hooved

The most comprehensive book on giraffes to appear in the last fifty years, this volume presents a magnificent portrait of a group of animals who, in spite of their legendary elegance and astonishing gentleness, may not entirely survive this century. Dale Peterson’s text provides a natural and cultural history of the world’s tallest and second-biggest land animals, describing in detail their biology and behavior. He offers a new perspective on the giraffes place in our world, and argues for the stronger protection of these imposing yet endangered creatures and their elusive forest relatives, the okapis. Some 120 stunning photographs by award-winning wildlife photographer Karl Ammann capture the grace and elegance of Giraffa camelopardalis. Both beautiful and informative, the images document giraffes complex interactions with each other and their environment.

For tens of thousands of years wild horses roamed over the grasslands of Europe and Asia. Their endurance and agility made them the perfect partner for man during his conquest of the world. The loss of importance of the domesticated horses for the cavalries of the world coincided with the disappearance of the last horses from the wild. Around 1900 some wealthy collectors rushed to the edge of the Gobi desert to catch a few specimen from the last marginalised groups of the proud horse that scientists baptised the ‘Przewalski’s horse’, after the Polish explorer who has discovered them. Only twelve of these captured wild horses live on in their present offspring.

In the 1970s the Dutch couple Jan and Inge Bouman, on their honeymoon, visited the zoo in Prague. Seeing the wild horse petering away behind bars and fences, they decided to dedicate their life to the ideal of bringing the Przewalski’s horse back to the wild.
This book tells their success story. It marks a breakthrough in the way we look at reintroduction projects of endangered species. The Przewalski’s horse or ‘Takh’, as the Mongolians call it, has played a catalytic role for the protection of the mountain steppe ecosystem of Hustai National Park and its surroundings. It paved the way for the development of integrated pasture management and livelihood improvement of the local herdsmen.

This book aims to be an inspiration for anyone trying to start a reintroduction project, anywhere in the world. Where do you start, how to cope with the local people, how to solve financial issues. Apart from that, it is a personal view on the extraordinary country that is called ‘Mongolia’ and it’s wonderful people.

An assessment of the ecology and behaviour of Mountain goats. This book contains chapters which examine: habitat use, and seasonal movements; sexual segregation and social organization; individual variability in yearly and lifetime reproductive success of females; reproductive strategies and population dynamics of Mountain goats. Also available in hardcover [stock id 27109].