Within a generation, the wilderness of Zululand, with its spectacular array of mammals, birds and plants, came near to extinction. This is the saga of that decline and of the heroic and successful attempt, through establishing game reserves and enforcing environmental protection policies, to save one of Africa's surviving environmental gems. Enough elephant tusks to fill a thousand ox wagons - that's how much ivory alone was shipped out of Durban bay between the 1820s and the 1880s. It amounted to at least a million kilograms, or a thousand tons, of ivory and represented the slaughter of 20 000 elephant. Piles of elephant tusks were then a common sight at the dockside in Port Natal. But that was not all - rhino horn; buck horn; buffalo, hippo and wildebeest hide; lion, leopard and wildcat skin; as well as live wild animals, all were exported, much coming from the last surviving great African kingdom in southern Africa, Zululand. The three pillars of the Zululand and Maputaland wilderness were the wild game, the avifauna, particularly game birds, and the indigenous forests. This title charts both the onslaught on them and the efforts made to preserve them from the destruction that seemed imminent and inevitable. But the title also tells the story of the local African population and their attitudes; it looks at the white and African hunters who pursued the game; and it traces the foundation in the 1890s of the first Zululand game reserves and their struggle for survival against all the odds. Had not the pioneers of Zululand conservation embarked on this early conservation movement, the Zululand wilderness with its tremendous diversity of fauna and flora would have disappeared completely - and with it one of Africa's brightest jewels.

The Whale in the Living Room follows the thrilling adventures of award-winning wildlife documentary producer, John Ruthven, on a journey of discovery - by turns memorable, touching and often funny -that has helped the undersea world flow into countless living rooms to reveal many of our ocean's mysteries. John is the only producer to have worked on both Blue Planet and Blue Planet II, presented by David Attenborough, in total making nearly fifty ocean films, including episodes of Discovery Shark Week, expedition films for National Geographic and coral conservation documentaries for PBS. With innovative technology he has helped capture unique images of a sperm whale mother and calf, pictures of glowing creatures half a mile deep, and grey reef sharks hunting by the light of the moon. We swim with him through blue lagoons, dive into the abyss to encounter new life forms, and experience everything from the danger of getting lost at sea to the sadness of finding a starving whale with a fishing net caught in its mouth. Through each remarkable adventure, John gives insight into what we currently know about the ocean, and our whole blue planet, revealing that the sea really is the 'saltwater country' the Yolngu people of Australia know it to be - a place with as many unique destinations in water as on land. John's book also explores why we have remained largely blind to the pollution in our oceans until recently and charts how plastic 'went wild' in the sea, to understand how we might begin to clear up the mess.

A comprehensive and lavishly illustrated photographic guide-now in a handy field-guide format This lavishly illustrated photographic guide provides a comprehensive overview of the natural history of wildlife habitats in Britain and Ireland. Now completely redesigned in a handy field-guide format, and featuring revised and updated text throughout, this new edition of Britain's Habitats guides readers through all the main habitat types, presenting information on their characteristics, extent, geographical variation, key species, cultural importance, origins and conservation. It aims to help visitors to the countryside recognize the habitats around them, understand how they have evolved and what makes them special, and imagine how they might change in the future. This new edition includes updated maps and additional photographs throughout, and covers a new habitat-gardens. The perfect companion for anyone travelling in Britain and Ireland, the book is essential reading for all wildlife enthusiasts, professional ecologists and landscape architects. Individual sections on all the main habitat types found in Britain and Ireland More than 680 evocative colour photographs, including images from around Britain and Ireland in all seasons Details and photographs of key species and features associated with the different habitats Up-to-date information-including maps-on the distribution, extent and importance of all habitat types Features new to this edition include a field-guide format, updated maps, more photographs throughout and coverage of an additional habitat-gardens

An accessible and thought-provoking introduction to timespans in the natural world, featuring more than 80 beautifully designed diagrams. Which organisms live the longest? How does the natural world recover from fire? How long do eggs take to hatch? What are the world's fastest and slowest growing plants? Which species invest the most in parental care? How Nature Keeps Time discovers the natural world's most important and intriguing patterns of time. Beautifully designed with stunning colour photography and more than 80 reader-friendly charts and diagrams, this witty book examines a broad range of species from across the world and throughout time. From the lifecycle of immortal jellyfish and identifying the perfect amount of time for a 'good sleep' to mass extinction and the destruction of the coral reef, Helen Pilcher tackles highly relevant and fascinating topics in this deeply entertaining read.

This fun-filled, full-colour RHS adventure handbook is full of ideas to help kids discover the great outdoors and get closer to nature. Created with the Royal Horticultural Society (RHS), the UK's leading gardening charity. This beautifully illustrated book is packed with fun activities, handy tips and nature facts to encourage children to explore the wonderful world around them. Grow your own strawberries and runner beans Build a hibernation home for outdoor creatures Create a nature scrapbook to treasure Discover more about plants, trees and wildlife Each page is filled with inspiring ideas for discovering and exploring plants and wildlife, with exciting activities for all seasons and weathers.

A completely new look at plants - not only in food, drink and commerce, and how they have created civilisation, trade and empires, but also in love, in war, in crime, in horror and delight, in music, poetry and prose, and on the screen. Not just another gardening or plant book, this is a complete picture of how plants affect people, for better or worse, now, in the past and in the future with illuminating and startling facts about their ubiquitous presence in human affairs - through life, death, illness, happiness, murder, despair, desperation, love, hate, loss, and far more. From Presidents to pop stars, from scientists to slavers, royals to religious leaders, chefs to charlatans, pioneers to politicians, artists to actors, Plants & Us is a unique overview of plants, wild and cultivated, their vital importance and the threats they face. Above all, how they affect all our lives in stories that will often surprise the reader.

A wide-ranging collection of essays from new and established voices writing about nature, environment, conservation, biodiversity and the challenges that London faces to protect green spaces from urban development as well as the drive towards rewilding. The first of four books about London's wildlife, this edition focuses on the green spaces of Richmond Deer Park, Barnes Wetlands, Kew Gardens, Gunnersbury Triangle, Crane Park, Chiswick House, Bushy Park and many others.

Twenty years ago, Dan Pearson was invited to make a garden at the 240-hectare Tokachi Millennium Forest in Hokkaido, Japan. Part of the intention was to entice city dwellers to reconnect with nature and improve land that had been lost to intensive agriculture and this was achieved along with much more. By tuning into the physical and cultural essence of the place and applying a light touch in terms of cultivation, this world-class designer created a remarkable place which has its heart in Japan's long-held respect for nature and its head in contemporary ecological planting design. The bold, uplifting sweep of the Meadow Garden mixes garden plants with natives while the undulating landforms of the Earth Garden bring sculptural connection with the mountains beyond. Under the skilful custodianship of Midori Shintani, the garden has evolved beautifully to reflect principles that lie at the heart of Japanese culture: observation of seasonal changes, practical tasks carried out with care and an awareness of the interconnectedness of all living things. This beautiful, instructive book allows us all to experience something of the Tokachi effect, gain expert insights into how to plant gardens that feel right for their location, and reconnect with the land and wildlife that surround us.

Britain's nature year, from the first flower to the last leaf With a mix of evocative writing, beautiful photographs and facts that are too good to keep to yourself, this book explores 50 magical moments that define our seasons. It's an inspiring guide to connecting with the nature around you and seeing how it changes through the year. There's butterflies, blossom and bluebells. There's foxgloves, flying ants and fungi. There's snow, seedheads and shadows. You'll discover how many miles an hour spring moves, how spiders can heal us and how woodpeckers help to protect sensitive technology. The inspiration behind the book is partly the National Trust's hugely successful 'Blossom Watch' campaign, launched in March 2021. Each year we are encouraged to notice and share when we first see tree blossom, emulating the Japanese tradition of 'Hanami'.

An ambitious and beautifully illustrated account of the evolution and biology of insects. Insects are the busy, teeming arthropods on whose activities much of life on earth depends, and whose global populations are currently under the gravest of threats - with unimaginable consequences for us all. In Alien Worlds, Steve Nicholls explores nothing less than a complete natural history of insects, bringing us on a journey through a world of a million species and their phenomenal and extraordinary diversity. A fantastically authoritative and congenial guide, led by a fluent and entertaining writer with the ability to make complex ideas comprehensible, it is not only a feast for the curious mind but also contains beautiful and visually arresting imagery of the tiny beasts whom we depend on greatly.

It is more than a thousand years since the exploitation of the elephant began.

In this informed, incisive and passionate commentary on the state of nature and conservation, Mark Avery reflects on our relationship with the wildlife around us. From the cats that pass through his garden to the chronic decline of farmland wildlife, from the Pasqueflowers he visits every spring to the proportion of national income devoted to saving nature – everything is connected, and everything is considered. This book analyses what is wrong with certain ways we do wildlife conservation but explores some of its many successes too. How can we do better to restore wildlife to everybody’s lives? We know how to conserve species and habitats – it’s time to roll out conservation measures on a much bigger scale. This is a societal choice in which every nature lover can play their part. Reflections sets out what is needed, and what part the state, environmental charities and we as individuals can play in making that happen. This highly personal work from a life embedded in and dedicated to nature does not shy away from the harsh realities we face, but its message, ultimately, is one of hope.

When northern Kenyans find elephant bones, they lay down blossoms and branches as a mark of respect, honouring their crucial connection with the wildlife they live alongside. In our changing world, these values are vitally important. For decades, northern Kenya was one step away from a warzone, on the frontlines of climate change and habitat loss. People slept with their shoes on, fearing attack. Wildlife was decimated. Yet, facing the most extreme challenges, people united. What began as a last-ditch effort to save rhinos from extinction sparked a remarkable return of wildlife, with the once-struggling cattle ranch Lewa named a UN World Heritage Site for its outstanding value to humanity. This served as a catalyst for much broader action. Communities created a network of protected lands across an area larger than Switzerland. Through conservation, they built peace, driving social, environmental and political change. From tracking elephants through the bush to gun battles with bandits and treks through Al-Qaeda territory, Peter Martell tells the exciting story of a conservation movement that gives hope. At a time when humanity is reassessing its broken relationship with nature, these communities offer an inspirational blueprint, proving that environmental change does not have to divide, but can bring us together.

Bats have long been the focus of fascination, and sometimes fear: they move faultlessly through the darkness and spend the day hanging upside down in gloomy caverns and cracks – most at home where humans are least comfortable. Bats also represent a hugely important, numerous and varied group, accounting for 20% of all mammal species worldwide. Covering their biodiversity, ecology and natural history, A Miscellany of Bats offers a hoard of insights into the lives of these creatures. For over a quarter of a century Brock Fenton and the late Jens Rydell collaborated on projects involving bats. Here they bring together a collection of stories and anecdotes about bat research, brought to life by stunning photographs of these animals in action. Key topics include flight and echolocation, diet and roosting habits, and the complex social lives of bats. Jens and Brock also address issues of conservation and the interactions between bats and people, ranging from matters of disease to bats’ role as symbols, and our fixation with vampire bats. They explore how echolocation and flight shape batkind, from their appearance to where they go and why. Overall, this book is an entertaining and personal vision of bats’ central place in the universe. More than 150 species are covered.

A completely new look at plants - not only in food, drink and commerce, and how they have created civilisation, trade and empires, but also in love, in war, in crime, in horror and delight, in music, poetry and prose, and on the screen. Not just another gardening or plant book, this is a complete picture of how plants affect people, for better or worse, now, in the past and in the future with illuminating and startling facts about their ubiquitous presence in human affairs - through life, death, illness, happiness, murder, despair, desperation, love, hate, loss, and far more. From Presidents to pop stars, from scientists to slavers, royals to religious leaders, chefs to charlatans, pioneers to politicians, artists to actors, Plants & Us is a unique overview of plants, wild and cultivated, their vital importance and the threats they face. Above all, how they affect all our lives in stories that will often surprise the reader.

The contingent valuation technique for measuring the economic value of environmental goods and services has become increasingly popular in recent years and has many advantages over other revealed or stated preference methods. It has been criticised, however, for being inconsistent with economic theory by reflecting altruistic motives and moral obligations. This book examines the role of the 'warmglow' effect (the pleasure derived from giving to good causes or being concerned about the environment) in contingent valuation studies and examines whether warmglow is an underlying force in CV responses. The author argues that if the empirical evidence suggests that warmglow is important, then its magnitude needs to be assessed in the valuation function. The ultimate goal is to disentangle the warmglow effect from the original 'willingness-to-pay' mean estimates and compute a dry estimate, free from any warmglow. The author conducts a CV application in a Portuguese natural park to test the validity of this approach. He tests the premise that the financial contribution by itself constitutes a source of well-being to the respondent and also discusses whether the warm glow component should or should not be included when formulating benefit-cost analysis and environmental policy. This innovative book will be essential reading to all students and scholars of the economics of environmental valuation.

Butterflies and moths hold an enduring fascination for their unusual life cycle, as they change from one creature into another. Butterflies is an outstanding collection of photographs showcasing nature’s most beautiful and often elusive butterflies and moths – members of the Lepidoptera order – in the variety of their natural habitats. With 17,500 species of butterfly and 160,000 species of moth in the world today, they can be found on every continent apart from Antarctica, and in every nation. Arranged in chapters covering some of the most beautiful and interesting types of butterfly and moth, their habitats, their transition from egg to caterpillar and from chrysalid to adult, as well as their behaviour, the book reveals little-known facts about their life cycle, anatomy, self-defence mechanisms, feeding and migration. For example, did you know that while caterpillars chew their solid food, adult butterflies can only consume liquid, and some moths do not even have mouths? Or that many species can taste with their feet? With full captions explaining how the species breeds, feeds, and changes from caterpillar to the animal kingdom’s most stunning member, Butterflies is a brilliant examination in more than 200 outstanding colour photographs of these fascinating insects.

A comprehensive guide to the calls of the 44 species of bat currently known to occur in Europe. Following on from the popular British Bat Calls by Jon Russ, this new book draws on the expertise of more than forty specialist authors to substantially update all sections, further expanding the volume to include sound analysis and species identification of all European bats. Aimed at volunteers and professional alike, topics include the basics of sound, echolocation in bats, an introduction to acoustic communication, equipment used and call analysis. For each species, detailed information is given on distribution, emergence, flight and foraging behaviour, habitat, echolocation calls - including parameters of common measurements - and social calls. Calls are described for both heterodyne and time expansion/full spectrum systems. A simple but complete echolocation guide to all species is provided for beginners, allowing them to analyse call sequences and arrive at the most likely species or group. The book also includes access to a downloadable library of over 450 calls presented as sonograms in the species sections.

Deepen your connection to the natural world with this inspiring meditation, "a path to the place where science and spirit meet" (Robin Wall Kimmerer).In Rooted, cutting-edge science supports a truth that poets, artists, mystics, and earth-based cultures across the world have proclaimed over millennia: life on this planet is radically interconnected. Our bodies, thoughts, minds, and spirits are affected by the whole of nature, and they affect this whole in return. In this time of crisis, how can we best live upon our imperiled, beloved earth?Award-winning writer Lyanda Lynn Haupt's highly personal new book is a brilliant invitation to live with the earth in both simple and profound ways-from walking barefoot in the woods and reimagining our relationship with animals and trees, to examining the very language we use to describe and think about nature. She invokes rootedness as a way of being in concert with the wilderness-and wildness-that sustains humans and all of life.In the tradition of Rachel Carson, Elizabeth Kolbert, and Mary Oliver, Haupt writes with urgency and grace, reminding us that at the crossroads of science, nature, and spirit we find true hope. Each chapter provides tools for bringing our unique gifts to the fore and transforming our sense of belonging within the magic and wonder of the natural world.

There is something uplifting about having butterflies in your flowerbeds, frogs in your water feature and birds in your bushes, and knowing they're there because of you. Rich in detail and accessible in style, Gardening for Wildlife is the crucial companion to novices and expert gardeners alike. Adrian Thomas dispels myths and offers new insights and ideas, helping everyone understand what to do so gardens, large or small, can become ideal homes for wildlife. Building on the success of the award-winning first edition, this expanded and updated edition reflects the latest research and developments in nature-friendly gardening. The book serves as an expert guide to the practical aspects of this rewarding pastime and educates readers about the ecological principles involved, while exploding commonly held misconceptions that often deter people from pursuing a kinder approach to gardening. Adrian Thomas provides a detailed guide to the many and varied species that can contribute to a natural and healthy garden. Practical sections help you create entire habitats, such as woodland and meadow gardens, in your garden. And the massively expanded catalogue of the top 500 best garden flowers, shrubs and trees for wildlife, now includes colour photos of every species. If you love wildlife and want to encourage more to visit your garden, this inspirational book will help you sow the seeds and reap the rewards.

The second book by the bestselling author of Extraordinary Insects Trees clean air and water; hoverflies and bees pollinate our crops; the kingfisher inspired the construction of high-speed trains. In Tapestries of Life, bestselling author Anne Sverdrup-Thygeson explains how closely we are all connected with the natural world, highlighting our indelible link with nature's finely knit system and our everyday lives. In the heart of natural world is a life-support system like no other, a collective term that describes all the goods and services we receive - food, fresh water, medicine, pollination, pollution control, carbon sequestration, erosion prevention, recreation, spiritual health and so much more. In this utterly captivating book, Anne Sverdrup-Thygeson sets out to explore these wonderful, supportive elements - taking the reader on a journey through the surprising characteristics of the natural world.

In this book, the authors examine the governance of marine protected areas (MPA), and in particular they compare two different forms of governance - co-management (CM) and adaptive co-management (ACM). CM is characterized by the decentralization of the decision-making process, incorporating the governed as well as the government. ACM is characterized by the dynamic process whereby co-management decision-making is made continuously responsive to the changing ecological and socio-economic circumstances of the MPA. The authors carry out a comprehensive critical analysis of CM and ACM before applying these concepts to the case study of the Cayos Cochinos Marine Protected Area off Honduras to assess two successive management cycles, 2004-9 and 2008-13. The area was designated as an MPA in 1993, a governmental decision which was met with resentment by local communities. CM was introduced in 2004 to involve these local stakeholders in the decision-making process, but achieved limited success. In an attempt to deal with these deficiencies, ACM was adopted in the second management plan in 2008, but whereas the position of the local communities improved, it tipped the scales too far away from conservation. A third management plan is currently being prepared that promises to strike a better balance between ecological and socio-economic objectives. A central theme of the book is to examine how far the CCMPA adhered to the principles of CM and ACM respectively in its first two management plans.

A large-format, beautifully illustrated look at the natural history of birds There are some 10,000 bird species in existence today, occupying every continent and virtually every habitat on Earth. The variety of bird species is truly astounding, from the tiny bee hummingbird to the large flightless ostrich, making birds one of the most diverse and successful animal groups on the planet. Taking you inside the extraordinary world of birds, What Is a Bird? explores all aspects of these remarkable creatures, providing an up-close look at their morphology, unique internal anatomy and physiology, fascinating and varied behavior, and ecology. It features hundreds of color illustrations and draws on a broad range of examples, from the familiar backyard sparrow to the most exotic birds of paradise. A must-have book for birders and armchair naturalists, What Is a Bird? is a celebration of the rich complexity of bird life. An absorbing and beautifully presented exploration of the natural history of birds Integrates physiological adaptations with ecology and behavior Features a wealth of color photographs and explanatory figures Uses scanning electron microscope imagery to provide a rare close-up view of structures not normally visible Provides insights into our complex relationship with birds, from our enduring fascination with them to the threats they face and the challenges of conservation