Customer Reviews

Kingdon Field Guide to African Mammals (Natural World)

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

First let me say that in general I find this book excellent, and highly recommend it to anyone interested in the mammalian fauna of Africa.
It is very comprehensive, covering every single species of African mammals with the exception of bats, rodents, insectivores, elephant-shrews and hyrraxes, which are usually represented by one species for each genus. But every single genus is represented, and of rodents, every species of squirrel is dealt with separately.
The information accompanying each species is very detailed and appears up to date.

Now for the shortcomings:
1) The illustrations are next to the description of each species. Given how detailed/long the texts are, this means that usually there are just 1 or 2 species shown on each page, so to compare all antelopes you must look through a hundred pages or so - not very practical in a field guide!
2) Maps are often pages away from the text and illustration, with no reference to their whereabouts. I often thought there was no map for a species/genus, only to find it pages away, combined with the map for another taxon.
3) While illustrations are identified by the species' English name, the maps are confusingly id'ed by Latin names only. If you aren't familiar with the latter, it takes some cross-reference to find out which species' range you are looking at.
4) The illustrations vary so much in standard that it is hard to believe they were drawn by one person... While most are quite good, even excellent and life-like, others are quite awful, either showing animals with stiff, straight limbs/bodies as if drawn with a ruler (like the Crowned Monkey) or in highly unnatural positions (like the Potto with the limbs twisted out, or the Cheetah standing up like a circus horse).

Note that a cheaper, condensed version of this guide, without the first 3 shortcomings listed above and more practical for field use is now available: The Kingdon Pocket Guide to African Mammals. It is probably the book you would want to take to Africa while keeping this one at home for reference.

This is a dream book for those interested in African mammals. First of all, it does not concentrate on "popular" species, such are lions and cheetahs, but talks about all species and important sub-species. The layout of the book is like this: first the author talks about a certain class of mammals, ex. Carnivores, and talks about the things characteristic to that class; then he goes down to family, e.g. canids, and talks about aspects characteristic to that family, and finally, the species themselves, and talks about their individual characteristics, distribution, size, and status. And it goes like that until every species, family and class of African mammal is mentioned. There are no pictures in the book, but color illustrations of all the species mentioned. The illustations are high-class, so much you can easily imagine what the animal looks like in real life. And now, a few bad points. As a bonus, he adds the names of animals in French, German, and a few African languages. Unfortunately, this is inconsistent throughout the book. I understand for the African languages, but French and German translations should have been given for each species. Also, he doesn't mention the mammals of Madagascar, even though Madagascar is part of Africa. And another thing, which would have been nice: with eponymized species (e.g. Ruppell's fox, Wolf's monkey) he should have mentioned who those species were named for. Nevertheless, I still give this book the highest score, for being complete, at least for continental Africa.

This book is one of the most complete works on mammals of Africa I have ever read. I wish Mr. Kingdon had written one for each continent. Contains scientific, English, French and German names for each animal and local names as well (Swahili).Habits, habitat, behavior and everything else you would expect from such a gifted author, artist, and scientist. The illustrations by the author are museum quality art. I cannot recommend this book too highly, simply the best in such a small volume, worth twice the price.

Having seen a dilapidated old copy of this book in the hands of our safari guide,in Tanzania whose knowledge was unbelievable, we just had to have one when we got home.The information contained is unsurpassed.Kingdon's research into the genetic background and the locations of the animals is amazing.Illustrations,diagrams etc. very reader friendly. A great book.

Excellent text describing size, habitat, behavior, food and status accompanies beautiful colored illustrations of "all the know African land mammaals". Range maps appear below the illustrations which are adjacent to the text. Each order of mammals is described in detail as well.

I used this book during my semester abroad studying wildlife ecology in Kenya and Tanzania. It was wonderful, not only for identification purposes but also for learning about the behaviors and habitats of the different species. It is well organized and beautifully illustrated. I would highly recommend this book.

This is a very detailed and useful guide for a wildlife lover visiting the African continent. While your local guide would be able to identify the names for you, having more in-depth information on the species can greatly add to the enjoyment of wildlife and help you document your visit after you return.

This guide book is simply one of the best regional mammal guide books in existance. As well as providing good descriptions of the mammals, it looks at them in the context of their evolutionary history. It does contain a few errors, as is to be expected in a book of this scope. For example, servals are reported from Egypt, where, as far as I am aware, they have not been recorded in historic times. Overall, however, the book is outstanding.I used it throughout a 14-month trip to Africa and it never let me down.

Well worth carrying along, would not opt for the pocket guide. We have used this book on several trips to Africa (East, South and Central) and have always found it useful. It is a great guide to have and pass around with others as you discuss what you have seen. It is also useful to have to make notes so you remember what you took pictures of when you get home. Between Kingdon and Estes, would recommend Kingdon if you can only take one guide book with you.

This is a great reference for animals, the guide may not be as thorough as some, but in my opinion, it's thorough enough for the average person..and then some. It has detailed information on the animals it lists, and goes beyond many field guides in this respect. I definitely recommend this book for someone who wants a useful book, loaded with well-drawn color pictures.