Among African Apes

Stories and Photos from the Field

Martha M. Robbins, Christophe Boesch, Martha M. Robbins, Christophe Boesch

• Publisher: University of California Press
• Year: 2011
• Print ISBN: 9780520274594
• eBook ISBN: 9780520948839
• Edition: 1
• Topic: Sciences biologiques
• Subtopic: Zoologie

These compelling stories and photographs take us to places like Bwindi Impenetrable National Park in Uganda, Ivindo National Park in Gabon, and the Taï National Park in Côte d'Ivoire for an intimate and revealing look at the lives of African wild apes—and at the lives of the humans who study them. In tales of adventure, research, and conservation, veteran field researchers and conservationists describe exciting discoveries made over the past few decades about chimpanzees, bonobos, and gorillas. The book features vivid descriptions of interactions among these highly intelligent creatures as they hunt, socialize, and play. More difficult themes emerge as well, including the threats apes face from poaching, disease, and deforestation. In stories that are often moving and highly personal, this book takes measure of how special the great apes are and discusses positive conservation efforts, including ecotourism, that can help bring these magnificent animals back from the brink of extinction.

Table of contents

• Cover
• Contents
• List of Illustrations
• Acknowledgments
• Introduction: Who, What, Where, and Why
• 1. Discovering Apes
• 2. Life and Death in the Forest
• 3. Encounters with Bili Chimpanzees in the Undisturbed Gangu Forest
• 4. Is Blood Thicker Than Water?
• 5. Our Cousins in the Forest — or Bushmeat?
• 6. Discovering Chimpanzee Traditions
• 7. Keeping it in the Family: Tribal Warfare between Chimpanzee Communities
• 8. Winona’s Search for the Right Silverback: Insights into Female Strategies at a Natural Rain Forest Clearing in Northern Congo
• 9. The Long Road to Habituation: A Window into the Lives of Gorillas
• 10. Among Silverbacks
• 11. The Diversity of the Apes: What Is the Future?
• Contributors
• Plate Credits
• Index