Books like Cry of the Kalahari

Oh, to be Mark and Delia and lie under the clear sky with only lions for company. That is the stuff of dreams for an animal lover. I feel privileged to have been taken by the authors to Botswana Kalahari and given a glimpse of the rare world out there, so inaccessible to most of us. So for that, thank you, Mark & Delia!Mark and Delia (M&D henceforth) were students in the 70s US trying to think of a subject for their Ph.D thesis. Finally, they decided to go to Botswana on a pure whim. They sold off everything they owned to get money for their trip. Once they reached Botswana, they purchased some basic supplies and headed off deep into the Kalahari far away from the nearest civilisation, in a place where even bushmen hesitated to penetrate. Here, they studied the lives of the brown hyenas and Kalahari lions for seven years.The writing was delightful and detailed. Every problem they faced and every rewarding moment was described with emotional intensity. They developed a kind of bond with the animals without intruding too much into their lives, damaging them, or taming them. I loved the way M&D held themselves off from the animals while still being so close to them that they became a part of the landscape. Life in the camp was not all about cuddly cats either. From worrying about dying of thirst to the risk of bush fires, the wild animals around them seemed to be actually the least risky of the dangers M&D faced for seven years. One of the main dangers that the Kalahari wildlife faces is from the cattle industry. Because cattle is considered of supreme importance, is one of the biggest industries of Botswana, is run by powerful people at the helm, any danger to them is swiftly dealt with without even taking the long-term ecological problems into consideration. It is not just the Botswana government which is responsible for this, but also other countries and the EEC (at the time), which impose restrictions on the Botswana cattle industry, directly leading to actions that endanger the Kalahari wildlife. When their repeated entreaties went unheard at the local level, M&D decided to publish their findings in international journals and publicise the problem. Another major danger posed to the wildlife is from the expected discovery of important minerals in the Kalahari. Union Carbide (the same shitty company that was responsible for the Bhopal disaster) had been allowed to prospect in the region, without any regard to the local people or the local ecosystems. African governments in general should be very careful about allowing in foreign companies for these things. Not only are their resources exploited, but also their people aren't too better off in the long run either. M&D have since been involved in a number of conservation efforts in Africa and around the world. We need governments to sustain their efforts and for the general public to support these initiatives. But in the meanwhile, I recommend reading this beautiful book that will convince almost everyone of the beauty of wild untamed nature.