Elephants are arguably Africa’s most charismatic animals, and among the biggest drawcards to our game reserves. While the burgeoning game-park industry may be increasing our access to these magnificent creatures, rising human-elephant encounters are an inevitable outcome – sometimes, sadly, fatal. Such encounters could likely have been avoided had those involved understood elephant behaviour, and particularly how these intelligent animals interface with traffic through their territory.

This book describes elephant family life, from rearing of infants to establishing dominance within a herd; it unpacks regular elephant behaviour, the matriarchal system, the particular dangers of males in musth, and many other aspects of their lives. Most of all, it provides guidelines for ensuring safe and enjoyable encounters with these majestic animals.

This is an essential guide for those planning visits to reserves: aside from the interest factor, being able to read the tell-tale signs may just save lives.

Because of their vital role in the emergence of humanity, tools and their uses have been the focus of considerable worldwide study. This volume brings together international research on the use of tools among primates and both prehistoric and modern humans. The book represents leading work being done by specialists in anatomy, neurobiology, prehistory, ethnology, and primatology. Whether composed of stone, wood, or metal, tools are a prolongation of the arm that acquire precision through direction by the brain. The same movement, for example, may have been practiced by apes and humans, but the resulting action varies according to the extended use of the tool. It is therefore necessary, as the contributors here make clear, to understand the origin of tools, and also to describe the techniques involved in their manipulation, and the possible uses of unknown implements. Comparison of the techniques of chimpanzees with those of prehistoric and modern peoples has made it possible to appreciate the common aspects and to identify the differences. The transmission of ability has also been studied in the various relevant societies: chimpanzees in their natural habitat and in captivity, hunter-gatherers, and workmen in prehistoric and in modern times. In drawing together much valuable research, this work will be an important and timely resource for social and behavioral psychologists, anthropologists, paleontologists, and animal behaviorists.

A book of evocative and atmospheric photographs taken by Dick Hawkes to create a representative record of this precious and ecologically unique habitat - before much of it is lost to the many threats it faces. Chalk streams have been described as England's "rainforest". Around 85% of the world's chalk streams are in England. They are beautiful, biologically distinct and amazingly rich in wildlife, but are under threat from man-made issues of abstraction, pollution from chemicals and effluent, development for housing, and climate change. Included in the book are images of typical habitats and species of wildlife found in chalk streams and water meadows, highlighting those that are rare or most under threat.

How does a mudskipper fish manage to “walk” on land? Why is the Hoatzin also known as ‘The Stinkbird’? And once the female Pipa toad has laid her eggs, where does she put them? The answers? The mudskipper can “walk” using its pectoral fins, the Hoatzin has a unique digestive system which gives the bird a manure-like odour, and the female Pipa Toad embeds its eggs on its back where they develop to adult stage. Illustrated throughout with outstanding colour photographs, Strange Animals presents the most unusual aspects of 100 of the most unusual species. The selection spans a broad spectrum of wildlife, from the tallest land living mammal, the giraffe, to the light, laughing chorus of Australian kookaburra birds, from the intelligence of the Bottlenose dolphin to octopuses that change colour when they dream to the slow pace of the three-toed sloth. Arranged geographically, the photographs are accompanied by fascinating captions, which explain the quirky characteristics of each entry. Including egg-laying mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians, cannibalistic insects and other invertebrates, Strange Animals is a compelling introduction to some of nature’s most curious beasts.

Illustrated throughout with 200 outstanding colour photographs, Endangered Animals presents an in-depth look at around 100 species of animal from around the world, all of which are currently endangered or threatened according to the annual list drawn up by the World Conservation Union (IUCN). The selection spans a broad spectrum of wildlife, from large, charismatic mammals such as the Bengal tiger to lesser-known species such as New Zealand's kakapo, the world's only flightless parrot, which was once presumed to be extinct. Each continent is covered, with examples carefully drawn from every habitat - from the mysterious aye-aye of Madagascar's shrinking rainforest, to the shy spectacled bear of the high Andes. Arranged geographically, each photographic entry is supported by a fascinating caption, which explains the animal's current plight and whether it is critically endangered or classified as vulnerable. From the Ethiopian wolf to the Bengal tiger to monk seal and dugong, Endangered Animals is a fascinating introduction to some of the most threatened species on the planet.

Unlike some other reproductions of classic texts (1) We have not used OCR(Optical Character Recognition), as this leads to bad quality books with introduced typos. (2) In books where there are images such as portraits, maps, sketches etc We have endeavoured to keep the quality of these images, so they represent accurately the original artefact. Although occasionally there may be certain imperfections with these old texts, we feel they deserve to be made available for future generations to enjoy.

Tony Hutson illuminates the nocturnal world of bats and examines how they have adapted to habitats in every corner of the world. Beginning with the fossil record and what it reveals about their relationship to other mammals, Hutson discusses their unique aerodynamics and their extraordinary feats of echolocation. He discusses their life cycle, diet and foraging strategy, breeding, roosting, and migration patterns as well as their predators, parasites, and man-made threats to their ecosystem. Bats are long-lived mammals which can form enormous colonies containing tens of millions of creatures, a concentration of mammals paralleled only by human cities. Topically, the book looks at the viruses harboured and tolerated by bats and their impact on humans. The book also contains an appendix of bat families and subfamilies and gives details of the number of genera or species, distribution, size, roost habitat and diet.

In collaboration with the Born Free Foundati on, Templar presents a series of true-life animal adventure stories, designed to bring some of today''s important wildlif e and conservation issues into the hearts and minds of a new generation of readers. '

Of the more than 5,500 mammals species worldwide, at least 1,200 occur in Africa. Stuarts’ Field Guide to the Larger Mammals of Africa concentrates on the more visible and easily distinguished larger species, as well as some of the more frequently seen smaller mammals.

This new edition has been extensively revised, expanded and redesigned and includes:

• the most recent research and taxonomy
• revised distribution maps and many new images
• colour-coded grouping of orders
• size icons
• detailed descriptions of each species, offering insight into key identification characters, typical behaviour, preferred habitat, food choice, reproduction and longevity
• whales and dolphins now featured too

A new addition to the successful 'Quick ID guide' series, Primates is a succinct survey of the features and habits of our closest relatives.

Divided into the three main primate groups - great apes, typical monkeys and prosimians (including the bushbabies) - this easy-to-use guide rovides pertinent facts, annotated photographs and up-to-date distribution maps to help readers accurately identify the most commonly seen and charismatic primates in the field.

Reflecting the expertise and perspective of five leading mammalogists, the fourth edition of Mammalogy: Adaptation, Diversity, Ecology significantly updates taxonomy, includes a new chapter on mammalian molecular phylogenetics, and highlights several recently described species. There are close to 5,500 species in the class Mammalia, including the blue whale-the largest animal that has ever lived-and the pygmy shrew, which weighs little more than a penny. The functional diversity of mammals has allowed them to play critical roles in every ecosystem, whether marine, freshwater, alpine, tundra, forest, or desert. Many mammal species are critically endangered and present complex conservation and management challenges. This book touches on those challenges, which are often precipitated by overharvesting and habitat loss, as well as emerging threats, such as the impact of wind turbines and white nose syndrome on bats and chronic wasting disease on deer. Among the updates and additions to the fourth edition of Mammalogy are numerous new photos, figures, and cladograms, over 4,200 references, as well as: a completely new chapter on mammalian phylogeny and genomics; current taxonomy - including major changes to orders, suborders, and superfamilies of bats and rodents; an explanation of the recent inclusion of whales with terrestrial even-toed ungulates; updates on mammalian structural, functional adaptations, and fossil history; and, recent advances in our understanding of phylogeny, biogeography, social behavior, and ecology; a discussion of two new orders and thirteen newly recognized extant families It also includes: reflections on the implications of climate change for mammals; thorough examinations of several recently described species, including Durrell's vontsira ( Salanoia durrelli) and the Laotian rock rat ( Laonastes aenigmamus); an explanation of mammalian biomechanics, such as that seen in lunge feeding of baleen whales; Breakout boxes on unique aspects of mammals, including the syntax of bat songs, singing mice, and why there are no green mammals (unless we count algae-covered sloths). Maintaining the accessible, readable style for which Feldhamer and his coauthors are well known, this new edition of Mammalogy is the authoritative textbook on this amazingly diverse class of vertebrates.

A COLLECTION OF ESSAYS PLACING THE HUMAN - WOLF RELATIONSHIP IN HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVE International in range and chronological in organisation, this volume aims to grasp the maincurrents of thought about interactions with the wolf in modern history. It focuses on perceptions, interactions and dependencies, and includes cultural and social analyses as well as biological aspects. Wolves have been feared and admired, hunted and cared for. At the same historical moment, different cultural and social groups have upheld widely diverging ideas about the wolf. Fundamental dichotomies in modern history, between nature and culture, wilderness and civilisation and danger and security, have been portrayed in terms of wolf - human relationships. The wolf has been part of aesthetic, economic, political, psychological and cultural reasoning albeit it is nowadays mainly addressed as an object of wildlife management. There has been a major shift in perception from dangerous predator to endangered species, but the big bad fairytale wolf remains a cultural icon.

‘Steve Brusatte, the author of The Rise and Fall of the Dinosaurs, brings mammals out from the shadow of their more showy predecessors in a beautifully written book that . . . makes the case for them as creatures who are just as engaging as dinosaurs.’ – The Sunday Times, ‘Best Books For Summer’ 'In this terrific new book, Steve Brusatte . . . brings well-known extinct species, the sabre-toothed tigers and the woolly mammoths, thrillingly back to life' – The Times The passing of the age of the dinosaurs allowed mammals to become ascendant. But mammals have a much deeper history. They – or, more precisely, we – originated around the same time as the dinosaurs, over 200 million years ago; mammal roots lie even further back, some 325 million years. Over these immense stretches of geological time, mammals developed their trademark features: hair, keen senses of smell and hearing, big brains and sharp intelligence, fast growth and warm-blooded metabolism, a distinctive line-up of teeth (canines, incisors, premolars, molars), mammary glands that mothers use to nourish their babies with milk, qualities that have underlain their success story. Out of this long and rich evolutionary history came the mammals of today, including our own species and our closest cousins. But today’s 6,000 mammal species - the egg-laying monotremes including the platypus, marsupials such as kangaroos and koalas that raise their tiny babies in pouches, and placentals like us, who give birth to well-developed young – are simply the few survivors of a once verdant family tree, which has been pruned both by time and mass extinctions. In The Rise and Reign of the Mammals, palaeontologist Steve Brusatte weaves together the history and evolution of our mammal forebears with stories of the scientists whose fieldwork and discoveries underlie our knowledge, both of iconic mammals like the mammoths and sabre-toothed tigers of which we have all heard, and of fascinating species that few of us are aware of. For what we see today is but a very limited range of the mammals that have existed; in this fascinating and ground-breaking book, Steve Brusatte tells their – and our – story.

Provides a comprehensive systematic review of the African proboscidean fossil record Includes a summary of taxonomy, geochronology, biogeography and morphology Documents major faunal events including those associated with hominin origins Synthesizes new data from genomic, isotopic and microware analyses Emphasizes the role of elephants in ecosystems and the importance of conservation

The past, present and future of the world's most popular and beloved pet, from a leading evolutionary biologist and great cat lover. Jonathan B. Losos unravels the secrets of the cat using all the tools of modern technology, from GPS tracking (you’ll be amazed where they roam) and genomics (what is your so-called Siamese cat, really?) to forensic archaeology. He tells the story of the cat’s domestication (if you can call it that) and gives us a cat's-eye view of the world today. Along the way we also meet their wild cousins, whose behaviours are eerily similar to even the sweetest of house cats. Drawing on his own research and life in his multi-cat household, Losos deciphers complex science and history and explores how selection, both natural and artificial, over the millennia has shaped the contemporary cat. Yet the cat, ever a predator, still seems to have only one paw out of the wild, and readily reverts to its feral ways as it occupies new habitats around the world. Looking ahead, this charming and intelligent book suggests what the future may hold for the special bond between Felis catus and Homo sapiens.

Although scholars have long recognized the mythic status of bears in Indigenous North American societies of the past, this is the first volume to synthesize the vast amount of archaeological and historical research on the topic. Bears charts the special relationship between the American black bear and humans in eastern Native American cultures across thousands of years. These essays draw on zooarchaeological, ethnohistorical, and ethnographic evidence from nearly 300 archaeological sites from Quebec to the Gulf of Mexico. Contributors explore the ways bears have been treated as something akin to another kind of human-in the words of anthropologist Irving Hallowell, "other than human persons"-in Algonquian, Cherokee, Iroquois, Meskwaki, Creek, and many other Native cultures. Case studies focus on bear imagery in Native art and artifacts; the religious and economic significance of bears and bear products such as meat, fat, oil, and pelts; bears in Native worldviews, kinship systems, and cosmologies; and the use of bears as commodities in transatlantic trade. The case studies in Bears demonstrate that bears were not only a source of food, but were also religious, economic, and political icons within Indigenous cultures. This volume convincingly portrays the black bear as one of the most socially significant species in Native eastern North America. A volume in the Florida Museum of Natural History: Ripley P. Bullen Series

Winner of the Whitley Award for Best Natural History Book 2022 A compelling, funny, first-hand account of Australia's wonderfully unique mammals and how our perceptions impact their future. Think of a platypus: they lay eggs (that hatch into so-called platypups), they produce milk without nipples and venom without fangs and they can detect electricity. Or a wombat: their teeth never stop growing, they poo cubes and they defend themselves with reinforced rears. Platypuses, possums, wombats, echidnas, devils, kangaroos, quolls, dibblers, dunnarts, kowaris: Australia has some truly astonishing mammals with incredible, unfamiliar features. But how does the world regard these creatures? And what does that mean for their conservation? In Platypus Matters, naturalist Jack Ashby shares his love for these often-misunderstood animals. Informed by his own experiences meeting living marsupials and egg-laying mammals on fieldwork in Tasmania and mainland Australia, as well as his work with thousands of zoological specimens collected for museums over the last 200-plus years, Ashby's tale not only explains the extraordinary lives of these animals, but the historical mysteries surrounding them and the myths that persist (especially about the platypus). He also reveals the toll these myths can take. Ashby makes it clear that calling these animals ‘weird’ or ‘primitive’ – or incorrectly implying that Australia is an ‘evolutionary backwater’ – a perception that can be traced back to the country's colonial history – has undermined conservation: Australia now has the worst mammal extinction rate of anywhere on Earth. Important, timely and written with humour and wisdom by a scientist and self-described platypus nerd, this celebration of Australian wildlife will open eyes and change minds about how we contemplate and interact with the natural world – everywhere.