I had remembered this book from my brother-in-law’s review of it on their blog a few years ago and decided to check it out in preparation for our trip in March. It’s the story of two married field researchers (Mark and Delia Owens) who go to Botswana to study animals for their graduate and PhD studies.
They were there for seven years documenting the social order of mainly lions and brown hyenas, but tell tales of all kinds of wildlife from the area. Parts of the book read kind of like the “Blue Planet” television series… lots of good action snippets. But the Owens’ stories go into much more depth about how the animals interact and depend on each other, all along weaving in the case for conservation of the area.
The authors also tie in their own personal story of survival… both literally against the demands of the desert, also also their work to be funded and published. I thought their comparison of the social needs of wild animals and humans, as they found themselves more and more exclusive and detached from society, was especially interesting.
I ended up reading it in three evenings and two 3-hour plane rides… it was that good. Entirely recommended.