Southern Africa Safari Companion: Mammals

Diana has always been interested in nature and has been going to Kruger National Park and other nature reserves at least once per year since 1970. In 2010, a few months after retirement, she decided to do a year-long nature course. This was fantastic because she learnt not only about mammals and birds, but also about grass, trees, insects, reptiles, ecology and lots more. This really fired her up and when some friends decided to offer a similar course, she was very pleased to draw up some notes on the mammals of Southern Africa for them. These “notes” became a lot more and before she knew it, she had almost written a book. Rather than keep this knowledge to herself, she decided that to self-publish and give other people interested in mammals a chance to share in her voyage of discovery into the lives of mammals. We are inclined to forget that Man (Homo sapiens) is also a mammal and she have found great enjoyment in understanding Man’s sometimes illogical reactions in light of what she has learnt about mammal behaviour. She have also learnt that Man’s physical structure prevents him from ever being able to outrun a dog or an antelope and that, as omnivores, our digestion is such that we cannot exist on meat alone or on vegetables alone. She hopes that you, the reader, get as much enjoyment out of reading this book as she got writing it.