East African Wildlife

Book excerpt: The new, extensively revised, third edition of Bradt’s East African Wildlife guide provides a user-friendly overview of East Africa’s peerless wildlife – not only ‘big game’ and other large mammals (an alluring list that includes elephant, lion, leopard, giraffe, zebra, wildebeest, gorilla and chimpanzee), but also birds, reptiles, amphibians and invertebrates. Excellent for independent travellers, it excels as a standalone guide combining both wildlife and visitor information, and is also a perfect complement to traditional field guides or to Bradt travel guides to Tanzania, Uganda and Rwanda. From the snow-capped peaks of Kilimanjaro to the sultry Indian Ocean coastline, with a range of habitats that span parched desert and vast transparent lakes, open savannah and tropical rainforest, east Africa is simply the world’s finest wildlife-viewing destination. Straddling the Equator and bisected by the magnificent Great Rift Valley, it is a true Mecca for wildlife enthusiasts. It harbours the continent’s most popular safari locations, including legendary reserves such as the Serengeti, Ngorongoro Crater, Maasai Mara, Samburu, Murchison Falls, Bwindi and Tsavo. Written by Philip Briggs, the world’s foremost guidebook writer on Africa and a wildlife expert, East African Wildlife covers the fauna of Tanzania, Kenya, Uganda and Rwanda. Some 300-plus colour images by acclaimed photographer Ariadne Van Zandebergen illustrate many animals likely to be encountered, while the engaging text extends beyond basic identification features to illuminate the natural history, habits, whereabouts and ecology of the species that visitors will encounter. To enable you to plan a safari that suits your interests, East African Wildlife offers top tips for optimising your wildlife experience, a ‘where to go’ overview which outlines the key wildlife attractions at major sites within each country, and advice on when to visit. There’s even an engaging section about ‘wildlife from your window’, for when you are staying in towns and hotels. Accessibly written and beautifully illustrated, the guide will appeal both to the first-time visitor and to the serious naturalist seeking a compact volume to carry around – and one that will sit proudly on bookshelves thereafter as a compelling souvenir of an unforgettable holiday.