The Lion, the Dung Beetle and the Veld Tool Box 20 Bush Tales from Southern Africa

About this book

In The Lion, the Dung Beetle and the Veld Tool Box, natural history and travel writer David Bristow delivers the fourth in his Stories from the Veld series of non-fiction narratives. You could say this book has a bit of everything: scientific descriptions of animals alongside philosophical discourses on the nature of wilderness, high drama in the jaws of death, and tragedy played out as farce when things go unexpectedly wrong on safari. You'll also find out why lions can roar so loudly, why giraffes can barely whisper, why the elephant's trunk is one of nature's wonders and why dung beetles study astronomy. The author examines questions featuring little-known information about nature and some of its creatures. Then there is the quirkier stuff, like men who think they are lions, a woman who watches wolves (otherwise known as brown hyenas), and an explorer who invented his own species. And if that was not enough, there's the man who fought off hippos and crocodiles only to be rescued by a buffalo and a woman who lived in a tree. Written in the same engaging style as his previous three books in the Stories from the Veld series (The Game Ranger, the Knife, the Lion and the Sheep; Of Hominins, Hunter Gatherers and Heroes; and Big Pharma, Dirty Lies, Busy Bees and Eco Activists), these bush tales are written in his usual highly entertaining style, yet are intricately woven through with scholarly insights into his subjects.

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Biography

David Bristow is a travel journalist, environmental scientist, storyteller and specialist tour guide. David has a BJourn (Hons) from Rhodes University in Grahamstown, and an MA in environmental sciences from the University of Cape Town. David has covered Africa and other parts of the world for the past 20-odd years as a travel and nature writer and photographer. For 13 years he was the editor of Africa's top-selling travel magazine Getaway. David has authored more than 20 books on South and Southern African natural history, but now he turns his talents to history and cultural heritage with the Stories from the Veld series.