Reviews for The Brooks International Running Guide 1985

The average rating for The Brooks International Running Guide 1985 based on 2 reviews is 3 stars.

Review # 1 was written on 2008-12-16 00:00:00 Karen Dirkson A look at the country house farm which became a wildlife park. Some of the animals came from Scotland, some from a travelling menagerie. The need to breed rare or endangered species was early recognised and the park became a haven for white rhinos, Prezwalski's horses, cheetahs and so on to take stock of the gene pool, make good matches from other zoos and spread the species around many locations. Sadly the author who writes from the experience of growing up in Africa (The Flame Trees of Thika), tells us that poaching, habitat loss and prevention of migration across vast distances, the previous survival strategy, has decimated many animal populations. She mentions elephants in particular and says in one area where thousands had lived, there were 150 at time of writing, huddling around the ranger station in the hope of being safe. In a sanctuary park the increasing number of elephants meant that they overgrazed and during a long drought many died. They had been unable to follow the rains and green grass. Thus the author does not believe it will be possible to return animals to their native wilderness. She also quotes Joy Adamson's work with Pippa the cheetah cub reared by people, who did not know how to hunt. A male cheetah was sent to Whipsnade which had not been obliging with a female he lived with in a different zoo. But cheetahs in the wild do not normally share space, so within a short time of arrival he was fathering six litters to females who didn't normally live with males. By contrast lions have become a drug on the market at safari parks and zoos, because they breed so easily and all cubs survive with an abundance of food. Several pages contain colour or black and white photos of the animals and some staff at the zoo. I recommend the read.

Review # 2 was written on 2007-12-31 00:00:00 Alan Watson i love it