primate

Anup Shah and Fiona Rogers have spent much of the last decade in the company of the world-famous chimpanzees of Tanzania’s Gombe National Park, getting to know their characters and learning about the intricacies of their lives. Tales from Gombe provides an unparalled insight into their world. Through endearing stories and stunningly intimate photography, it tells the story of their lives, an epic saga full of convoluted plots, family alliances, intrigue, love, passion, suffering, ambition, politics, puzzles, surprises and controversies. The chimpanzees of Tanzania’s Gombe National Park are probably the most famous group of wild animals in history, having been observed and chronicled for more than 50 years. Through studies initiated by the palaeontologist and anthropologist Louis Leakey and carried out by the primatologist Dr Jane Goodall, people worldwide know some of their names and stories. In Tales from Gombe Anup Shah and Fiona Rogers introduce us to all the different characters in this unique family, from the bold and mischievous Google and the powerful Titan to the enigmatic Freud.
They tell the dramatic story of this unusual society, describing all that has happened since they started studying them, while beautifully capturing the daily interactions of the various characters. The combination of breathtaking photography and rich social history provides the reader with a thought-provoking experience and evokes a strong sense of empathy and respect for chimpanzees. Highly captivating and often deeply moving, Tales from Gombe will inspire all those who read it to learn more about our closest cousins.

Provides a comprehensive history of the human-orangutan encounter. Oneof the most humanlike of all the great apes, particularly in intelligence and behaviour, the orangutan has been cherished, used, and abused ever since it was first brought to the attention of Europeans in the seventeenth century. The red ape has engaged the interest of scientists, philosophers, artists, and the public at large in a bewildering array of guises that have by no means been exclusively zoological or ecological. One reason for such a long-term engagement with a being found only on the islands of Borneo and Sumatra is that, like its fellow great apes, the orangutan stands on that most uncomfortable dividing line between human and animal. Beginning with the scientific discovery of the red ape more than three hundred years ago, this work goes on to examine the ways in which its human attributes have been both recognized and denied in science, philosophy, travel literature, popular science, literature, theatre, museums, and film. Today, while human populations increase exponentially, that of the orangutan is in dangerous decline. Those remaining in the wild are under increasing threat from mining interests, logging, human population expansion, and the widespread destruction of forests. The authors hope that this history will, by adding to our knowledge of this fascinating being, assist in some small way in their preservation.

An accessible introduction to proboscis monkeys and their behaviour. It also includes discussion about the problems facing them, their conservation and future prospects. It concludes with a short guide to where you can easily see them and how to get there.

Reaktion Animal Series. Monkey explores our relationship throughout history with this most playful and familiar of creatures. As humans, we tend to see monkeys as trivial or comic creatures; indeed our dictionaries define ‘monkeying’ as tampering, interfering and playing mischievous, foolish tricks. Yet it is the very playfulness inherent in our ancient monkey ancestors that underlies our success as a species. Over millions of years, we evolved from those scampering, chattering, intelligent, treetop-living creatures. Their inborn urge to explore became the bedrock of our sophisticated innovations; their love of activity became our industrious pursuit of knowledge. We owe a great debt to our monkey ancestors. Baboons were revered in the Egypt of the Pharaohs; monkey deities feature prominently in the ancient religions of China and Japan; and in India some still afford sacred status to the langur monkey. Since Darwin our relationship with the monkey has changed, and in some sense become uneasier; our identification with their ‘primitive’ and sometimes destructive behaviours amplified by our knowledge of our own origins. Here, Desmond Morris unpicks human attitudes to our mischievous cousins, and sets out to draw a true picture of these fascinating creatures and their continuing popularity in culture.