Well over 300 freshwater fish species found in the region’s rivers, lakes and dams feature in this fully revised third edition of Freshwater Fishes of Southern Africa. Updated and expanded, this definitive guide includes newly described species, the latest taxonomic changes, new photographs and illustrations, and updated distribution maps.

An in-depth introduction, supported by explanatory illustrations and photographs, covers:

• a short history of fish science in the region
• ecoregions in which species occur
• anatomy, biology and ecology of fishes
• human impacts on fishes
• conservation status
• new understanding of evolutionary relationships between different fish groups.

The book also includes:

• succinct descriptions of large taxonomic groups of fish, with global distribution charts
• detailed species accounts covering size, identification features, distribution, biology, ecology, conservation, and uses by humans
• full-colour illustrations and up-to-date distribution maps for each species.

An invaluable tool for anglers, students and academics in the field, and conservationists

Kansas and western Missouri are astonishingly rich in birdlife. Located in the very center of the North American continent, the area is home to most of the eastern bird fauna and many of the western species, and even hosts occasional visitors from the far north. Over 400 species of birds have been recorded in Kansas alone, an abundance that places it among the top five birding states in the country.

"A Guide to Bird Finding in Kansas and Western Missouri" is a guide to this rich mosaic of birdlife. Written for both resident and visiting birders, the book begins with an introduction to the region's avian diversity and to its eleven major biotic communities. Illustrated with 17 line drawings by renowned artist and ornithologist Robert Mengel, A Guide to Bird Finding also features 26 detailed maps, a checklist of birds of the region, and an annotated list of "Specialty Species." The book's main focus, though is on birding tours--75 of them. Meticulously described and thoroughly "road-tested," these tours lead down paved highways, dirt roads, and paths, past old cemeteries, around lakes, along creeks, into cities, and out onto the prairie, winding through the birding hotspots of Kansas and western Missouri.

With this new guide in hand, birders can tailor their expeditions to focus on the big picture, taking advantage of all the birding possibilities a particular location has to offer, or the small picture, searching out one or two especially challenging species. Zimmerman and Patti have provided information on road conditions and tour routes, and have also zeroed in on a few birding surprises--like Bobolinks next to saline marshes in central Kansas.

Among the many birding possibilities the book suggests are: a trip to the tallgrass prairie of the Flint Hills where Greater Prairie-chickens and Henslow's Sparrows can be seen; a tour of the Cimarron National Grassland, the best place in the U.S, to see Lesser Prairie-chickens; a tour of Missouri's Squaw Creek National Wildlife Refuge, the spectacular staging area for over 500,000 geese and other waterfowl; and a trip to Quivira National Wildlife Refuge and Cheyenne Bottoms, internationally significant wetlands that are an essential migration stopover for hundreds of species, particularly waterfowl and shorebirds, and even Whooping Cranes.

Never before have so many exciting, hair-raising tales of bear encounters been collected into one book. Read about a man who swam into a lake to try to escape a furious bear only to find to his horror that bears can swim too! Or of the old gold prospector who got mauled and sewed up his own stomach-and lived to tell about it! When a bear attacks, it does so with devastating ferocity. Although the average attack lasts but thirty seconds, grievous injury can result from powerful paws and jaws. Strangely enough, most attacks are nonfatal. This book is filled with true-life episodes of close-calls, maulings, and deaths by all three North American bears: black, grizzly, and polar. These stories are not fiction. All are, eerily enough, based on complete fact. Even the FOX TV show When Animals Attack uses Kaniut's material for their shows. The author of two previous best-selling books on dangerous bears brings you a cliffhanger-you won't want to miss his latest and best yet!

In 2009, a mountain lion visited the St. Croix/Indianhead county of Wisconsin. Although cougars roamed through the area in the early frontier days of the 1800's, overhunting and human population growth drove the cougars out of Wisconsin. This particular, Cougars visits generated a great interest because it was photographed and written about in the local papers. This book is the story of the Cougar of 2009, written as if the Mountain Lion narrated the story himself

There is an essential element of nature which defies reason, logic, or science. An element which emanates from my experiences living in the majestic hills and valleys of Vermont's Green Mountains. A calling, if it were, where the working land speaks, and the wind sings, and the ever changing skies dazzle our sight with amazing color and clarity. Only when one captures the breath, the life, and the feeling of such a place which has inspired many generations by its breathtaking beauty, abundant freshness, and pastoral beckoning can one begin to understand this element. From this element one can achieve valuable insight into more than the heart and mind of a writer, but also partake in a richer part of the fabric of life woven across fields, and lakes, and mountains always changing with the seasons. I simply share with the reader a love for poetry mostly presented in classical English sonnet style. Further inspiration for this work will consider the role that nature plays in creating the essential element to define our life and time. I attempt to move past describing climate that only dampens or brightens daily lives to how it actually defines feelings and moods. Belonging to the Vermont experience means seeking out those treasured hollows, and stepping lightly out atop those hilly ledges, and smiling brightly at the sun and sky and water and grass. We can smile at ourselves too for all our rugged beauty. Thankfully --- partly, it must be said, thanks to the vision and sense of loyalty of generations of those who have come before us, what they have taken, and what they have left behind; this essential element collectively cherishes and preserves this unique heritage. This essential element, I am calling.....Organic Soul.

DEADLY COUGAR ENCOUNTERS
A mountain lion gives birth under a porch in Boulder, Colorado. Another saunters into the parking garage of a swank hotel in Victoria, British Columbia. In the hills outside Sacramento, the remains of a jogger are found buried in a shallow grave, the story of her violent death told in a confusion of animal tracks and a blood-stained sun visor. A child is snatched on his way to school, his attacker a shadow in the alders, a fixed yellow stare crouching over the boy's torn face.
Where western wilderness unravels into suburbia, at the intersection of a recovering species and a human population hungry for space, the common wisdom that cougars prefer to avoid people has given way to a harsher reality: Mountain lions move in the shadows of our homes, and a few of them hunt there. In this gripping look at the myths and realities of cougar and human interactions, Jo Deurbrouck takes us from the fieldwork of researchers to the near misses of those who faced down these predators and to those rare, horrifying moments when everything went wrong.

The understanding of nature was Ralph Simpson's consuming passion, which he pursued with unmatched vigor and high spirits. In Grass Flats, 1890--1923, Simpson meticulously documents 218 species accounts of bird life in Warren County, Pennsylvania, including notes on other species observed at Presque Isle on Lake Erie. Simpson speaks of habitat preferences and population shifts, while at the same time offering a view of the natural world with a bit of whimsy, as in the following 1909 observations of the Screech Owl. I knew of an old Flicker's hole nearby, and on going past I saw feathers about the edges, so I investigated and found a Gray Screecher at home. She made no resistance, so I reached in and counted five eggs under her, petted her, and left her. Join this noted naturalist, as he seeks adventure birding in the virgin timber of Wild Cat Run, navigating a steep precipice in the wilds of Goshawk Basin, or climbing 70 feet up a giant Eastern Hemlock to peer into a Sharp-shinned Hawk's nest. From his exploits, Simpson learned early on that, with nature, every moment instructs. Simpson, with feet on terra firma, beckons you to his stomping ground--Grass Flats.

Donald S Murray is widely recognised for his empathy and remarkable ability to convey emotion with restraint and poignancy. In this short collection of poems written during lockdown at his Shetland home, Murray explores the changing geography of the island and how it has, in turn, changed him. On his daily walks through the village, Murray found himself noting shifts in the wind and weather, the imperceptible widening of the sea, and the way time has slowed. Noting the way, too, in which flocks of sheep or birds congregated in a field in anticipation of the arrival of a storm. With beautiful imagery and lyricism, The Man Who Talks to Birds taps into a deep connection with nature, and its ability to ground us, that many of us have rediscovered during 2020.

A pioneering look at how climate change is affecting British wildlife - winners, losers, new arrivals and future prospects. There is no escaping the fact that the British climate is changing, and our wildlife is changing with it. In this remarkable account, Trevor Beebee examines the story so far for our plant, fungi and animal species. Warmer and wetter winters, combined with longer summers, have worked to the advantage of plants such as the rare Lady Orchid, and a whole range of insects. The UK is also hosting new arrivals that come in on the wing. But there is adversity, too. Alpine plants and seabirds - particularly Kittiwakes - are suffering declines as our countryside warms. Given the evidence so far, can we predict what the future holds for our British ecosystems? "Fascinating but frightening, compelling and concerning ... this book brings together all you need to know about how the climate is impacting wildlife." CHRIS PACKHAM Winner of the Marsh Book of the Year Award (2019)

The State of Texas not only boasts the largest snakes in North America, but also the largest number of species 105. This guide describes in detail each and every one of them, from the benign Texas long-nosed snake, to the venomous Western Cottonmouth. Facts on the biology and behavior are given, plus the latest findings on abundance, reproduction, prey, sizes, and habitat. In addition, introductory chapters describe the physiology and diet of snakes, and an all-important section on "Venom and Evenomation" debunks the many myths surrounding what to do when bit by a venomous snake. 128 color plates of species and subspecies aid in identification.