| Edition |
First edition. |
| Description |
xiii, 370 pages, 8 unnumbered pages of plates : color illustrations, maps, ; 24 cm |
| Bibliography |
Includes bibliographical references (pages [353]-354) and index. |
| Contents |
The mountain gorillas : gorillas and guerillas [sic] in the mist -- The wild, wild chimpanzees -- The bonobos : our long-lost cousins -- King Kong at the brink : the Western lowland gorillas -- The Cross River gorillas : rarest of the rare -- The enigmatic orangutans : Borneo's man of the forest -- A call to arms. |
| Summary |
Primatologists estimate that within 50 years, the only great apes left will be in zoos or in some form of wildlife sanctuary. Raffaele, feature writer for Smithsonian magazine and book author (Among the Cannibals, 2008), takes readers along as he travels into the wild to meet all four species of great ape in their natural habitat. First meeting the mountain gorillas in Rwanda, the author treks up into Dian Fossey's mountainous habitat and discusses her life, the Rwandan genocide, and gorilla behavior. He then moves on to East Africa and the region's chimpanzees, telling of his dismay at the differences between gorilla society and that of chimpanzees, whom he calls "thugs." The bonobos offer the bigger contrast to chimpanzees as these apes use sex instead of violence to resolve disputes. When locating western lowland gorillas Raffaele is charged by an enraged silverback male protecting his offspring. Finally, when observing orangutans at a feeding station he discovers that they understand trade -- after he moved a bucket of fruit away from a female she took his camera bag, only returning it when he returned the fruit. Readers are brought closer to their nearest relatives--Booklist. |
| Subject |
Apes.
|
|
Apes -- Behavior.
|
|
Apes -- Conservation.
|
|
Rare mammals.
|
| ISBN |
9780061671838 alkaline paper $26.99 |
|
0061671835 alkaline paper |
|
