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Newman’s se voëls volgens kleur (NE)
R450.00Newman se Voëls volgens Kleur bied vir die beginnervoëlkyker ’n vinnige, eenvoudige manier om Suider-Afrika se algemeenste voëls volgens hul kleur te identifiseer. Die vierde uitgawe van dié nuttige geïllustreerde gids is bygewerk met die nuutste gewone voëlname, uitgebreide habitatinligting en die mees onlangse verspreidingkaarte. Die leersame inleiding bevat praktiese wenke oor die uitken van voëls, inligting oor voëlanatomie en -klassifikasie, en raad oor waar om vir voëls te soek en wat jy op só ’n uitstappie moet inpak.
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Kirstenbosch: Most Beautiful Garden in Africa
The view from this spot … is the most picturesque of any I had seen in the vicinity of Cape Town.
William Burchell — Travels in the Interior of South Africa, 1822Kirstenbosch is a name that resonates around the world as the home of a uniquely rich flora in a setting of unsurpassed beauty. Established soon after the unification of South Africa in 1910, the Garden continues to draw both tourists and locals to its enchanting spaces and botanical riches.
This book tells of how the Garden came to be, its setbacks and triumphs, its benefactors and heroes. It outlines the Garden’s scientific eminence as the repository of knowledge on our prized flora and presents its many attractions.
In this new edition, the story is brought up to date with details of new developments and attractions, making it a quality memento for visitors and the thousands of locals who flock there annually.
R400.00R320.00 -
Tracker Manual
R450.00Featuring all-new spoor drawings, some 200 new photographs and an extra 35 species, this fully revised and updated edition of the ever-popular Tracker Manual is packed with the latest on the art of tracking. Based on information developed by some of southern Africa’s best traditional trackers, Tracker Manual gives even more guidance on how to identify the spoor of some 190 animal species. Individual chapters cover carnivores, large mammals, antelopes, small mammals, primates, hares and rodents, amphibians and reptiles, birds and insects. Each account contains:• Simple, bulleted text on key points of each animal’s tracks• Clear, accurate track drawings• Numerous informative photographs, sometimes annotated• A list of similar tracks (where applicable), to avoid misidentification.An instructive introduction describes the science of tracking and outlines what to look for in the field, while a quick-reference table compares tracks that are easily confused. This detailed and richly illustrated manual to the region’s most common animal tracks and signs will prove invaluable in the field. -
Wildlife of Botswana: A Photographic Guide
R350.00With its mixed terrain of desert, savanna, salt pan and river delta, Botswana is home to a wide variety of wildlife, making it a prime destination for nature and wildlife enthusiasts. Wildlife of Botswana is an easy-to-use, all-in-one guide to the country’s most conspicuous and interesting mammals, birds, reptiles, invertebrates and plants.
The book includes:
• An informative introduction to the country’s geography, climate and vegetation
• Species accounts describing each species’ appearance, habits, conservation status, habitat and best viewing localities
• Full-colour photographs of each species, along with distribution mapsAn excellent portable travel companion for visitors to parks, reserves and other wildlife-rich places in Botswana
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The Ways and Wonders of South African Trees
A celebration of the rich diversity and beauty of indigenous trees, The Ways and Wonders of South African Trees uncovers the fascinating world of trees and how they function.
Presented in two parts, the first explores the physiology and behaviour of trees and the second the grandeur of a select number of species, richly supported by photographs. A comprehensive introduction focuses on the complex life of trees, uncovering how they grow, compete for water, defend themselves and make use of photosynthesis to survive; their role in pollination; and the symbiotic relationships they have with each other and other life forms. Record-breakers such as the oldest, tallest and biggest trees are also featured.
The second half of the book showcases some 160 conspicuous species, including the iconic baobab, sausage tree and mopane tree, as well as lesser-known but interesting trees such as baboon’s breakfast. These accounts describe the unique traits of different trees and their various parts, and discusses how they are used by animals and birds, and by humans.
R480.00R384.00 -
Newman’s Birds by Colour (New Ed)
R450.00Newman’s Birds by Colour offers beginner birders a quick and simple way to identify southern Africa’s most common birds using colour as a starting point.
Now in its fourth edition, this handy illustrated guide has been updated to include the latest common names, expanded habitat information, and up-to-date distribution maps. An informative introduction provides practical tips for identifying birds, and includes information on bird anatomy and classification, and guidance on where to look for birds and what you need to go birding. -
Snakes and other reptiles of Kruger
R250.00Besides being a world-famous game-viewing destination, the Kruger National Park also boasts a remarkable diversity of reptiles. This beginner-friendly guide features over 60 species of snake, lizard, terrapin, tortoise and crocodile, with basic identification pointers, interesting facts and notes on best viewing.
Learn more about the black mamba, puff adder, boomslang and other dangerously venomous snakes, as well as harmless creatures such as egg-eaters and blind snakes. Find out how to the identify the geckos, agamas and skinks that dart around camp, and discover the habits of the Nile crocodiles and water monitors, which bask along the waterways.
A richly illustrated, beginner-friendly guide – ideal for visitors keen to identify and learn more about the park’s reptiles.
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Hippos, a Mongoose and Me
R300.00In this sequel to the popular A Hippo Love Story, author Karen Paolillo takes us deeper into her courageous but perilous life among Africa’s wildlife.
Hippos, a Mongoose and Me is a collection of vivid stories reflecting the decades that Karen has lived and worked in the wilds of southeast Zimbabwe. The tales encompass a wide variety of animals and experiences, including Karen’s extraordinary affinity with hippos, life with her beloved mongoose, characterful baboons and rescued birds, close encounters with lions and an injured buffalo, and her heart-stopping flight from an enraged elephant. To add to the drama,
Karen and her husband Jean-Roger must face off against the drumbeat of political subterfuge and poaching of wildlife, sometimes at great personal risk.Inspiring, surprising and sometimes sad, this heartfelt anthology is testament to the courage and resilience of its intrepid author.
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Pocket Guide – Tracks & Tracking
R250.00Compact and easy to use, this book will be an invaluable tool in the wild
This handy guide provides simple tools to help interpret the tracks and signs of some 105 southern African mammals, reptiles, frogs and birds. Photographs and diagnostic spoor illustrations are given for each animal, along with information on behaviour, habits and habitat, and up-to-date distribution maps show where the animals occur.
Special features on insects and scat supplement the text and a detailed introduction offers basic guidelines for learning how to become a tracker.
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Wildflowers, Waterplant, Grass Okavango
R210.00This handy, easy-to-use guide book for tour guides, tourists and students details 322 plant species – all the common herbaceous (non-woody) plants of the Okavango Delta, Chobe, Makgadikgadi pans and the Kalahari.
The grasses are placed in their own section, but the rest of the book is arranged by flower colour. A separate ‘quick reference’ to water plants aids identification. English, Setswana and Afrikaans common names are provided where available. The book details medicinal, food and other uses; also included are plant-related superstitions, toxicity, associated insects and other interesting facts. The uses are listed alphabetically at the back, serving as a kind of ‘survival guide’ in the bush.
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Southern African Coasts: A celebration of our ceas and chores
R190.00This book showcases the very best of the photography as judged in the Sustainable Seas Trust 2013/14 competition. The extraordinary, prize-winning photographs are accompanied by illuminating essays from leading scientists, sports people and others whose lives are intimately connected with the seas. It also serves as a call to create a South African network of Hope Spots, which are special, people-orientated marine conservation areas. The hope is that, with the close involvement of the communities that live near and depend on the seas, we can safeguard our natural resources.
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Save Me From the Lion’s Mouth
R160.00Save Me From the Lion’s Mouth investigates the increasing conflict between people and wildlife in Africa and what needs to be done about it. It describes the human suffering and perceptions of those who live outside the reserve fences among man-eaters and marauders yet are excluded from the economic benefits accruing from the wildlife around them.
It provides evidence of a growing resentment among rural communities, especially near game reserves and warns how it is threatening the existence of Africa’s game reserves. The book suggests that many in the Northern Hemisphere who support African wildlife conservation are blind to the seriousness of the situation. Some African states – notably Kenya and Tanzania – adopt wildlife policies to please donor countries from whom they receive millions of dollars. Thus government policies, many of them patently disastrous and certainly detrimental to rural Africans and to wildlife, are dictated from middle class homes across Europe and America. Fortunately there is a growing international lobby that is seeking solutions.
Click here to watch a video of James Clarke talking about Save Me From the Lion’s Mouth
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Overkill
R190.00Ninety percent of the world’s megafauna (its larger creatures) have disappeared since humans migrated from Africa and fanned out across the rest of the world. Within a very short time the megafauna – mammoths, mastodons, woolly rhinoceros and the huge carnivores that preyed upon them were extinct. Only Africa seems to have escaped: not unscathed, but not entirely vanquished either.
This book:
describes the history and extent of human impact on the worlds wildlife (marine included), good and bad;
it examines, in particular, the status of wildlife in Africa – the world’s last great megafaunal sanctuary;
and it questions whether Africa’s wildlife has reached its lowest ebb, and whether it is about to witness the turn of the tide?
The author sounds a note of cautious optimism: conservation initiatives have gained a new urgency in the 21st century, and governments in Africa and elsewhere are showing increasing resolve to tackle poaching. Vast transfrontier parks, many still in development, have the potential to provide a sustainable habitat for the continent’s megafauna.If we can muster both local and international support, name and shame the rogue nations, and build a practical conservation model that does not conflict with human needs, then Africa’s wildlife can perhaps be saved.
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Mammals of the Kruger National Park
R200.00This compact guide to Mammals of the Kruger National Park and Surrounding Bushveld presents all the mammals you are likely to see in the region. Although handy in size, it packs in an astonishing amount of information, with each mammal accompanied by photos, distribution map, skull and dropping images, track illustration, a box giving ID pointers, and fascinating information on physiology, habits and behaviours. The nearly 100 described mammals are divided into non-ruminants, ruminants, carnivores, non-carnivorous small mammals, rodents and shrews, and bats. Each group begins with a family tree showing the relationships of the mammals to one another and to other groups.
Packed with facts, interest boxes, special features, images and maps, this book not only makes for fascinating reading, but is an essential guide both for locals and visitors to the region.
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Last Elephants
R580.00The Africa-wide Great Elephant Census report of 2016 produced shocking fi ndings: adecimated elephant population whose numbers were continuing to plummet. Elephantsare killed, on average, every 15–20 minutes – a situation that will see the fi nal demise ofthese intelligent, extraordinary animals in less than 3 decades. They are a species in crisis.This magnifi cent book offers chapters written by the most prominent people in therealm of conservation and wildlife, among them researchers, conservationists, fi lmmakers, criminologists, TV personalities and journalists. Photographs have beenselected from among Africa’s best wildlife photographers, and the Foreword is providedby Prince William.It is hoped this book will create awareness of the devastating loss of elephant lives inAfrica and stem the tide of poaching and hunting; that it will inspire the delegates toCITES to make informed decisions to ensure that all loopholes in the ivory trade areclosed; and that countries receiving and using ivory (both legal and poached) –primarily China, Vietnam, Laos and Japan – ban and strenuously police its trade and usewithin their borders, actively pursuing and arresting syndicate leaders driving the cruelpoaching tsunami.This book is also a tribute to the many people who work for the welfare of elephants,particularly those who risk their lives for wildlife each day, often for little or no pay – inparticular the fi eld rangers and the anti-poaching teams; and to the many communitiesaround Africa that have elected to work with elephants and not against them.The Last Elephants – is the title prophetic? We hope not, but the signs are worrying.
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Grasses & Grazers of Botswana & Surround
R290.00An accessible reference to the grasses and grazers of this region, Veronica Roodt’s book details the fascinating ways in which these plants and animals have evolved together. The book covers:
– some 100 grass species (includes sketches and photographs of each species) that are preferred
livestock and wild game fodder and that serve as indicators of veld condition
– the role of grasses in the food chain
– grass anatomy and growth
– how grazers have evolved to survive on grasses, both physically and in terms of their behaviour
– significant grazers that occur in the region and that play a vital role in shaping the savanna biome
– effective grassland management practices.Nature lovers, farmers, students and tourists who seek an in-depth look at the interactions between grasses and the grazers that depend on them for life need look no further than this invaluable guide.
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Gardening for Butterflies
R250.00Eco-friendly gardening is fast catching on. Butterflies are visible signs of a healthy garden, and, with their whimsical flight patterns and glorious colours, they are among the most alluring ofour aerial visitors.
Gardening for Butterflies shows how to attract these beautiful insects, giving step-by-step instructions for planning and planting a garden that will cater for the greatest number anddiversity of butterflies. Using a Durban garden as a case study, it includes a recommended layout and plant lists for this area, as well as for other regions around the country.
The book showcases 95 garden butterflies and moths, showing their full life cycle, including pupa, eggs and caterpillar. Stunning photography and point-form text ensure accurate identification of each stage in the cycle, and an interesting introduction discusses such topics as the extraordinary process of metamorphosis and the curious habits of these mercurial insects.
Whether you’re tempted to undertake a full-scale transformation of your garden to attract butterflies, make smaller adjustments to it, or if you simply want to identify those insects already visiting your space, this book will amaze and enchant you.
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Bedside Ark
R190.00This riotous assembly of unrespectable creatures comprises 42 short accounts of southern Africa’s vibrant collection of wild animals.
From the one-of-its-kind aardvark to the wilfully ignorant ostrich; the Houdini-like honey badger to the precariously specialised klipspringer; and from the curvaceous, sports-model springbok to the recklessly insensitive hyena – this book airs the dirty laundry (and shares the trade secrets) of some of our wackiest, most eccentric fauna. Many of the stories are illustrated with delightful line drawings.
Basing his accounts on accurate, true-to-life detail, but always looking on the light side, author David Muirhead captures the weird and wonderful lives of his subjects, investigating their often exaggerated reputations, their habits, weaknesses, armouries and modi operandi.
At once informative and hugely entertaining, this riotous assembly will appeal to anyone with the slightest interest in wildlife and – for its excellent entertainment value – will make a particularly wonderful gift.
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Africa’s Wild Dogs: Surivival Story
R580.00Africa’s Wild Dogs – A Survival Story is a large-format photographic celebration of one of the continent’s most charismatic and endangered predators.
With only about 6,600 wild dogs left in Africa today, wildlife photographer Jocelin Kagan has made it her mission to bring the extraordinary lives of these often misunderstood and maligned animals into the spotlight. Her remarkable images and personal observations are supported by further insights by an array of scientific experts – their contributions reveal the fascinating behaviour and pack dynamics of these effecient hunters.
Nomadic predators whose territories range thousands of kilometres, wild dogs hunt co-operatively, preying on small herbivores. They are non-confrontational, smart and sociable, and form complex and close family bonds, as this fascinating book reveals. Now restricted to small populations and threatened by human persecution, diseases, habitat fragmentation, climate change and natural predation, these dogs will be supported by the royalties earned from the sale of this book.
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Pocket Guide Snakes & Other Reptiles of Zambia & Malawi
R250.00Zambia and Malawi are home to 240 reptile species, of which 114 are snakes, 108 lizards, 14terrapins and tortoises, and 2 crocodiles. Of these, 15 species occur nowhere else on Earth.
The first accessible pocket guide to the reptiles of these two tropical countries describes 186 of the most commonly encountered and colourful species, as well as those that are less conspicuous, rare and endemic to the region. A brief, informative introduction details the region’s reptile diversity and habitat types and outlines different venom types and snakebite treatments.
Handy and compact, this up-to-date guide makes a trusted travelling companion on trips to the wildlife areas, parks and reserves of these two spectacular countries.
– Succinct species descriptions cover key identification features.
– Clear full-colour photographs accompany species descriptions.
– Up-to-date distribution maps show the range of each species.
– Symbols for snake species denote the level of danger each snake’s venom poses for humans, from harmless to life-threatening.
