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Richard D. Estes
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The Safari Companion: A Guide to Watching African Mammals Including Hoofed Mammals, Carnivores, and Primates Kindle Edition

by Richard D. Estes (Author), Daniel Otte (Illustrator), Kathryn S. Fuller (Foreword) Format: Kindle Edition
4.3 4.3 out of 5 stars 175 ratings
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The best field guide to observing and understanding the behavior of African mammals and an indispensable tool for naturalists traveling to Africa!



The Second Edition has been fully revised and includes a new preface.



The Safari Companion enables readers to recognize and interpret visible behavioral activities, such as courtship rituals, territorial marking, aggression, and care of young. Each account of over 80 species includes a behavioral table in which the unique actions of the hoofed mammals, carnivores, and primates are described for easy reference.



Other features include:




    • Expert Illustrations

    • Useful maps showing major national boundaries, vegetation zones, and game parks

    • An extensive glossary

    • Tips on wildlife photography

    • A list of organizations working to protect African wildlife


     



    "The best behavioral field guide ever."—Sy Montgomery, author of Tamed and Untamed



    "The book is more than a field guide; it is a valuable tool for conservation."—Kathryn S. Fuller, President, World Wildlife Fund (U.S.A.)

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    1. Print length
      706 pages
    2. Language
      English
    3. Publisher
      Chelsea Green Publishing
    4. Publication date
      December 1, 1999
    5. File size
      30.7 MB
    6. Page Flip
      Enabled
    7. Word Wise
      Enabled
    8. Enhanced typesetting
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    Editorial Reviews

    Review

    Library Journal-
    Anyone who goes on safari will want to make room in his or her suitcase for this treasure. Estes, who is affiliated with the Smithsonian Institute as a research associate, spent over eight years doing fieldwork in Africa and over 17 years leading safaris. His admirable qualifications as an expert on the social ecology of African mammals are reflected in the text, which describes approximately 86 species of African mammals. Introductory chapters give practical advice on how to observe animals, including tips on using binoculars and photographic equipment. Other chapters are arranged by standard taxonomic classification. Estes first covers the characteristics of families and subfamilies and then goes into even more detail on the individual species, charting behaviors one can expect to see and the usual context or meaning. Icons illustrating the behaviors effectively take the reader to a description of the behavior being observed. Appended to the text are a brief suggested reading list, addresses of major wildlife organizations, a glossary of terms, and a thorough index. The only "fault" with this exceptionally well-written and researched book is its size. With a 6 9 trim and some 470 pages of text, this is a fairly large, hefty volume to pack on safari--but it is worth the extra effort, as nothing compares with it. Essential for any traveler to Africa, any student of animals or behavior, any zoo visitor, and any size public library.

    About the Author

    Richard D. Estes has led wildlife-viewing safaris in Africa for many years and is one of the world's foremost experts on the social ecology of African mammals. Dr. Estes is a Research Associate at the Smithsonian Institution Conservation and Research Center, an Associate at the Harvard Museums of Natural History, and a Trustee of The Rare Species Conservatory Foundation. He lives in Peterborough, New Hampshire.

    Product details

    • ASIN ‏ : ‎ B005PSG7AE
    • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Chelsea Green Publishing; Revised and expanded edition (December 1, 1999)
    • Publication date ‏ : ‎ December 1, 1999
    • Language ‏ : ‎ English
    • File size ‏ : ‎ 30.7 MB
    • Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Enabled
    • Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
    • Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
    • X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Not Enabled
    • Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
    • Print length ‏ : ‎ 706 pages
    • Customer Reviews:
      4.3 4.3 out of 5 stars 175 ratings

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    Customer reviews

    4.3 out of 5 stars
    175 global ratings

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    Customers say

    Customers find the book informative and well-written. They describe it as a great companion for safaris, with helpful drawings and photographs. The book accurately describes animal behavior and provides a high-level overview of game viewing. Many customers consider it worth the price.

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    Information qualityReadabilitySafari companionDrawing qualityBehaviorValue for money
    47 customers mention "Information quality"44 positive3 negative

    Customers find the book informative and engaging, providing a high-level overview of game viewing. They appreciate the detailed information about animal habits and evolution provided in a graduate biology textbook. The book provides interesting data points and strong themes for those interested in studying the animals.

    "...Estes treats the major African mammals with the detail of a graduate biology textbook, explaining their evolutionary history, diet, and behavior...." Read more

    "...Descriptions of social organization, play, courtship behaviors, territoriality, parenting patterns allow observers to interpret their observations..." Read more

    "...There are also strong themes and interesting data points for those interested in evolution, impact of environment on development of social behavior...." Read more

    "...There is no way it's content could be edited down. It's all important. When you see an Eland bull lower it's horns the Estes explains why...." Read more

    28 customers mention "Readability"28 positive0 negative

    Customers find the book easy to read and comprehend. They appreciate the well-organized text with useful information. The content is interesting and enjoyable, making it a good reference for beginners.

    "...Each chapter follows a set, easy-to-follow pattern with key information...." Read more

    "...Nevertheless, it has a modern organizational schema with lots of boldfaced subheading and bullet points which make it easy to find information..." Read more

    "...It is very very well done, but basically more information than I needed to know...." Read more

    "...me articles they found elsewhere and I think the books' content was somewhat infectious...." Read more

    8 customers mention "Safari companion"8 positive0 negative

    Customers find the book a useful companion for safaris. It provides them with a deeper understanding of animal behavior and habits, making it an enjoyable part of their trip. The pictures of the Big 5 are fun to look at, and the information enhances their experience.

    "Taking pictures of the Big 5 is great fun on a safari...." Read more

    "This book is great if you are on safari and want a deeper understanding of what is unfolding in front of your eyes...." Read more

    "...The descriptions of animal behaviour and habits certainly enhanced our safari experience...." Read more

    "Perfect for my trip to Africa" Read more

    6 customers mention "Drawing quality"6 positive0 negative

    Customers appreciate the detailed drawings and sketches of animals in the book. They find the hand-drawn pictures helpful and the color photographs great. The book includes line drawings of species, habitats, reproduction patterns, and looks great.

    "...Black and white beautiful "hand drawn" or sketched pictures of animals...." Read more

    "...Small black and white line drawings. No photographs. Easy to read and understand the symbols and charts...." Read more

    "...Excellent, full of color photographs, and small enough to take along!" Read more

    "...Includes both line drawings of the species, habitat, reproduction patterns, etc...." Read more

    4 customers mention "Behavior"4 positive0 negative

    Customers find the book accurately describes animal behavior. They mention it covers diet, mating, habitat, and behavior.

    "...biology textbook, explaining their evolutionary history, diet, and behavior. Each chapter follows a set, easy-to-follow pattern with key information...." Read more

    "...The book accurately described the behavior, the actions, and the reasons behind the behavior...." Read more

    "...Provides thirough background of animal classification and behavior patterns. Not a story book but a field guide book." Read more

    "...It contains information on diet, mating, habitat, behavior, etc." Read more

    4 customers mention "Value for money"4 positive0 negative

    Customers find the book provides good value for money. They say it's worth its price, and the antelope section alone is worth the cost.

    "...In fact, the section on antelopes alone is worth the price of the book...." Read more

    "...This guide is worth it's weight. It's not small. There is no way it's content could be edited down. It's all important...." Read more

    "...We packed minimum, carried less than 25lbs with us, and this was worth the weight." Read more

    "Valuable information..." Read more

    Top reviews from the United States

    • Arnold
      5.0 out of 5 stars Beyond the touristy safari
      Reviewed in the United States on August 28, 2009
      Verified Purchase
      Taking pictures of the Big 5 is great fun on a safari. However, too many safari-goers simply take pictures without understanding the animals they're observing. A lot of guidebooks give you information on how to identify a species, but don't really tell you much about the animals themselves (and unfortunately most guides and drivers aren't much help either). Richard Estes' The Safari Companion: A Guide to Watching African Mammals Including Hoofed Mammals, Carnivores, and Primates is a great remedy to this. Estes treats the major African mammals with the detail of a graduate biology textbook, explaining their evolutionary history, diet, and behavior. Each chapter follows a set, easy-to-follow pattern with key information. They also include a pictorial guide to each animal's behaviors (with images of how, for example, hyenas behave when they're submissive).

      While other guidebooks might cover the information on elephants and giraffes, Estes' passion is antelopes and it shows in this book. Many other guidebooks and safari guides consider antelopes the "junk" game animals, but Estes shows that they are a fascinating and successful group of animals. I learned to appreciate Thompsons Gazelles and Oryx a whole lot more after reading this book. In fact, the section on antelopes alone is worth the price of the book.

      Estes' book is heavy - as befitting a book so packed with information - so you should probably take a smaller, more traditional wildlife checklist on your safari (I recommend Wildlife of East Africa (Princeton Illustrated Checklists), which I used in Uganda and Kenya). However, Estes' book is necessary if you want to go beyond simply a photography expedition and actually learn about African mammals.
      6 people found this helpful
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    • James M
      5.0 out of 5 stars Unusual approach makes animal observing especially rewarding.
      Reviewed in the United States on June 12, 2013
      Verified Purchase
      More then a simple field guide, this book focuses on East African mammalian behavior and social organizations. Much contemporary research on mammalian behavior informs the chapters. Line drawings take the place of the color photographs (that you would find in many other guides), which give it a nice retro feel. Nevertheless, it has a modern organizational schema with lots of boldfaced subheading and bullet points which make it easy to find information quickly. There are icon-based labels that allows the reader to identify the characteristics of each species social organization. Descriptions of social organization, play, courtship behaviors, territoriality, parenting patterns allow observers to interpret their observations in the field while on safari. It's like having a naturalist along with you, pointing out the subtleties of animal behaviors and communication.

      In some parts of the book, there is specific information about wildlife populations. For example, in the section on Spotted Hyenas, the author reports data from one female that was tracked with a radio collar in the Ngorongoro Crater, noting how starkly different the level of activity necessary to find food was compared to hyenas in Kalhari Gemsbock National Park, where food is harder to come by. This level of scientific detail nicely complements the comprehensive descriptions of each species life and environment.

      I ended buying this after borrowing it from my local library. I also purchased a Princeton Pocket Guide to Wildlife of East Africa by Withers and Hosking full of colored photos - mostly because of its vast listing of birds that are not in the Safari Companion. The Princeton Guide also has photos of many reptiles. It is clear that I will learn the most from the Safari Companion, however.
      7 people found this helpful
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    • Adrienne M. Rosenthal
      4.0 out of 5 stars Loads of Information
      Reviewed in the United States on October 2, 2010
      Verified Purchase
      Five star for a professional, about a 3 for a casual reader!. Black and white beautiful "hand drawn" or sketched pictures of animals. It is very very well done, but basically more information than I needed to know. I really wasn't interested in an very detailed descriptiond about elephants mating, but interested about their warning signals, etc. etc. It is really more for someone leading a Safari or a professional guide. Too heavy to take on Safari, but interesting before and after!.
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    Top reviews from other countries

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    • Marc Escobar Toledano
      5.0 out of 5 stars Muy buena opción
      Reviewed in Spain on March 9, 2020
      Verified Purchase
      Genial compra como manual de consulta donde podras tener la posición corporal de algunso de los comprotamientos de los animales mamiferos africanos. Esta como complementod e otras guias de identificacion de fauna y no necesitaras nada mas.
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    • Dennis Franz
      5.0 out of 5 stars gutes Buch für Tierverhalten
      Reviewed in Germany on May 9, 2017
      Verified Purchase
      Das beste Buch das ich kenne um das Verhalten von Afrikas Tieren zu bestimmen. Habe seit 1989 diverse gehabt und war in unterschiedlichen Ländern Afrikas unterwegs um zu fotografieren und Tiere zu erleben. Dieses Buch hat mir geholfen diverse Situationen in denen Tiere scheinbar etwas belangloses machen als wichtig zu erkennen und deren Verhalten besser interpretieren zu können. Ein absolutes muss für Menschen die sich tatsächlich für Tierverhalten interessieren und etwas mehr wollen als Schnappschüsse mit Ihrer Kamera.
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    • Amazon Customer
      5.0 out of 5 stars Valuable detailed text by an expert.
      Reviewed in the United Kingdom on January 1, 2020
      Verified Purchase
      I purchased this following my earlier purchase of Estes’s The Behaviour Guide to African Mammals to further my understanding of the animals I might expect to see on my safari trip to Botswana. I would recommend both books as being a serious study of the subject. The text is comprehensive and the line drawings for information rather than pictures for species identification. Not really a guide for immediate identification though the text would help you decide between similar animals. I felt the author really knew his subject and found the book a valuable detailed text on the subject. Not a flick though book. You would need to invest some time to get the most out of it.
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    • Reinhard Pascher
      5.0 out of 5 stars Fortgeschrittene Lektüre für Afrika Naturfreunde
      Reviewed in Germany on July 13, 2019
      Verified Purchase
      Mehr als ein Erkennungsbuch für Tiere im südlichen Afrika.
      Empfehlenswert für Wiederholungstäter in afrikanischen Game Parks.
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    • Enrico
      4.0 out of 5 stars libro datato ma molto specifico
      Reviewed in Italy on May 31, 2017
      Verified Purchase
      Ho comprato questo prodotto per mio fratello visto che dovrà fare un viaggio in africa nei prossimi mesi, la scelta è ricaduta su questo libro dato che non ci sono molti libri che spiegano bene la natura dell'africa per il viaggiatore (la scelta è stata aiutata anche dal fatto che diversi blog lo consigliavano) devo dire che è un libro molto specifico, ogni razza animale viene descritta con minuzia di particolari, non ci sono foto ma solo disegni ben fatti.
      lo consiglio ai veri appassionati di natura africana, per un viaggiatore consiglierei qualcosa di più leggero e sintetico
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