Wild Company Encounters Between Man & Beast

Here are animals in action on land, in the sea and in the air. Eric Duthie has cast a wide collector's net over the writings of field-naturalists, hunters, collectors, scientists and animal enthusiasts from 'Elephant Bill' to Sir Julian Huxley, and his haul is rich and lively. Köhler writes on the mentality of apes and Frank Buckland describes a flea-trainer in Marylebone; Carl Akeley wrestles with a leopard and William Beebe ponders the mystery of the Palisade Moth. We travel from Malayan jungle to the shores of Inagua, and the Oregon trail to Fabre's garden at Serignan. Jim Corbett encounters his most dangerous man-eater, Frank Buck is cornered by a king cobra, Authur Loveridge is besieged by driver ants. We see what happens when an elephant runs amok. We walk under tropic seas with Gilbert Klingel, we enter an African forest with Karen Blixen. We meet bats in the air and rats in the laboratory. Konrad Lorenz displays his water-shrews, and Gavin Maxwell, Gerald Durrell and Joy Adamson describe their remarkable friendships with wild creatures. Since men have inhabited this planet, they have desperately fought, patiently watched or devotedly loved the other species who share it with them. Wild Company is a fascinating record of relationships between man and beast - encounters, struggles, companionships, observations. It is the ideal book for anyone who delights in the animal kingdom.