A Field Guide To The Animal Tracks Of Southern Africa

This First Field Guide to Animal Tracks of Southern Africa will help those with an interest in interpreting animal tracks to identify the animals that have passed through an area. Full-colour photographs and easy-to-read text will enable the beginner and the budding naturalist to decipher the more common tracks encountered in southern Africa, learn about the unique features of each spoor and discover more about the animals that leave the spoor.

Every animal leaves some indication of its passing and by reading these signs fascinating information about the animal's behaviour can be understood. This field guide looks first at the track or sign and then determines the animal group or species.

This handy guide provides simple tools to help interpret the tracks and signs of some 105 southern African mammals, reptiles, frogs and birds. Photographs and diagnostic spoor illustrations are given for each animal, along with information on behaviour, habits and habitat, and up-to-date distribution maps show where the animals occur. Special features on insects and scat supplement the text and a detailed introduction offers basic guidelines for learning how to become a tracker. Sales points: Clear illustrations of more than 125 animal tracks. 175 full-colour photographs. Special features on insects and scat. Author expertise well recognised in this field.

Greater southern Africa has a wealth of mammal species, almost 400 – all of which are covered in this fully updated, comprehensive field guide. Now expanded to include species found in Angola, Zambia and Malawi, it has also been extensively revised to include: • the most recent research and taxonomy • revised distribution maps and many new images • colour-coded grouping of families • spoor and size icons • skull photographs, grouped for easy comparison • detailed descriptions of each species, offering insight into key identification characters, typical behaviour, preferred habitat, food choice, reproduction and longevity.

Featuring all-new spoor drawings, some 200 new photographs and an extra 35 species, this fully revised and updated edition of the ever-popular Tracker Manualis packed with the latest on the art of tracking. Based on information developed by some of southern Africa’s best traditional trackers, Tracker Manual gives even more guidance on how to identify the spoor of some 190 animal species. Individual chapters cover carnivores, large mammals, antelopes, small mammals, primates, hares and rodents, amphibians and reptiles, birds and insects. Each account contains: Simple, bulleted text on key points of each animal’s tracks. Clear, accurate track drawings. Numerous informative photographs, sometimes annotated. A list of similar tracks (where applicable), to avoid misidentification. An instructive introduction describes the science of tracking and outlines what to look for in the field, while a quick-reference table compares tracks that are easily confused. This detailed and richly illustrated manual to the region’s most common animal tracks and signs will prove invaluable in the field. Sales points: Presents the tracks and signs of over 190 different animals. Written and illustrated by experts in the field. Compact, portable and easy to use. Rich in visual detail. Useful instructive introduction to tracking.

Following the success of the earlier Scatalog – Quick ID guide to southern African animal droppings, here’s another quick and quirky identification guide, this time to tracks of the region’s most commonly found mammals, but also includes tracks of reptiles, rodents, birds and insects. A simple key on the inside front cover directs users to any of 11 categories, such as ‘cloven hooves’, ‘paws’ or 'tramline-like trails'. Nearly 100 animals or closely related groups of animals are depicted; for each, there’s • a silhouette of front and back feet and a colour photograph of the track • the average measurements for each track • a short description of the track • information about the circumstances and likely habitat Concise and to-the-point, this pocket-sized reference will prove indispensible in the field, no matter the experience of the user.

Based on Reay Smithers' original work Land Mammals of Southern Africa, this revised and expanded field guide to Southern African mammals is intended for the general reader as well as the wildlife enthusiast.