Hunter and Hunted: Relationships between Carnivores and People

Description

Humans have mixed emotions concerning carnivores. We admire them as beautiful hunters, cosset them as pets, and use their pelts and other products in clothing, medicines and cosmetics. However, they are also responsible for killing us and our livestock, carry disease and compete with us for space and food. While some advocate the conservation of predators such as wolves and tigers, others see them as vermin and want them gone. In this book, Hans Kruuk, a life-long naturalist with a passion for predators tells the fascinating story of carnivores and our intricate relationships with them. Illustrated with specially commissioned drawings, it deals with the wild beauty of carnivores and their conservation, but also with furs and medicine, man-eaters and sheep-killers, explaining in simple terms what the role of carnivores is in nature, how this impacts on human lives, our art and literature, how we instinctively respond to them and why.

Hans Kruuk is Honorary Professor of Zoology, University of Aberdeen and Senior Principal Scientific Officer (Retired) at the Centre for Ecology and Hydrology, Banchory.

'Hunter and Hunted is aimed at a general audience and written to entertain as well as to inform and educate, achieving both aims rather well ... this is a thought-provoking, valuable book and a good read both for the student of carnivore biology and the layman.' Claudio Sillero-Zubiri, Animal Behaviour '... a highly engaging book ...' Journal of Biological Education 'This is a highly readable book, delightfully illustrated with Diana Brown's drawings, and deserves a wide readership ... highly recommended ...'. British Wildlife