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Human emotion and animal instinct meet poignantly when two six-week-old leopard cubs become the charge of 22-year-old game ranger Graham Cooke at Londolozi. Staying with the cubs in an unfenced bush camp surrounded by lions, hyenas and other leopards, he must first gain their trust before he begins to guide them towards release in the wild. It takes weeks of patience and gentleness for Graham to be accepted into the cubs' small family unit and to find ways of communicating with the young leopards as he slowly begins to introduce them to their new environment. Graham finds himself drawn more to the wary little female than her easy-going brother, but over time both cubs come to recognise him as their protector. They form a bond of friendship through which he can gain unparalleled insights into their development and behaviour. When, a year later, the cubs are relocated to the Zambian wilderness, Graham faces the hardest task of all: to set free the young animals he has become so devoted to so that they can return to a wild existence where he is unable to control their fate.
The crowing of the roosters tells the story of Nomfusi Vinah Yekani who, as a young Xhosa schoolgirl, has her dream of becoming a teacher shattered when a handsome young man takes her for his wife.
... baboons are neither devils nor saints but animals who like us have very individual personalities, experience a wide range of emotions and possess a capacity for reasoning.' These are the words of Kobie Kruger, best selling wildlife author, in her foreword to Life with Darwin. Of all the primates in Africa, the Chacma Baboon has arguably received the least attention in terms of comprehensive behavioural studies. Life with Darwin is an account of the work of Karin Saks who, through fostering orphaned baby baboons and attempting to rehabilitate them back into the wild, had the opportunity to observe and record the activities of a number of wild baboon troops. Through her daily interaction with them she brings fresh perspectives to our knowledge of an animal society that is both complex and well ordered. It is a fresh and accessible look at a species that has not always been sympathetically regarded, and its insights go a long way towards redressing this attitude.
Anton Mostert was one of South Africa's youngest judges when he was appointed to head a commission of inquiry into exchange control regulations in 1978. His inquiry, seemingly innocuous, unearthed what was at that time the greatest political scandal in the country's history - massive corruption in the department of information. In defiance of warnings by Prime Minister PW Botha not to disclose his findings, Mostert released all the evidence that had been led before him, exposing some of the most powerful men in the country and effectively changing history. The title of this book, Thank You, Judge Mostert! is taken from the inscription which appeared overnight on bumper stickers all over South Africa in the weeks following Judge Anton Mostert's revelations of the Information Scandal. This overt, spontaneous outburst of public appreciation and support requires history to be retold - for this is the story of a principled and courageous judge who not only fiercely fought for the independence of the judiciary and the rule of law in South Africa, but who also fearlessly confronted the Afrikaner executive at a critical juncture in South Africa's history.
Fly-fishing is a multifaceted sport that will absorb you in its reality, taking you to places of exceptional beauty, to explore and to revel in the solitude. It is so often spoken of as an art form, while fly-tying, inextricably linked to fly-fishing, is in its own right a form of artistry. South African Fishing Flies is a celebration of this artistry – the innovation, the talents of the originators and their vision of imagination, masters of the craft – and of all the fly-tyers of South Africa. It is not an exhaustive reference to all South African flies, but is rather an anthology of those that by virtue of their innovation in design, materials used and tying techniques have helped shape and, in some cases, change the thinking on fly-tying in this country. It is also a visual celebration of these flies, the waters we fish, an introduction to some of the individuals in our fly-fishing community, and creators of South African flies.
The ousting of Robert Mugabe as Zimbabwe’s president took the world by surprise. In this book, award-winning Zimbabwean journalist Geoffrey Nyarota explains how and why the events of November 2017 happened as they did. Nyarota evaluates the political and economic impact of Mugabe’s presidency, showing how he managed to reduce a prosperous nation to a state of destitution through extreme misgovernance. The book describes the rifts within ZANU-PF as Mugabe sidelined anyone who might challenge his power, and the creation of opposing factions that supported Vice President Emmerson Mnangagwa and First Lady Grace Mugabe respectively. It traces the growing ambition and power of Grace Mugabe, culminating in the sacking of Mnangagwa as vice president in November 2017, and explains how this finally spurred ZANU-PF to rid itself of the president who had done so much damage to the country over the decades. Written with the insight of a veteran Zimbabwean journalist, this is a fascinating account of the rise and fall of one of Africa’s longest-ruling dictators.
The elephants of the Knysna forest have long been the subject of mystery and conjecture. Over the years they have taken on an almost mythical quality, with many doubting whether they existed at all. In 1994 the local forestry department maintained that there was only one surviving Knysna elephant, the seldom seen female known as The Matriarch. The Knysna elephant was thus described as 'functionally extinct'. This was the official stance until September 2000 when forest guard Wilfred Oraai encountered and photographed a young bull from a distance of some thirty metres. The question arose: who was its mother? And, indeed, who was its father? In 2001 Gareth Patterson began an independent study ...
Going green all at once is too much for almost anyone to achieve. Instead, try to make just one change, or add one new sustainable habit, each week. After one year you will be amazed at how much you have accomplished. In the pages of this book A Greener Tomorrow you will find over 150 bite-sized chunks of greening advice, from well-known people, to get you going - all neatly categorised into these sections: Garden / Home / Work / Travel. Let's all do our part in saving our Earth - allow our children's grandchildren to still live in a world that is beautiful. Put one tip into action today!
For centuries we believed that humans were the only ones that mattered. The idea that animals had feelings was either dismissed or considered heresy. Today, that's all changing. New scientific studies of animal behavior reveal perceptions, intelligences, awareness and social skills that would have been deemed fantasy a generation ago. The implications make our troubled relationship to animals one of the most pressing moral issues of our time. Jonathan Balcombe, animal behaviorist and author of the critically acclaimed Pleasurable Kingdom, draws on the latest research, observational studies and personal anecdotes to reveal the full gamut of animal experience—from emotions, to problem solvin...