](https://chesapeakeforum.org/instructor/jonathan-c-slaght-ph-d/). *Chesapeake Forum*. 2023-01-02. Retrieved 2026-01-18.

1. ["2017"](https://www.festivalofowls.com/2017.html). *INTERNATIONAL FESTIVAL OF OWLS*. Retrieved 2026-01-18.

1. Leaf, Sue (2020-07-31). ["Researcher and author pursued endangered fish owl to remote, untamed ends of the earth"](https://www.startribune.com/researcher-and-author-pursued-endangered-fish-owl-to-remote-untamed-ends-of-the-earth/571962542). *Star Tribune*. Retrieved 2026-01-18.

1. ["Early Career Alumni Award Recipients"](https://fwcb.cfans.umn.edu/early-career-awardees). *Department of Fisheries, Wildlife and Conservation Biology*. 2023-03-31. Retrieved 2026-01-18.

1. Espeland, Pamela (2021-04-16). ["Book promotion in the time of COVID: How Minneapolis author Jonathan Slaght has made the best of a bad situation"](https://www.minnpost.com/artscape/2021/04/book-promotion-in-the-time-of-covid-how-minneapolis-author-jonathan-slaght-has-made-the-best-of-a-bad-situation/). *MinnPost*. Retrieved 2026-01-18.

1. ["Jonathan C. Slaght"](https://www.macmillanspeakers.com/speaker/jonathan-c-slaght/). *Macmillan Speakers Bureau*. 2025-07-21. Retrieved 2026-01-18.

1. Espeland, Pamela (2020-07-31). ["A man, a bird, and a book: Minnesota author Jonathan Slaght's quest to help a big, shaggy owl survive"](https://www.minnpost.com/artscape/2020/07/a-man-a-bird-and-a-book-minnesota-author-jonathan-slaghts-quest-to-help-a-big-shaggy-owl-survive/). *MinnPost*. Retrieved 2026-01-18.

1. Macdonald, Helen (2020-07-22). ["Owls of the Eastern Ice by Jonathan C Slaght review – an extraordinary quest"](https://www.theguardian.com/books/2020/jul/22/owls-of-the-eastern-ice-by-jonathan-c-slaght-review-an-extraordinary-quest). *The Guardian*. Retrieved 2026-01-18.

1. Galbraith, Patrick (2020-11-29). ["Best nature books of the year 2020"](https://www.thetimes.com/culture/books/article/best-nature-books-of-the-year-2020-vp0wjzs5j). *The Times and The Sunday Times*. Retrieved 2026-01-18.

1. Hertzel, Laurie (2021-04-30). ["'Owls' and 'Sharks' lead the list of Minnesota Book Award winners"](https://www.startribune.com/owls-and-sharks-lead-the-list-of-minnesota-book-award-winners/600051833). *Star Tribune*. Retrieved 2026-01-18.

1. ["Announcing the 2021 PEN America Literary Awards Winners"](https://pen.org/2021-pen-america-literary-awards-winners/). *PEN America*. 2021-04-09. Retrieved 2026-01-18.

1. ["The ten contenders for the National Book Award for Nonfiction"](https://www.nationalbook.org/2020-national-book-awards-longlist-for-nonfiction/). *National Book Foundation*. 2020-09-01. Retrieved 2026-03-17.

1. ["Dr. Jonathan Slaght to be honored for work to conserve Blakiston's Fish Owl"](https://sciencex.com/wire-news/248095150/dr-jonathan-slaght-to-be-honored-for-work-to-conserve-blakistons.html). *Science X Network*. 2017-02-09. Retrieved 2026-01-18.

1. ["Tigers Between Empires"](https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/jonathan-c-slaght/tigers-between-empires/). *Kirkus Reviews*. 2025-11-04. Retrieved 2026-01-18.

1. Cairns, Rebecca (2025-12-05). ["The epic story behind the recovery of Amur tigers"](https://www.cnn.com/science/siberian-amur-tigers-between-empires-book-spc-c2e-hnk). *CNN*. Retrieved 2026-01-18.

1. Shute, Joe (2025-11-18). ["The mission to save Putin's favourite big cat"](https://www.telegraph.co.uk/books/non-fiction/tigers-between-empires-jonathan-c-slaght-review/). *The Telegraph*. Retrieved 2026-01-18.

1. Hewitt, Chris. ["2025's best books include family drama, true crime"](https://www.startribune.com/culpability-bruce-holsinger-a-marriage-at-sea-sophie-elmhirst-best-books-2025/601487589). *Minnesota Star Tribune*. Retrieved 2026-03-17.

1. ["The Best Nonfiction of 2025"](https://www.bookpage.com/best-books/best-nonfiction/). *BookPage*. Retrieved 2026-03-17.

1. St. Clair, Jeffrey (2025-12-03). ["Booked Up: The Best Books of 2025"](https://www.counterpunch.org/2025/12/23/booked-up-the-best-books-of-2025/). *CounterPunch*. Retrieved 2026-03-17.

1. ["Jonathan C. Slaght"](https://orionmagazine.org/contributor/jonathan-c-slaght/). *Orion Magazine*. 2021-02-10. Retrieved 2026-01-18.

1. ["Stories by Jonathan C. Slaght"](https://www.scientificamerican.com/author/jonathan-c-slaght/). *Scientific American*. 2020-12-10. Retrieved 2026-01-18.

## External links

- [Personal website](https://jonathanslaght.com/)
- [Blakiston's Fish Owl Project page](http://www.fishowls.com/index.html)

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Jonathan Slaght](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jonathan_Slaght) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jonathan_Slaght?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.