![]() Certainly a wealth of primate books exist, none however, quite like the work produced by Hutchins.Chimpanzee referential models for early hominid behavior have become the most common of all current approaches. Therefore in many respects primates warrant a range of books that cover the entire order. The primate order, in general, sparks peoples' interest, whether at a professional or scientific level or as a curiosity. More so, other mammalian species could be incorporated, and even non-mammalian animals, should there be a market. The author could potentially cover lemurs, New World monkeys and Old World monkeys using the same format. "Apes." has mileage and could possibly be the first in a series of books. The crossover between the two, as presented in "Apes." makes it relatively unique. Many books are either one or the other, text or illustrative. It is rare to encounter a book of such design with such a range of accurate information. The book presents many of the facts and a large proportion of the information pictorially, making its interpretation simple, exciting and alluring. Each picture really does paint a thousand words. ![]() The illustrations are the story of this book. One glance at the front cover invites further examination and most people would be unable to resist "sneaking a peak". The book, both pictorially and factually, bring apes into your living room. However, the ability of this book to appeal to a vast audience is possibly one of its greatest assets. This is a short book (80 pages) aimed at people who need a quick, reliable reference guide. This section is a particularly useful reference guide and includes a comprehensive list, with up-to-date contact details and website addresses, of the major conservation groups for each ape species and the broader protection agencies such as WWF. The book concludes with a "those who care" section detailing the efforts of pioneers in the field, such as Jane Goodall and Dian Fossey. Hutchins deals with these repetitions by placing them in engaging "Did you know?" boxes, each one worded differently enough to keep the reader entertained and interested in the more mundane facts, such as the animal's height or arm span. Many of the facts about these animals can seem repetitive, for example, the age range of many gibbons in the wild is similar. The gorillas set the investigation in motion, followed by the chimpanzees, the orangutans, and finally the gibbons. The author begins the book with an overview of what constitutes an ape and then continues with an in-depth look at each ape species and their associated subspecies. Additionally, the inclusion of bright diagrammatic representations of ape habitats, and interesting historical fact boxes for each species, takes this book away from dense text and into an altogether lighter" understanding of our closest living relatives. Taxonomies, and indeed other encyclopaedic information, are thoroughly researched, and presented in such a way that makes this book extremely accessible to all, regardless of education level. Such accreditation serves to reinforce the validity of the taxonomies the author presents. A relatively unseen, but incredibly useful, comparison.Ī foreword from Professor Colin Groves precedes the main body of the book. ![]() The book thoroughly represents each of the ape species in splendid detail, and uses the illustrations to compare morphology between the species, including humans. The illustrations are nothing less than beautiful and stand in stiff competition with any justice photographs can do to these majestic primates. The most startling aspect of this book, before even opening the front cover, is the colour illustrations. Index of English and Scientific Species Names&o Customer Reviews ContentsĬao-vit Crested and Hainan Crested GibbonĪddresses of Major Ape Conservation Groups The title has been endorsed by the Jane Goodall Institute and The Orangutan Foundation. Ray Hutchins brings his skills as an artist to produce attractive, accurate images of all the species. It is the artwork that makes the book stand out. Each account is laid out as a 2-page spread for easy cross-referencing. Each species account contains information on appearance, distribution, population size, conservation, breeding biology and ecology. The bulk of the book is devoted to species accounts: 7 species of Great ape in 4 genera and 16 species of Lesser ape in 4 genera. ![]() Preliminary sections explain how the apes are related and provide information on biology, ecology, life history, behaviour and physiology. Excellent, well-illustrated introductory guide to all species and subspecies of gorilla, chimpanzee, orangutan and gibbon, which would also serve as an educational resource. ![]()
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