Life in the Rivers and Forests [antikvár]

ForeworcThe turbulent rivers of tropical Africa and the shimmering lakes of the Rift Valley are the haunts of the menacing Nile crocodile, a much persecuted giant rivalled in size only by the amphibious hippopotamus. But in contrast to brute strength there is beauty too-elegant antelopes grazing along the banks, radiant kingfishers plunging on their prey, ibis and dainty lily-trotters probing the shallows, rosy clouds of flamingos returning to breed and enormous pelicans skimming the waves on collective fishing forays.The shadowy rain forest is the realm of troops of monkeys. Acrobatic guerezas leap boldly through space, the warning rump and facial colours of the mandrill glow in the gloom, the sociable chimpanzees scamper across the clearings or gaze languidly down from their tree platforms; and one great forest predator, the handsomely spotted leopard, stalks silently through the undergrowth or lies outstretched along a branch, invisible in ambush. Danger looms too in the shape of the mighty python and the swiftly-striking, deadly mamba.Mingling with the more familiar birds and mammals of the jungle are recently discovered rarities such as the giant forest hog, the Congo peacock and the okapi; and finally there are the carnivorous and herbivorous residents of the highland forests-the predatory serval, the blackbuck and that massive and greatly maligned primate, the gorilla.In this third volume of World of Wildlife the fascinating animal inhabitants of the African rivers, lakes, forests and mountains are vividly described and pictured in their natural habitat, each an integral part of a self-contained community, the future of which depends on the triumph of human conscience over human callousness and greed.