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Author:
DL Cheney
By Chicago University Press
 Okavango observations, 2007-11-05
In Sociology 101 we learned about human communities - habitat, communication and eating practices. The advanced course, Soc202 brought us the teachings of Jane Goodall and the habits our social primate cousins, the chimpanzees exhibit - some familiar, others rather alien. Now, in grad studies, Cheney and Seyfarth relate the world of another cousin, baboons. "Baboon metaphysics", to those jolted by the title of this excellent work, derives from an 1838 entry in Charles Darwin's notebook: "he who understands baboon would do more toward metaphysics than Locke". Both the entry date and the reference are significant, as the authors go to some effort to point out.
Although for some the passage has become trite, there are many others who need introduction to and understanding of what it means. Darwin himself had only just realised the implications of natural selection when he penned it. What does it mean to be a primate social species? Cheney and Seyfarth spent many years studying a baboon community in the Okavango Delta of Botswana. Adapting the innovative techniques they had developed in their investigation of vervet monkeys [see "How Monkeys See the World"], they were thus capable of not only merely observing what baboons do, but instigate conditions to assess variations in behaviour. The chief technique is the playback of recordings of individual baboons in selected circumstances. They leave you in no doubt that the research is tricky, fraught with dangers and disappointments, but ultimately rewarding. The work produced a firm foundation for understanding "The Evolution of A Social Mind".
At issue is the motivation and capacity to learn. The authors note that Darwin's challenge to Locke's heritage rested on the latter's idea that experience guided what and how we learned. His idea was that we are born with "blank slate" minds which are formed only by the events we perceive. Even in modern times, they remind us, the notion remained in place through the ideas of the "Behaviourists" following John Watson and B.F. Skinner. Evolutionary roots were unknown or ignored. "Behaviourism" is a method long out of date, now, and research in primates was the major cause of its demise.
Cheney and Seyfarth contest the simplistic view Behaviourism promoted with this intense and revealing study of a primate society under many pressures. The local environment varies widely with weather conditions, and a variety of predators are present - and hungry. The baboons must cope with these factors, and do so with flexibility and innovation. Learning to deal with the challenges around them, baboons that had to relearn each generation how to respond to changes would long ago have gone extinct. Instead, the authors show how baboon society has enabled the passage and reinforcement of behaviours to ensure the best possible chance for survival and continuation.
Baboons have a matrilineal arrangement, which makes status clear to all group members. Interactions are fairly tightly structured, which provides reliability in dealing with other individuals. Given that after predation, infanticide by aspiring alpha males is the greatest threat, those matrilineal arrangements can protect some offspring. The females ally in a variety of forms, and friendship remains a major social buttress. Female friendship with males, rare in other apes, is common with baboons. Yet, these "friendships" aren't the tactile form seen in bonobos or monkeys. Instead, social interactions are primarily vocal. Baboon society is anything simple, and the work of Cheney and Seyfarth goes far in explaining how it works. More importantly, they contrast that society and its intellectual underpinnings with other primates. A revelatory segment of this book uses the collected data to investigate whether baboons have a "theory of mind", a long-debated issue in primate research. The Okavango baboons, at least, seem to have been short-changed in that area. The authors give numerous examples of how a particular behaviour with baboons demonstrates this lack.
Although a detailed treatise, Baboon Metaphysics is a captivating read. The authors write with practised skill and the narrative is clear and not overly laden with academic terms. They are clearly writing for both general and scientific audiences. With photographs portraying events and individuals in the troop, the book is a complete product. Well worth your time and investment. [stephen a. haines - Ottawa, Canada]
Author:
Camilla de la Bedoyere
By Palazzo Editions
An incredible story beautifully told, 2007-10-07
The voice and complex personality of Dian Fossey come through powerfully in the narrative, which draws together many incredible events in an an extraordinary life using a series of letters and photographs. The author takes great care to neither condemn nor celebrate Fossey's own rather peculiar, albeit successful (to some degree) methods of conservation, and places them in a historical context. Bob Campbell's photograhs capture the beauty of the mountain gorillas and their habitat, and reading about the harsh conditions in which he and Fossey had to work further increases one's admiration for them both. A very readable story for the interested lay person.
List Price: £17.95
Our Price: £11.84
Author:
Hans Kummer
By Princeton University Press
What a fascinating book!, 2006-03-20
I got this as a present for my partner and it went down a storm! It's the journal of a Swiss scientist with a keen interest in the hamadryas baboon - not convinced? You will be. If you are interested in this animal's habits this covers everything you will ever need to know, from harem neck-biting to adoption of orphans by juvenile males. There are even some beautiful colour plates to distract you along the way!
List Price: £16.99
Our Price: £6.75
Author:
Helen Attwater
By Sidgwick & Jackson Ltd
Helen Attwater met her future husband Mark when they worked together at London's Royal Festival Hall; both knew that they shared a deep sense of adventure, but neither could have ever imagined that they would spend their lives living in the heart of Africa caring for orphaned baby gorillas. This remarkable story of a life spent with 50 or more of the world's most endearing and vulnerable animals is far more than just a book about gorillas. It is a stunning, heartrending story of compassion in the face of harsh brutality, of utter determination in the face of adversity and ultimately of love, not just between an exceptional man and woman, but between two species. Helen Attwater writes with an all-consuming passion for her subject and not only allows the reader to eavesdrop on a life that most of us can barely even imagine, but encourages a deeper understanding of the politics and culture which provide the backdrop for her work. My Gorilla Journey is a vital, well-written autobiography which avoids any kind of self-indulgence, but is instead an inspiring, heartwarming and thought-provoking story of a woman whose life is filled with true love and enviable dev...
Read this book if you a want to feel inspired, 2000-10-21
I deeply admire Helen Attwater's determination and efforts in trying to and in turn saving so many of the lowland Gorillas in war-torn Congo. The first few pages pulled me in and I couldn't put the book down again. This is so much more than the story of two people to save gorillas: it is also about the political situation of the Congo, the people who live there as well as giving a great insight into the plight of captured animals.
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