Animals of Africa [antikvár]

INTRODUCTIONBecause of its extraordinary variety, the African continent is a perpetual source of fascination. Its 30 290 000 square kilometres account for about a third of the world's land masses, and it has been inhabited by human beings for between three and four million years. In parts of East Africa, for example, exciting discoveries have been made of human bone fragments and stone tools, which are traces of early forms of man Australopithecus, Homo habilis and Homo erectus. In the Sahara region and South Africa, among other areas, there are remarkable cave paintings and rock carvings, recording the existence of Prehistoric communities, who lived by hunting and farming.Later, the great civilization of Egypt arose, leaving its mark on the peoples of Antiquity. Today, the beauty, grandeur and symmetry of its art and architecture still have power to astonish and lessons to teach. An early visitor was the Sth century Greek historian Herodotus of Halicarnassus (called by Cicero 'the father of history"), whose accounts of Ancient Egypt gave rise to all sorts of myths about fabulous beasts.Around the same time, the Carthaginian navigator Hanno made a round voyage which took him from the Pillars of Hercules (the great rocks guarding the entrance to the Mediterranean) halfway down the west coast of Africa. This was the first sea voyage ever to be recorded in writing, and a prelude to all the later explorations of Africa. It also heralded all the future colonizations, which could be said to have begun when the Romans conquered Carthage. Today, Africa is easily accessible to the traveller by ship and aeroplane, and its surfaces are crossed by roads and railways and partly built over in concrete, iron and steel. Nevertheless, it is still rich in forests and vegetation, and still shelters a fascinating variety of wildlife. Nowadays its animals have to be protected; some species, indeed, must be saved from total extinction, so depleted have they been by greedy and irresponsible traders, and thoughtless hunters, whose chief concern has been to create an impression by bringing back trophies and photographs of themselves with their victims.To combat this situation, large reserves and safari parks have recently been created, vast protected areas in which animals can roam safely and freely. They are planned with regard to the original habitats and to natural selection, so that the balance of species is maintained. This far-sighted policy has led to the growth of a new and more creative sport, which is quite as exciting and sometimes as dangerous as the old kind of hunting the photographic safari, in which the rifle has been replaced by the camera.This book provides a journey of discovery of African wildlife. Each of its eight chapters contains a study in depth of the different habitats of Africa and Madagascar. The reader is guided through bush, grassland and forest, by rivers, lakes and marshes, over mountains, deserts and coastal regions. The African climate is governed by the equator which cuts right across the continent, dividing it into two almost equal halves; this accounts for the wonderful variety of plant and animal life to be found there.Each chapter is accompanied by detailed and accurate illustrations in full colour.