Pocket Guide: Mammals of Southern Africa (Struik Nature)

This book packs an impressive amount of information in a compact and light package. A typical visitor to the region should be able to identify most of what he sees with this book. Inter alia, each species account has a nice size range map, a section on how to differentiate similar species, one or two photos, diagrams showing tracks and the size of the animal compared to a human, habitat, behavior, food, detailed measurements, etc. There is also a useful collection of photos to facilitate dung identification.There are a few drawbacks, however. Some of these are to be expected in any compact guide, though others could have been easily remedied:- Most species are represented with a single photograph, though in a few cases there are two photographs, usually when sexes differ, as in antelopes where females usually have no horns. A single photograph can only show one side of an animal and obviously can't show individual variation. In some cases the photographs do not show key features, e.g. photograph of a Dwarf Mongoose does not show its tail even though the text indicates differences in the tail are important to distinguishing it from Slender Mongoose.- Only two species can be viewed at once; so you have to flip between pages in many cases to compare similar species.- There's no way to assess the relative sizes of the animals from the photos (though the diagrams at the bottom comparing size to a human do allow you to infer the differences)- There is no list of species covered in the table of contents; so to find a particular species you either have to flip through the book or check the index.- There is no discussion of mammal taxonomy, nor an explanation of how the species are ordered in the book. They are simply lumped into various categories such as primates, zebras, rhinoceros, antelope, carnivores, etc.- The text is fairly dry- I've noted a few species that a visitor to South Africa might easily encounter that are not included in the guide. These include Red Bush Squirrel, Humpback Whale, Slogget's Vlei (Ice) Rat, and Peters' Epauletted Fruit Bat. (The last is actually mentioned several times in the discussion of Wahlberg's Epauletted Fruit Bat, but there is no discussion of how to distinguish the two, and Peters is not listed in the index even though it is referenced.)- Easiest way I've found to differentiate African Civet from the similar looking Genets is that the former has a dark facial mask (like a No. Am. raccoon). But this is not mentioned in the text--it just says Genets are smaller with longer tail and shorter legs.

Amazing! I’m in love with this field guide! Wonderful pictures and information. At the back of the book, there are track and dung identification photos that are super convenient. They give a size comparison of the animals to humans which I also really like. Very concise and the layout is great! This will be strapped to me my entire trip

Bought the ebook because the paper version got lost in the mail and we had no time to wait for a replacement.The ebook is not what you may expect from an ebook. It's merely a digitized version of the paper edition.The list of animal names eg, has no hyperlinks. Not easy to jump through the book quickly in order to check if you got the name of a spotted animal right.The dung identififaction and track comparison are very handy and one of the reasons i bought this book. Used it a lot.

Perfect guide to mammals in South Africa. Keeps you from thumbing through a book with hundreds of animals you'll never see to find the one you're after.

this book is not only informative (with pictures of the animals) but small in size to pack and then take on safari. I would recommend it for anyone traveling to South Africa.

Great book. The kids love identifying animals which is exactly what I wanted. It is clear, to the point and has great photos for recognition. Perfect size too.

Helpful, full of information

Good size for taking on plane prior to safari.Great pictures color photos and concise info.Start perusing it several weeks before your trip.

A super book ideal for taking out. It enabled us to identify some of the smaller mammals e.g. a four striped grass mouse and acted as an I spy type book for the bigger mammals. We even used it to identify some smaller mammals photographed from a distance. The dung identification amused us as we tried to use it. For its size and cost a worth while purchase to complement our wildlife outings in South Africa.

Very good! I own and use several Southern African wild life books, this is now the only mammal one I will take! It is so easy to use, all info on one page, not any of this turn to page xxx see plat 324.5a rubbish! okk its not incredibly in depth but carries all info wanted for a field ID and some facts like behaviors, habitat, other names and gestation etc BUT one of the best bits is the silhouette sizeing, a silhouette of the critter next to that of a man or arm or hand, brilliant!I have been on numerous self drive safaris in South Africa and Zimbabwe and this will be our new constant companion!

I just wished I had bought this book a couple of years ago! As I go on African Safari's I have difficulty in identifying all animals and especially birds so bought companion book in same series on birds - brilliant, and picket book size easy to pop in rucksack

I have just come back from a safari where I found this guide really useful. It is fairly slim and light so I could easily carry it on safari drives. It has helpful comparisons of sizes and weights of animals - excellent when trying to distinguish between different antelope. It even has pages of footprint comparisons and, surprisingly useful, dung comparisons!I would definitely recommend this to anyone going on their first trip to look at south african wildlife.

I bought this for our recent safari in Botswana. It covered every mammal we saw and makes it easier to identify the many photos we took. I prefer photographs to drawings as I find the quality of some guide book drawing to be so poor you cannot identify things properly. This guide book is small enough to carry around and the photos make it easy to use.