2010 Vol 101.pdf (1.63mb) - Primate Society of Great Britain

of different ages and sexes, highlighting the individuality of these apes, and
how different each one looks – not necessarily something that is generally
known to non-primatologists. Further chapters then describe the forests and
National Parks in which mountain gorillas live, including summaries of
classification of vegetation types for the Virungas and for Bwindi, and
fauna in the region. The importance of the forests is also discussed, not only
in terms of their environmental impact, but also in terms of human presence,
such as the Batwa/Bantu populations, local staff working to protect the
forests and habituate gorillas, and so on. The discussion of the human
impact on gorilla range countries goes on to explore colonialism in the
region, and the horrific conflicts in DRC and Rwanda, and tourist killings at
Bwindi in 1999, in terms of the impact on gorilla conservation as well as the
region as a whole. These are clearly heavy and diverse topics for such a
book to cover, but it does so well, and all within the context of celebrating
the people working to protect and study mountain gorillas and their habitat.
The next couple of chapters focus more on the livelihoods of those living
and working around the gorillas’ range areas, whose lives are affected in
some way by gorilla conservation and tourism (whether a positive impact,
such as making a living from tourism, or negative, such as crop-raiding by
gorillas and other animals). With the theme of conservation running
throughout this book, the final chapters deal with this topic specifically,
starting from a historic perspective, through to the present and future. There
are useful summaries of key organisations in the region, such as the Office
Rwandais du Tourisme et des Parcs Nationaux (ORTPN), the Ugandan
Wildlife Authority, the Mountain Gorilla Veterinary Project, as well as
profiles of one of the national parks’ guides, and other people working
towards gorilla conservation, all of which help to bring the book to life. All
in all, this book is a must-have for anyone interested in gorillas.
Sonya P. Hill
North of England Zoological Society, Chester Zoo
ENDOCRINOLOGY OF SOCIAL RELATIONSHIPS
Peter T. Ellison and Peter B. Gray (eds.) (2009)
Harvard University Press
ISBN: 9780674031173 (Hardback) £36.95
Understanding how hormones and behaviour are linked is one of the most
fascinating topics in biology today. For primatologists this is a field of
research that has just started to produce a wealth of new exciting materialnot
least because new non-invasive techniques are starting to allow us to
monitor hormones of wild animals without the need for trapping and taking
blood. One of the most exciting outcomes of this research is that studies of
wild animals can now investigate the causes of behaviour at a variety of
levels – both proximate and ultimate.
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