The heat was unbearable, malaria would be a constant danger, her husband would have to be away for long stretches, there were no schools or nearby doctors for their three daughters, and of course the area teemed with wild animals. Yet for Kobie and her family, the seventeen years at South Africa's Kruger National Park were the most magical of their lives. Now, in The Wilderness Family, Kobie recounts the enchanting adventures and extraordinary encounters they experienced in this vast reserve where wildlife has right of way.Kobie and her husband Kobus were overwhelmed by the beauty of the Mahlangeni ranger station when they arrived with their little girls in the autumn of 1980. Golden sunshine glowed in the lush garden where fruit bats hung in the sausage trees; hippos basked in the glittering waters of the Letaba River; storks and herons perched along the shore. Kobie felt she had found heaven on earth--until she awoke that first night to find a python slithering silently across her bedroom floor. It was the perfect introduction to the wonders and terrors that awaited her.As the Krügers settled in, they became accustomed to living in the midst of ravishing splendor and daily surprises. A honey badger they nursed back to health rampaged affectionately through the house. Sneaky hyenas stole blankets and cook pots. Ordinarily placid elephants grew foul-tempered and violent in the summer heat. And one terrible day, the shadow of tragedy fell across the family when a lion attacked Kobus in the bush and nearly killed him.But nothing prepared the Krügers for the adventure of raising an orphaned lion cub. The cub was only a few days old and on the verge of death when they found him alone.  Leo, as the girls promptly named the cub, survived on loads of love and bottles of fat-enriched milk, and soon became an affectionate, rambunctious member of the family. At the heart of the book, Kobie recounts the unique bond that each of the Krügers forged with Leo and their sometimes hilarious endeavor to teach him to become a "real" lion and live with his own kind in the wild.Writing with deep affection and luminous prose, Kobie Krüger captures here the mystery of untamed Africa--its fathomless skies, soulful landscapes, and most of all, its astonishing array of animals. By turns funny and heart-breaking, engaging and suspenseful, The Wilderness Family is an unforgettable memoir of a woman, her family, and the amazing game reserve they called home for seventeen incredible years.

    As our prehistoric ancestors spread throughout the globe, they began the most deadly epoch the planet's fauna have experienced since the demise of the dinosaurs. And following the dawn of the age of exploration five hundred years ago, the rate of extinction has accelerated ever more rapidly." In A Gap in Nature, scientist and historian Tim Flannery, in collaboration with internationally acclaimed wildlife artist Peter Schouten, catalogues 103 creatures that have vanished from the face of the earth since Columbus first set foot in the New World. From the colorful Carolina parakeet to the gigantic Steller's sea cow, Flannery evocatively tells the story of each animal and its habitat, how it lived and how it succumbed to its terrible destiny. Accompanying every entry is a beautifully rendered color representation by Schouten, who has devoted years of his life to this project. His portraits - life size in their original form - are exquisitely reproduced in this extraordinary book and include animals from every continent: American passenger pigeons, Tasmanian thylacines, Mauritian dodos, African bluebucks, and dozens more.

    It floats like a jewel in the inky black void. The reflection of the suns light from the vast expanse of water covering its surface creates its gem-like blue colour. In the entire solar system Earth is the only planet that has water in its liquid form in such quantities. Scientists have calculated that 70% of our planet is covered by water; small wonder then that humans have always been so fascinated by the oceans and what lies beneath. Today while we still have so much more of the ocean realm to uncover we have discovered enough to know that beneath the waves lies a vast treasure-trove of rich and diverse life. The Blue Planet leads us on a voyage of exploration from the coasts, the very edges of the oceans, to the deep where weird and monstrous fish lurk in a world of perpetual darkness. Along the way we meet a host of wonderful creatures from tiny copepods to majestic blue whales, from the grotesque hairy anglerfish, to the amazing tripod fish that stands on 3 delicate legs waiting to snap up unsuspecting prey. With a foreword by David Attenborough and 400 colour photos The Blue Planet is the first complete and comprehensive portrait of the whole ocean system.

    She lovingly teaches her children that all creatures - from big elephants and playful dolphins to flightless penguins and human beings - are important members of her family of Earth.

    It is a season both abstract and profound, where super-heated water erupts into arctic air, where wildlife pushes snow in a constant struggle to survive, and where silence and solitude dominate the park's deep wilderness. Photographer Tom Murphy has experienced Yellowstone's winter wilderness as few others have, skiing far into the backcountry with heavy camera gear, an uncanny ability to weather cold and snow, and an artist's eye for the sublime. His photographs reveal a majestic land where the air is clean and clear and where a wolf's throaty howl carries for miles on a still day. "Silence & Solitude: Yellowstone's Winter Wilderness" shows us the splendor and force of Yellowstone's long cold. In 130 photos we begin to understand the lives of the wildlife that must endure it; we begin to feel the inspiring power of a landscape still wild and pure; and we see nature's beauty in things great and small. These photos are accompanied by Murphy's thoughtful words that take us into the time and place of each image. The captions allow us to smile at a fox's serious hunt for a mouse, to understand why bison stand stoically in geothermal steam, and to marvel at a sudden shift of subtle light that brings breathtaking grandeur to a nondescript little tree and just as suddenly takes it away. As popular author Tim Cahill observes in his foreword, "These are photos that mirror a man's passion, and I know of nothing like them anywhere. Murphy's photographs are not simply stunning or striking: they are also knowledgeable and even wise."

    There's no need to look through dozens of photos of birds that don't live in Florida. This book features 140 species of Florida birds, organized by color for ease of use. Do you see a yellow bird and don't know what it is? Go to the yellow section to find out. Fact-filled information, a compare feature, range maps and detailed photographs help to ensure that you positively identify the birds that you see.

    But now, suddenly, the turtles are dying, ravaged by a mysterious plague that some biologists consider the most serious epidemic now raging in the natural world. Perhaps most important, sea turtles aren't the only marine creatures falling prey to deadly epidemics. Over the last few decades diseases have been burning through nearshore waters around the world with unprecedented lethality. What is happening to the sea turtle, and how can it be stopped? In this fascinating scientific detective story, Osha Gray Davidson tracks the fervent efforts of the extraordinary and often quirky scientists, marine biologists, veterinarians, and others racing against the clock to unravel a complicated biological and environmental puzzle and keep the turtles from extinction. He follows the fates of particular turtles, revealing their surprisingly distinct personalities and why they inspire an almost spiritual devotion in the humans who come to know them. He also explores through vivid historical anecdotes and examples the history of man's relationship to the sea, opening a window onto the role played by humans in the increasing number of marine die-offs and extinctions. Beautifully written, intellectually provocative, Fire in the Turtle House reveals how emerging diseases wreaking havoc in the global ocean pose an enormous, direct threat to humanity. This is science journalism at its best.

    The competition and the book itself are divided into categories such as animal behavior, the underwater world, in praise of plants, animal portraits, and wild places. Each photograph is accompanied with information of what you are seeing and how these breathtaking shots were taken.

    Each volume contains all the winning and commended entries from the annual British Gas Wildlife Photographer of the Year Competition--from the best international photographers.

    Drybrush watercolors reveal wildlife in its natural habitat -- and guide children toward a lifelong journey of wonder and respect for the wild.

    Beautiful and plentiful photographs similar to the two previous books by these authors, photograqphers and illustrators: Manu & Gold of the Andes

    Grouped by appearance and characteristics with sections including a "A Touch of Glass," "Magic Carpets and Spore Gardens," and "The Wild, Weird, and the Wonderful," Treasures showcases fungi shot in Russia, Finland, Sweden, Scotland, Australia, New Zealand, Chile, Peru, Thailand, Malaysia, China, Indonesia, Nigeria, Zimbabwe, South Africa, India, Switzerland, Japan, and United States.A perfect gift for a special occasion, Treasures from the Kingdom of Fungi is a delight to mushroom enthusiastists, arm-chair travelers, fans of fine photography, and nature lovers of all kinds.Product Specifics:Hard-cover coffee table book with dust jacketDimensions: 11" x 9 1/4"Foreword by the authorSpecies index128 pagesComments about the Book"This is an absolutely sumptuous book of stunning photographs . . . some of which are absolutely breathtaking, the rest simply superb."-- Jonathan Revett, Field Mycology". . . the most impressive photographic work of its kind . . . showing some of the most spectacular fungi"-- Marco Floriani, Italy"'Simply stunning' is the best way to describe this offering from photographer and mushroom lover Taylor Lockwood. 128 pages of gorgeous full-color photographs of fungi from around the world."-- Paul Stamets, author of Mycelium Running"Taylor F. Lockwood has done for mushrooms what Ansel Adams did for Yosemite Valley . . . His photographs are too beautiful to be believed."-- Andrew Todhunter, author of A Meal Observed"Breathtaking, awesome, and exquisite . . . Not only does he search out the most pristine mushrooms to photograph, his composition, color, and lighting are unparalleled. Taylor is the Michelangelo of the mushroom world."

    Featuring an extensive array of photographs, this new volume offers expert guidance in locating, identifying, and enjoying all the butterflies of the West. In fact, together with its companion volume Butterflies Through Binoculars: The East, every type of butterfly from the continental United States is described and, in most cases, photographed. As a complement to its outstanding instruction in spotting both rare and common butterfly species, the volume also includes range maps, advice on food plants, wing areas, flight times, and a host of other butterfly facts. Moreover, each stunning photograph contains identification marks, shown clearly for ease in positive identification.From butterfly biology to butterfly conservation, this useful and practical field guide provides all the necessary information to make your butterfly experience a success. Whether you are a butterfly enthusiast, a birder, a conservationist, or a nature lover in general, this guide is the ideal accompaniment to your search for western butterflies.

    This monarch of the North American plains is revealed as having a complex and highly structured social hierarchy. Bison society is composed of individuals and families, of bands and clans that span many bison generations. Portraits describes, in easily understood detail, who the individuals are that make up this society. It identifies them through drawings, photographs, and text in a manner that is both readable and informative, and in a manner that permits a stranger to bison society the ability to view a herd and within a short while, discern who the members of a group are and how they relate to each other and even provides a glimpse into their unique life history. Equally important is an understanding of how the average visitor to a bison sanctuary can view these majestic animals in safety. The combination of fine art, beautiful photography, and 20 years of accumulated knowledge about bison ecology and life history makes this book unique.

    Offers photographs of animals in their natural habitats, providing visions of grizzly bears in the forest, cheetahs on the plain, sharks in the ocean, apes in the jungle, and polar bears in the Arctic.

    This book shows the best wildlife pictures taken by photographers worldwide and, through these images, emphasizes the beauty, wonder and importance of the natural world. Since 1984 when "BBC Wildlife Magazine" first joined forces with the Natural History Museum to run this event, the competition has grown to become the largest and most prestigious of its kind in the world, attracting more than 12,000 entries each. Its aim is to gather together the best wildlife photographs, and to emphasize through such photographs the beauty, wonder and importance of the natural world. Also Recommended: "Creative Element."