Kingdom of Lions – Jonathan Scott

Description

Condition: Cover right front corner chipped and smallish water stain on first two pages in middle bottom near spine-see images. Inside of book very good condition with bright images.

192 Pages, Paperback, 30x21x1.3cm

The book focuses on the lives of specific lion prides, leopards, and cheetahs, exploring their survival and interactions. 

It follows the fortunes of assorted lion prides and other animals, such as leopards,wild dogs, cheetahs, elephants and the vast herds of buffalo, wildebeest and gazelles etc. He has spent many years in the Masai Mara, the eponymous Kingdom of Lions, and he describes the daily lives of the lions in a delightful way, amply aided by some beautiful photographs and pencil sketches .

We learn of the ways in which the animals survive the harsh times and also witness the bountiful times as the annual migration of the wildebeests arrives . This migration, the largest movement of large mammals in the World, provides the lions with easier pickings and also benefits the other carnivores of the Masai Mara .

We also learn of the constant battles between the carnivores as they struggle to keep their hard earned meals. Their are some fantastic photographs and drawings of some of the lesser known inhabitants of this wonderful Reserve, such as the Ground Hornbill, and Mr Scott manages to draw all these diverse species together with his narrative .

Mr Scott also provides us with an insight into the pastoralist Masai peoples, who have lived cheek by jowl with the lions since time immemorial, and how they are adapting to the ever changing World around them .
This book is a beautiful way to learn of the habits of lions and will delight the reader . It would make an excellent addition to the shelves of any person with an interest in the natural World, and particularly the vast plains of Africa .

Jonathan Scott has spent most of the last 25 years in the Masai Mara, photographing and writing about the animals, and especially the big cats. A former winner of the prestigious BBC Wildlife Photographer of the Year Award and co-presenter of BBC-TV’s Big Cat Diary, he has written and photographed eight other major books (latterly in collaboration with his wife Angela, who is BBC Wildlife Photographer of the Year for 2002) and has established himself as one of the great portrayers of East African wildlife.