Giraffe Reflections
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- $27.99
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- $27.99
Publisher Description
The most comprehensive book on giraffes to appear in the last fifty years, this volume presents a magnificent portrait of a group of animals who, in spite of their legendary elegance and astonishing gentleness, may not entirely survive this century.
Dale Peterson’s text provides a natural and cultural history of the world’s tallest and second-biggest land animals, describing in detail their biology and behavior. He offers a new perspective on the giraffes’ place in our world, and argues for the stronger protection of these imposing yet endangered creatures and their elusive forest relatives, the okapis.
Some 120 stunning photographs by award-winning wildlife photographer Karl Ammann capture the grace and elegance of Giraffa camelopardalis. Both beautiful and informative, the images document giraffes’ complex interactions with each other and their environment.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Conservationists estimate that there are fewer than 75,000 giraffes remaining in the world, scattered about in small pockets of declining habitat across Africa. In this stunning collection of Ammann's photographs, Peterson offers an engaging natural history of giraffes, as well as a look at their behavior and beauty. The Greek historian Agatharchides referred to the giraffe as the animal that "Greeks call camelopardalis t has the varied coat of a leopard, the shape of a camel ts neck is long enough for it to browse in the tops of trees." Drawing on scientific studies, Peterson notes the manifold advantages of being tall and long-necked, which increases the animals' ability to avoid predators, thermoregulate, forage for food, and find suitable mates. Giraffes exhibit traits that reveal the workings of their own mental worlds, including the behaviors of sparring, vigilance, fear, and flight. Ammann's exquisite photos portray the giraffes' majesty and just how impoverished our world would be if they "march into a night of nonexistence." 111 color illus., 2 b&w photos.
