An easy-to-use identification guide to the whales, dolphins and seals found in southern African waters and the Southern Ocean. This handy book:
• Covers key identification features, behaviour, diet and distribution
• Includes best times and places to view more commonly seen species
• Explains breaching, spyhopping, lob-tailing, bow-riding, logging and other common behaviours
• Features detailed illustrations of diagnostic characteristics
• Includes the diving outlines, breathing 'blow' and tail shapes of common whales.

The only book to focus exclusively on southern Africa's seabirds.

"Guide to Seabirds of Southern Africa" describes the 142 seabird species that occur around the southern African coastline and adjacent Southern Ocean. This second edition covers nine new species recorded since the first edition was published, and adds many new images, with full-page treatments for most species. This authoritative, lavishly illustrated and detailed book offers:
• The latest information, gathered and collated by the region's foremost seabird specialist
• Clear ID pointers plus information on biology, behaviour and conservation status
• Multiple photographs of each bird
• Distribution maps
• An expanded introduction that covers seabird origins, moult, feeding, breeding, conservation, and how best to watch and photograph these iconic birds
• A new section on flying fish and flying squid

An essential guide for birdwatchers and nature lovers who spend time at sea.

Gansbaai, a fishing village on the southern coast of Africa, had earned the name Shark Town. Thanks to nearby Seal Island - a breeding ground for the Cape fur seal - Great White sharks were attracted to the coastal waters in pursuit of their favoured prey. Local entrepreneurs, themselves drawn to the majestic apex predators, had set up and developed a lucrative cage-diving industry, with visitors from around the world flocking in to witness, close-up, the guaranteed display of mighty Great White sharks. Business was booming, and the town was alive with services and spin-offs that benefitted the local population.
Then, one day, the sharks disappeared. The stream of tourists thinned, then stopped. Boats remained on land, and the bonanza threatened to dry up. What could be the cause of the shark exodus? In this account of the real-life drama, Richard Peirce explores the events of those fraught months, unravels the possible reasons - and comes to some startling conclusions.

When the famous South African fish scientist Professor JLB Smith published "Old Fourlegs - The Story of the Coelacanth" in 1956 he created an international sensation. After all, this 400-million-year-old group of fishes, known only from fossil remains, was thought to have become extinct around 66 million years ago! JLB Smith's dramatic account of the discovery of the first and second coelacanths in 1938 and 1952 turned him into a cult figure and put South African science on the world map. His book was eventually published in six English editions and translated into nine foreign languages.
Mike Bruton's "The Annotated Old Fourlegs" includes a facsimile reprint of the original book, with notes and images in the margins that provide an interesting and revealing commentary on Smith's text. An introductory chapter sets the scene for the drama about to unfold; and concluding chapters discuss further discoveries of coelacanths and the cast of characters involved, as well as the significance of the coelacanth, its anomalous characteristics and the extraordinary impact it has had internationally in the fields of both natural and cultural history.
With a Foreword by the Smith's son William, himself a well-known educational TV personality in South Africa, this book brings the coelacanth story right up to date. In particular, Bruton stresses the significance of the coelacanth as a symbol for marine conservation.

Kenya is home to 1,060 bird species and boasts many globally important birding areas. This, the first detailed guide to the country's best birding sites, is the perfect companion to any bird field guide. "50 Top Birding Sites in Kenya" will help both local and visiting birders to locate the key species in each area, including the sought-after 'specials' and endemics.

The book offers:
• a detailed map for each site, with specific guidance on what to look for and where
• information about the birds likely to be seen
• descriptions of each site, indicating the plants and wildlife that may also be encountered
• tips for planning your trip
• road directions and a map for each site
• details of entry fees, where applicable. and options for accommodation.

The most trafficked wild animal in the world!

The burgeoning international trade in pangolins means that all eight of the world's pangolin species (four African and four Asian) are under threat of extinction. When, in 2020, the Covid-19 pandemic swept across the globe, it shone a new light on the trade in pangolins, fingering these mammals as possible vectors for the transmission of the virus from its bat hosts to humans. Southeast Asia's wet markets, where assorted wild animals are stacked in cages one on top of the other with their bodily fluids mingling unchecked, were identified as the likely source.
In "Pangolins - Scales of Injustice", Richard Peirce introduces readers to this enigmatic and discreetly charming mammal, and follows the likely journey of a pangolin poached in Zimbabwe and brought to Johannesburg to be sold to a waiting trafficker. Readers accompany an agent of the African Pangolin Working Group on a real-life sting operation to capture the law breakers and rescue the animal, and follow its subsequent rehabilitation and release into the wild.
Peirce unpacks the methods and terrifying statistics of the trade, describes visiting wildlife markets and restaurants in Southeast Asia, explains the links between wildlife and Covid-19, and details China's response to the unfolding drama of the pandemic.

Both informative and entertaining, "Peacocks & Picathartes" is a celebration of Africa's diverse birdlife and examines not only the continent's endemic bird families, but also those birds that, despite being more widespread, are quintessentially African.
Watson's anecdotal style vividly captures his encounters with prized species, such as the secretive White-necked Picathartes and the elusive Congo Peacock. His enthusiasm extends from the common to the extraordinary: he conveys the sheer delight mousebirds take in 'being what they are' - and reveals the surprise discovery in 1991 of a new partridge in Tanzania's Udzungwa Mountains.
Drawing on precolonial and current-day avian accounts, he offers his own insights based on a lifetime of personal observations in the wilds of Africa, recounting unforgettable expeditions, quirky bird behaviour, shifting taxonomy, moments of rare good luck - and much more.

It cannot have been an easy story to tell, witnessing first-hand such individual cruelty, institutional abuse and government indifference. But Richard Peirce, his wife Jacqueline, and their team never wavered.
The tragedy that unfolds with each page of "Cuddle Me Kill Me" is op epic proportions. It exposes the massive scale of lion captive breeding and canned hunting in South Africa; the exploitation of thousands of gullible volunteers who pay to care for 'orphaned' lions and, unwittingly, finance this grotesque industry; the profound lack of empathy by those who make a dreadful living out of abusing captive-bred carnivores from birth to untimely death; and the culpability of a government out of touch with its soul.
No one with a beating heart can read "Cuddle Me Kill Me" and not want to help end a form of wild animal exploitation that brings shame on us all.
My organisation, The Born Free Foundation, has been fighting for the future of the wild lions and against such abuse for decades. This book stiffens our resolve to ensure that one day - and it cannot come soon enough - this will end.
Some still try to make excuses for canned hunting, cub petting and walking with lions. Some claim they are ignorant of the dreadful fate that will befall thousands of lions and other predators every year. Their excuses are no longer valid. This book has told the truth.

-- WILL TRAVERS OBE - PRESIDENT, THE BORN FREE FOUNDATION

While Africa's Big Five are quite distinctive, it's more challenging to tell apart some of the lesser-known mammals in the region such as antelope, mongooses, genets and primates. "Southern African Mammals made simple" uses a quick and easy three-step system to help identify these commonly confused mammals. Range maps, accurate full-colour illustrations, detailed labelling and concise text giving key identification pointers and favoured habitat all aid quick identification.
This follow-up to the hugely popular "LBJs made simple" will serve as a handy aid for visitors to game reserves and a valuable reference for general readers and wildlife enthusiasts.

After centuries of relative isolation, the Karoo - South Africa's parched heartland - is a latecomer to the tourist industry. What was once viewed as a harsh and desolate place of limited attraction is rapidly gaining popularity with visitors who now make the Karoo their destination, keen to partake of its legendary charm, its extraordinary flora and the resurgence of wildlife that once again populates its plains.
"Wild Karoo" documents Mitch Reardon's 4,000-kilometre journey of discovery through the region. The book focuses on local nature conservation; the game, the large and small - some recently reintroduced - plus birds, reptiles and invertebrates; the unique, arid-adapted flora; the regional landscape and geology; and the history and lifestyle of the people who have made a home here. It also examines plans to combine public and private protected land to create wildlife corridors between isolated parks, thereby re-establishing old migration routes and reversing some of the effects of human settlement.
Beautifully written, and illustrated with evocative photographs, this book is a must read for anyone interested in travel, wildlife and the environment.

This richly illustrated book provides a clear and accessible guide to the spectacular exposures of rocks and mountains in the Cape Town area. It is aimed at visitors and residents keen to understand how the scenic landscape surrounding them came about and what the rocks reveal of the recent as well as the 'deep' geological history of the area. In scope it covers both the large-scale features of the region as observed from space and particular features that can be seen up close on the ground.

While emphasis is on the greater Cape Town area, other popular areas of the Western Cape within easy access of Cape Town are also included. The book is intended to get us looking at and thinking about our environment from a new perspective so that whether on our daily commute to work or out for a hike, we may understand it better and derive greater pleasure from being part of it.

Met sy debuutbundel, "Vonke uit die koeroeklip - 'n Eie verhaal uit Namakwaland", het Gert Sarrisam lesers van oraloor bekoor. Sy nuutste bundel bied weer pure leesplesier - daar is vrystories en bakleistories, hartseerstories en lagstories, sowel as vertellings oor 'n klompie rare karakters uit die Namakwalandse omgewing.
Die bekende ware verhale sluit in dié van 'n tweejarige dogtertjie wat verkluim het in die Kamiesberge, die Nazi-gesinde Robey Leibbrandt se spioenasietog aan die Weskus, die tergende Bettie Smith-moordsaak, en die opspraakwekkende moorde deur Jan Pieriga op die plaas Olienpoort. Leer ken ook die vermaakpersoonlikhede Arno van Zyl en ant Grietjie van Garies, en herleef die kubuskoors wat Suid-Afrika in die 1980's getref het!

"Hulle weet ek was in hulle systems. Hulle weet wat ek gedoen het. Hulle weet wie ek is."

'n Teruggetrokke nuwe leerder, Eckardt Wilken, verdwyn geheimsinnig uit die elite privaat seunskool, Lawson Kollege. Greg Owen moet hom opsoor sonder dat iemand uitvind hulle was albei hackers.
Die sinistere raaisels rondom Eckardt se verdwyning verdiep met elke leidraad wat Greg vind. Die eerste een: 'n selfoon wat lui, en die naam G-4ce wat flits op die skerm.
Die onderwêreld ken sy naam en roep hom om te kom speel.

Pippie Langkous vier haar 75ste bestaansjaar met hierdie heruitgawe van die Pippie Langkous-omnibus, wat al drie die oorspronklike boeke in die reeks bevat: "Pippie Langkous", "Pippie Langkous gaan aan boord" en "Pippie Langkous in die Suidsee".

In hierdie nuwe uitgawe hersien Jaco Jacobs die 1975-vertaling deur Nerina Ferreira in hedendaagse Afrikaans, sodat lesers hulle opnuut kan verlustig aan Pippie se manewales.

Pippie, die koddige klein heldin met die sproete en rooi vlegsels, woon alleen in Huis Winderuis. Haar pa, die legendariese seekaptein Efraim Langkous, is iewers op 'n eiland, maar Pippie word geselskap gehou deur haar perd en haar apie, Menner Jakobs. Pippie versin kostelike stories, maar het 'n hart van goud, en omdat sy merkwaardig sterk is, sit sy booswigte gou-gou op hul plek!

Astrid Lindgren (1907-2002) is een van die beroemdste kinderboekskrywers van die 20ste eeu. Haar Pippie Langkous-verhale is in meer as 75 tale wêreldwyd vertaal en selfs ná soveel jare is die nimlike klein Pippie nog net so geliefd soos altyd!

"Hulle wil my been afsit, Simphi. Net hierso." Alex trek sy liniaal oor sy kaal bobeen.
"Woep-wap-konynkap, weg is Alex Brown se been én sy beroemde skopvoet."

Die nuus is presies wat die veertienjarige Alex nie wou gehoor het nie: sy beenkanker is te laat ontdek en nou is daar 'n sterk kans dat hulle sy been sal moet afsit. Hy gaan nooit weer rugby of krieket kan speel nie. Vir 'n lang tyd nie skool toe kan gaan nie. Dalk selfs nie eers sy vyftiende verjaarsdag sien nie...

Sy beste vriend, Simphiwe, het nie veel raad nie.

Maar toe ontmoet Alex vir Agapé-Ann; 'n pastoor se dogter met dieselfde tipe kanker wat ses maande vroeër haar been verloor het. Hy begin saam met haar kerk toe gaan. En stadig maar seker leer hy meer oor geloof en die Here. En dat sy kanker nie 'n straf is nie. En oor engele.

Gaan sy jong geloof die grootste toets ooit kan oorleef?

Ons lewe in 'n stukkende wêreld.
Ons almal beleef dinge wat ons wêreld in skerwe kan laat breek.

In hierdie boek leer die gewilde jeugboekskrywer Jan Vermeulen jou van vyf waarhede wat jou wêreld soos GOM weer heel kan maak! Hierdie waarhede help jou om die kernboodskap van die Bybel te verstaan sodat jy self Bybelse antwoorde op al jou vrae kan kry.

Met selfstudievrae en baie plek vir notas, is hierdie boek ideaal vir selfstudie of om in 'n groep te gebruik.