Wildlife Encounters

Book excerpt: Nicolette Scourse is an entertaining and marvellously perceptive guide to the wild places and creatures of southern seas. Reminiscent of Sir Peter Scott's famous travel diaries for its vivid descriptions, and deft illustrations of life in the wild, Nicolette's colourful story-telling draws you into her world so completely that you soon feel you are with her at the wild edges of the human world. Callum Roberts, Professor of Marine Conservation, Chief Scientific Advisor to Blue Planet ll, WWF UK Ambassador, author, scuba diver. A zoologist's personal encounters with living diversity, journeying into animal lives on beaches, cliffs, desert and forest shores; in cold oceans, warm seas and tropical coral reefs; and in skies above. Connections in life's incredible jigsaw are unravelled - from penguins to parrots, plankton to pelicans, whales to wallabies, whale sharks to wombats, butterflyfish to bioluminescence, dolphin-talk with dogs, and more. In these self-supporting webs of life, the mighty depend on the miniature, ancient meets modern, and mystery detective trails lead to the unexpected. Whilst the animals take the starring roles, human lives, past and present, intertwine with theirs as part of this living jigsaw whilst life affirming volunteers, park wardens and research scientists are now replacing the pieces to make a biodiverse and sustainable future.