African Wildlife & Environment Issue 77 FINAL ISSUE

GOOD READS

GOOD READS Book reviews by Dr John Ledger

parties, that these bush pirates are on the war- path." For a long time,Wild Dogs were shot on sight in the Kruger National Park! Thankfully, times have changed, and the general public today has a much better understanding of this species. The sterling work of Dr Gus Mills and the Endangered Wildlife Trust's Carnivore Conservation Group did much to spread the word of tolerance in southern Africa, especially by means of their Wild Dog Photographic Competitions. More recently, over 200 million viewers watched the BBC's Dynasties series which featured Wild Dogs in the episode titled PaintedWolves.

Wild Dogs Kagan, Jocelin (2020). Africa's Wild Dogs: A Survival Story. Merlin Unwin Books, Ludlow, England. Hard cover, 30x27 cm, 222 pp, illustrated with colour photographs throughout. ISBN 978-1-913159-19-1. Distributed locally by Penguin Random House South Africa. R520 (R445 at Takealot; R 416 at Makro) ISBN 978-1-77584 -587-4. R390

This is a blockbuster, large- format, coffee-table book with a difference. It is built around the superb photography of Jocelyn Kagan, but it is also multi-author

production involving seven contributing scientists and conservationists. All royalties will go to the newly-founded Africa's Wild Dog Survival Fund, which in turn will support those organisations already working in the field with the dogs. Wild Dogs have had a bad reputation in the past, and James Stevenson-Hamilton, first Warden of the Kruger National Park, disliked them intensely. In his 1912 book Animal Life in Africa he wrote: "There is no other beast of prey in Africa responsible for so much disturbance of game as the Hunting Dog, and, in proportion to his numbers, there is none which deals out more wholesale destruction. A pack, descending suddenly upon a district, scatters the game far and wide, and it is not difficult to discern from the restless and uneasy manner of the impala and other antelopes, as well as from the fact of the herds being split up and scattered into small

This new book provides further affirmation that these fascinating carnivores deserve to be understood, cherished and conserved, as an important part of Africa's rich tapestry of biodiversity. Section One introduces the reader to various aspects of Wild Dog family life, including how these social animals communicate. Dr Peter Apps has a contribution humorously titled Pee- mail, bulletin boards and dating sites. Section Two of the book, starting on page 116 is called Maligned, misunderstood & endangered , and deals with human perceptions and Wild Dog survival. The chapters by the various specialists are excellent and bring the reader up to date on the latest scientific research results. A significant chapter on Growing wild dog range and numbers by Dr Harriet Davies-Mostert of the EWT is particularly important for the long-term survival and genetic health of the species.

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