London-based photographer Tim Flach evokes powerful empathy through images of our animal counterparts. He brilliantly conveys the dogs’ behaviours, moods and characteristics through his photographs.
The cover features a lively, energetic puli, captured running towards the camera, his fluffy, woolly hair flying in all directions. From Afghan hounds to Hungarian kimonos and Chinese crested, Tim Flach provides an exquisite insight into man’s best friend. His unique canine portraits in Dog Gods (Wild Dog Press, R395), will delight dog lovers from around the world. - Staff Reporter
Most visitors to game reserves are so intent on spotting the Big Five that they largely ignore the huge termite mounds. But the habits of these insects are fascinating and humans could learn a lot from them. Agents of decomposition, they break down old grass and wood inside the complex matrix we see as a mound.
Termites practise “re-ingestion” where regurgitated food, together with fecal matter, is eaten and released as a brown paste used for building. I’m not suggesting that humans now replace cement with their own digested by-products, but it’s true that the termite community has zero sewerage problems. They offer an excellent example of a sustainable society populated by workers, soldiers, breeders, nurses and the queen, who is the brain and nucleus of the mound.
Through pheromone communication she sends and receives messages from those around her as to what job description of eggs she needs to produce to keep the colony thriving. Situated below the surface of the ground, she also lays future queen eggs should something happen to her. The queen usually lives up to 10 years.
These and many other riveting snippets about the fauna, flora, and animals of southern Africa can be found in Shamwari: Soul of the Earth (Mantis Group), written by Heather Dugmore with photographs by Dave Olsen and the talented Sandy Coffey.
A remarkable story, Shamwari Game Reserve, a 24 000ha reserve along the Bushman’s River halfway between Grahamstown and Port Elizabeth, was devastated by drought and infestation of exotic plants and incorrect usage, until Adrian Gardiner restored it to a living Eden.
In 1990, he bought vast tracts of land between Port Elizabeth and Grahamstown and decided to establish a Big Five game reserve in Africa that would stand out as a beacon for private enterprise in the wildlife conservation world.
Shamwari: Soul of the Earth touches on the reserve’s journey long before environmental sustainability became hip, and tells an inspiring tale of commitment, hope, heartache, trial and error and the joys of creating paradise in Africa.
To buy a copy of this lavishly illustrated coffee table book at R295, contact Chantel Minnie at Mantis on 041 407 1000 or e-mail chantel.minnie@mantiscollection.com. Add on additional R55 including VAT for postage. - Saturday Star