Relentless Enemies: Lions and Buffalo
Beverly and Dereck Joubert, famed filmmakers and writers (Hunting with the Moon, 1997), have produced another spectacular examination of wildlife in Africa. Botswana's Okavango Delta, a landlocked region of marshland, rivers, and islands, is the setting for what the authors refer to as the eternal dance: a relentless struggle between buffalo and the lions who prey upon them. Some of these lions were the largest the authors had ever seen, probably a result of the size of their enormous prey and of the effort required to negotiate the water, mud, and reed beds of their home. Following three lion prides active in the area, the authors studied and documented the act of predation itself. Often the setup for the hunt was very tactical and the hunt itself so intricate that it was clearly an example of planning and thinking ahead. Despite the constant hunting pressure, the buffalo herd was growing in number each year while the lion prides fluctuated in size, an example of the shifting balances between predator and prey. Illustrated with Beverly Joubert's phenomenal photographs and limned by her husband's lyrical text.Nancy BentCopyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved