Elusive leopards. Saving ellies. Hippos killing impala. All without getting off the sofa.
There are few creatures as gorgeous and elusive as the black leopard. In Africa, these magnificent cats are so rare as to be the stuff of legend. They are individual animals in whom a gene mutation results in excess melanin and an elegant black coat. Most are found in Southeast Asia, where lush vegetation offers them camouflage, but in the semi-arid shrub lands of Africa, black leopards are extraordinarily rare. But in 2018, wildlife conservation enthusiast Will Burrard-Lucas – whose love for leopards began during his childhood in Tanzania and propelled him into a career as a wildlife photographer – heard about sightings of a young African black leopard in Kenya. With the help of people from the local community, he succeeded in capturing a series of high-quality photographs of the elusive cat, images which we can see in his stunning wildlife coffee table book, The Black Leopard. In the book, Burrard-Lucas tells his story of creativity, entrepreneurship and passion for wild animals, alongside awe-inspiring images of lions, elephants and the black leopard itself. While the photos of these gorgeous cats, prowling their territory under cover of night, are amazing, there’s more to the book than just astonishing images. It’s also an adventure story that takes place in remote and wild corners of Africa. A lovely book for aspiring and professional photographers and photography buffs, as well as nature and animal lovers, big cat enthusiasts, conservationists and fans of memoir and adventure stories. R695, buy online from hphpublishing.co.za
More than a century ago elephants in the Eastern Cape were systematically hunted – until just 16 were left. Today there are 650 elephants in the Addo Elephant National Park, the densest concentration of wild elephants anywhere on the planet. While elephants are undoubtedly still the park’s top drawcard, the past four decades have seen the emphasis shift from protecting a single species to conserving five biomes and the wild animals that occupy them. And today, Addo can boast the Big Seven … elephant, lion, leopard, buffalo, rhino, as well as, in the marine protected area, the great white shark and southern right whale.
In Shaping Addo – The Story of a South African Park, Mitch Reardon expertly delves into the history of the park, detailing the positive impact that changing conservation practices have had on its development. Drawing on decades of groundbreaking research, Reardon provides fascinating insight into the lives and habits of the animals – terrestrial and marine, and examines individual species, the relationship between them, and the carefully crafted management strategies required to ensure the survival of all species. The book is an engrossing account of how a seemingly insignificant sanctuary was transformed into an astonishingly successful mega-park, and the most ecologically diverse protected space in South Africa. Struik Nature, R320
