Ouch! Pesky insects bite up warthogs under the hot sun. Luckily, banded mongooses are here to help. They ride atop warthogs’ backs, picking insects out of their skin. The warthogs are happy to provide meals for the mongooses. The symbiotic bond between these species helps them both survive. This title for young readers explores the lives of these animal friends, including their habitat, individual behaviors, and relationship with one another!
In the animal world, it's rare for two mammal species to form a mutualistic relationship. It's especially rare for that to happen when neither species is a primate, but that's exactly what happens between warthogs and banded mongooses. Young readers will be thrilled to discover these contrasting creatures and the fascinating bond between them. Accessible text addresses important science concepts and lively images bring this relationship into full focus. Fun facts and a graphic organizer enhance the narrative.
In these terrific action photos of wildlife on the African savannah in the Serengeti and the Massai Mara, Anup Shah reveals these creatures as never seen before, using remote hidden cameras that have been planted across the plains. This is life on the plains in all its dynamism, cruelty and vitality, the circle of life in action. Readers will find themselves literally face to face with hyenas as they feed on a kill, with elephants communing in a watering hold, playful lion cubs, wildebeests leaping across a ravine, inquisitive monkeys who have discovered the camera and gaze directly into the lens and cheetahs peering back under their tails towards the camera. Many of these animals have actually noticed the camera, mostly by the sound of it clicking away and their interest is clearly piqued; they're certainly not accustomed to encounters with a camera on the ground of their home turf. This is primarily a visual journey through the African plains, but captions written by the author will impart interesting facts about the animals, as well as any activity of interest that may have occurred while the photo was being taken.
Wild Ways brings together all the latest studies of the behaviour of southern Africa’s rich and accessible mammal fauna, describing not only what mammals do, but also the often surprising reasons why they do it, and covers species as diverse as fruit bats, pangolins, lions, rats and whales. Well-established as an invaluable resource for visitors to parks and reserves, hikers, hunters, farmers and outdoor enthusiasts, this classic guide has now been thoroughly updated and revised, has a fresh, lively design, and is packed with new and engrossing detail.
Wild pigs inhabit vast areas in Europe, Southern Asia and Africa, and have been introduced in North and South America, while feral pigs are widespread in Australia and New Zealand. Many wild pig species are threatened with extinction, but Eurasian wild boar populations, however, are increasing in many regions. Covering all wild pig and peccary species, the Suidae and Tayassuidae families, this comprehensive review presents new information about the evolution, taxonomy and domestication of wild pigs and peccaries alongside novel case studies on conservation activities and management. One hundred leading experts from twenty five countries synthesise understanding of this group of species; discussing current research, and gaps in the knowledge of researchers, conservation biologists, zoologists, wildlife managers and students. This beautifully illustrated reference includes the long history of interactions between wild pigs and humans, the benefits some species have brought us and their role and impact on natural ecosystems.
This new, thoroughly updated sixth edition of Bradt’s Botswana Safari Guide remains the only full-blown, standalone guide to one of Africa’s most popular and rewarding safari destinations. This is the sole guide to focus on Botswana’s key safari locations: the Okavango Delta, Chobe National Park and the Northern Kalahari. Botswana’s wilderness is pristine, a virtue underpinned by governmental commitment to sustainable tourism. The Okavango Delta’s permanent waters attract year-round wildlife, including all the ‘big five’. Outside the Delta, this English-speaking country offers tremendous variety in landscapes, from the arid Kalahari to lush forests. Riverine areas harbour spectacular herds of elephants and buffalo, as well as mighty predator populations. Dusty savannahs attract hardier game such as oryx and springbok. On Makgadikgadi’s great salt pans, zebras gather in huge congregations after rain. Birdwatching is brilliant throughout. Then there’s Botswana’s rich history, from the ancient rock paintings at the Tsodilo Hills to Stone Age arrowheads on the Makgadikgadi Pans. Bradt’s Botswana Safari Guide offers detailed descriptions of many lodges, from traditional tented camps to those offering five-star luxury and top-class cuisine, plus detail on what animals occur where, enabling you to select the optimum approach. With this book’s comprehensive GPS co-ordinates and detailed maps, independent travellers can drive themselves around. But perhaps you prefer bespoke mobile safaris with a private guide? Either way, take a night drive to see creatures of the dark: genets and hunting leopards. For a different feel, explore rivers on gentle motorboat cruises, including on multi-day trips, or get closer to the water in a traditional mokoro (dug-out canoe), with a poler escorting you along shallow waterways. Or seek out a specialist walking camp for the excitement of bush walks – when meerkats might even pose atop your head for a great lookout. And why not use this book’s advice to book-end trips by visiting Livingstone (Zambia) and the Victoria Falls? Written and updated by Chris and Susie McIntyre, experts on all things Africa, Bradt’s Botswana Safari Guide is the definitive companion to discovering this thrilling destination.
If you think that watching all the nature programs on television qualifies you as an expert on the subject, think again! Do you really know what makes animals tick? Here are the answers, portrayed in stunning, awe-inspiring action sequences and explained in fascinating, in-depth prose. Thematically arranged by behavior trait, Animal Life explores and explains every aspect of animal behavior, including courtship rituals and sex lives, family relationships and defense mechanisms, hunting techniques and feeding habits. Side panels explore some of the field research on animal behavior and explain important conservation issues. The introductory chapters on the Animal Kingdom and on animal anatomy help explain how different animals have evolved and adapted to their environments, adaptations that may be relevant to particular behaviors. Destined to be the ultimate authority on animal behavior, this book also looks at key behavioral concepts such as how animals learn to behave and the role of instinct in the learning process.
In Blind Evolution?: The Nature of Humanity and the Origin of Life, Professor David Frost challenges the dominant worldview derived from Darwin’s evolutionary theories and perpetuated in Richard Dawkins’s atheistic propaganda for Neo-Darwinism: that our universe has ‘at bottom, no design, no purpose, no evil and no good, nothing but blind, pitiless indifference’. Frost deploys recent findings from a range of scientific studies that shake Neo-Darwinism to its foundation. Citing entertaining examples, from the inner workings of a single cell to the animal kingdom at large, from elephants and giraffes to the Japanese pufferfish, Frost maintains that Darwinian premises are wholly inadequate to engage with life or to provide a framework for our experiences of joy and sorrow, the problem of suffering, and the stark realities of good and evil. Reflecting on the nature of existence, Frost points to a mode of human understanding parallel to scientific enquiry through the path of ‘vision’ accessed via the nous (or spiritual intellect). He argues that ‘vision’ is as much essential to our understanding of creation as is scientific enquiry – reality is best approached through a complementary partnership of both.
"This is an expanded and fully revised new edition of a highly acclaimed guide to the world’s carnivores―some of the most spectacular and feared creatures in nature. Covering all 250 species of terrestrial, true carnivores, from the majestic polar bear and predatory wild cats to the tiny least weasel, Luke Hunter’s comprehensive, up-to-date, and user-friendly guide features 93 color plates by acclaimed wildlife artist Priscilla Barrett that depict every species and numerous subspecies, as well as more than 400 drawings of skulls and footprints. Features new to this edition include revised and expanded species coverage, a distribution map for every species, 25 new behavioral illustrations, and much more. Detailed species accounts describe key identification features, distribution and habitat, feeding ecology, behavior, social patterns, reproduction and demography, status, threats, lifespan, and mortality. An introduction includes a concise overview of taxonomy, conservation, and the distinct families of Carnivora." --Amazon.com.
