The Valley Bisa people inhabit the Luangwa Valley in central Zambia. Among them, the hunter, who tracks such large game as the lion, elephant, and buffalo, commands great respect and esteem from the other members of the lineage who traditionally rely on him for their subsistence and protection. Although the social organization and technology of the Bisa people have undergone tremendous change in the last one hundred years, the role of hunter retains its social importance, and the legitimizing hunting rituals have their roots in local history. Drawing on data collected during his fieldwork among the Bisa continuing since the 1960s, Stuart Marks describes the changes that have occurred in hunting patterns, the sociological variables that govern an individual's decision to become a hunter, and the common cosmological convictions that hunters bring to their profession. Available for the first time in paperback, the new introduction and afterword to this edition reflect on methodological and ideological changes in the anthropological study of African peoples as well as updating the circumstances of the Bisa people since the book's first appearance in 1976. Through the interventions of the larger national society the Bisa have lost much of their land and access to important portions of their resources while experiencing repression in their struggles to maintain livelihoods with what local assets are left. Nevertheless, Marks notes that they face their hardships with tolerance, integrity, persistence, and humility. The general reader, as well as prehistorians and anthropologists concerned with human evolution and hunting societies, will find this volume useful. It will also be of interest to wildlife managers and ecologists.

Greater southern Africa has a wealth of mammal species, almost 400 – all of which are covered in this fully updated, comprehensive field guide. Now expanded to include species found in Angola, Zambia and Malawi, it has also been extensively revised to include: • the most recent research and taxonomy • revised distribution maps and many new images • colour-coded grouping of families • spoor and size icons • skull photographs, grouped for easy comparison • detailed descriptions of each species, offering insight into key identification characters, typical behaviour, preferred habitat, food choice, reproduction and longevity.

The essential mammal guide to take on safari, covering every African land mammal. Originally published in 2004, the Kingdon Pocket Guide to African Mammals quickly became the field guide of choice to take on African safaris. Its compact format makes it ideal for use in the field, while its coverage is the most comprehensive currently possible in this format. Adapted from the Kingdon Field Guide to African Mammals, the greatly condensed text focuses on essential information such as identification and distribution, while the author's superb illustrations have been rearranged into an easy-to-use plate format and placed opposite the text. Complex and more obscure groups like the bats and certain rodent families are summarised by genera. Over 500 maps plot the distribution of all larger species, and for smaller mammals the maps show distribution by genus. This is a completely revised second edition of this popular guide. The information and taxonomy have been updated to follow the newly published second edition of the Kingdon Field Guide to African Mammals (2015), and this new edition of the pocket guide contains several new species and illustrations. The maps have been completely replaced and there are now 200 more maps than in the original edition.