Dr. Watson received the invitation from Dr. Van der Linde at a meeting of the American Academy of Forensic Sciences. Dr. Watson and his fellow researchers used light traps at night to collect insects for study. Vehicles can sink as in quicksand. Giant termite mounds convince campers not to sleep on the ground. Guns are possessed only by rangers, not police or private citizens.
Elephants serve as the forefront to a changing landscape.
An elephant will eat up to 20 hours per day, and they're hard on trees, stripping the bark and pushing the trees over. The new flora that follows draws smaller animals, such as zebras. As the vegetation diminishes, smaller and smaller species graze the area. The more heavily an area is grazed, the fewer insect species remain. One of the more useful insects is the dung beetle, which removes and buries animal feces.