Mammals of Botswana (Paperback)

This item is sold brand new. It is ordered on demand from our supplier and is usually dispatched within 4 - 8 working days

Paperback, 125 pages. The aim of this book is to provide a handy, easy-to-use guidebook for tour guides, tourists and students. The goal was to keep the book as 'travel friendly' as possible, ideal for game walks and an easy size to carry in a suitcase. A small pocket- sized book limits the amount of information and the size of the photographs, so a compromise was reached by limiting the number of pages to one page per animal. The first section of the book (pg 3 to pg 26), provides information on the anatomy and physiology of mammals, in other words, how they are structured and how their 'insides' work. The behaviour of an animal is closely linked to, and often determined by its anatomy and physiology. The skeleton and skull are described in detail with photographs and illustations and there is information on skull muscles, dentition, locomotion, senses, reproduction, digestion and thermoregulation. In the identification section (pg 27 to pg 120), one page is allocated to each animal. There is at least one photograph per animal, but where possible, two (male and female). Photographs of the droppings and skull and a sketch of the spoor are provided for each animal. The droppings were photographed with a match-stick for scale and the spoor include measurements. The skulls were photographed at the Ditsong National Museum of Natural History, Pretoria. Distribution maps for the Southern African subregion as well as one for Botswana accompany each animal. This will make the book useful in other areas as well. The animal names occur in English, Setswana, German, Afrikaans, Spanish, French and Italian (with only a few exceptions). The basic information on weight, gestation, habitat, food, social structure, etc., is summarized in a separate block for each animal. The dental formula is also included in the summary and the formula is explained on pg 13. The 'Did you know?' section contains additional interesting facts about the animal.