Written in the Sand: The origin and nature of the southern Kalahari

Title: Written in the Sand
Subtitle: The origin and nature of the southern Kalahari, its conservation history, the Kalahari San people and decades of research there
Author: J. du P. Bothma
Independently published
Cape Town, South Africa 2020
ISBN 9780620802574 / ISBN 978-0-620-80257-4
Softcover, 15 x 22 cm, 274 pages, numerous photos, images, maps sketches

About: Written in the Sand: The origin and nature of the southern Kalahari

Written in the Sand examines the origin and nature of the southern Kalahari ecosystem, its conservation history, the Kalahari San people and the research there by wildlife ecologist Prof. J. du P. Bothma. The southern Kalahari still is a little penetrated wilderness in many respects and with limited roads, tracks and other facilities, there are large untrammeled areas. Without doubt many of its dunes and interdune valleys have yet to experience even a fleeting moment of the passage of humans. There one can still come close to a total rapport with nature, especially at sunset when viewing the world from the sandy crest of a tall dune.

Rainfall is scarce and variable, and to experience rain in the Kalahari is to drink the nectar of life. Both the lack and occurrence of rainfall drive the dynamics of the Kalahari ecosystem and entire populations of plants and animals wax and wane to the cadence of the rainfall. This arid region has fascinated humans for centuries, and has spawned many tales, some of them mere myths which are devoid of all reality. Written in the Sand: The origin and nature of the southern Kalahari attempts to reveal some of the facts and myths of the Kalahari and offers but a small window onto the multitude of infinitesimal nuances of the deeply moving Kalahari Symphony.

Content: Written in the Sand: The origin and nature of the southern Kalahari

THE ESSENCE OF THE KALAHARI
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
PROLOGUE
CHAPTER 1: The Road to the Kalahari
Childhood
Military training
Undergraduate student years
Becoming a field biologist
Marriage and family
Family bonding
Advanced studies in Texas
Texas A&M University
Field research
The Welder Wildlife Refuge
Academic career
The Eugene Marais Chair of Wildlife Management
The Centre for Wildlife Research
CHAPTER 2: The Southern Kalahari
Facts and myths
Recent changes in the environment
CHAPTER 3: The Southern Kalahari Ecosystem
The Kalahari Basin
Climate and weather
The sands
The pans
Minerals
Groundwater
Landscapes, plant and animal life
Veld fires
Animal adaptations
Conclusions
CHAPTER 4: The Southern Kalahari San
CHAPTER 5: Conservation and Early Research
CHAPTER 6: Early Personal Research
Using vehicles
Training students
Studying large herbivores
Working with San trackers
Working with lions
CHAPTER 7: Leopard Research
The southern Kalahari leopard
Tracking leopards
Movements and range size
Activity cycles
Hunting behaviour
Feeding and water use
Scent-marking
Reproduction and cubs
Mortality
Interactions between leopards
Interactions with other carnivores
CHAPTER 8: Kalahari Friends and Acknowledgements
CHAPTER 9: Final Reflections
BIBLIOGRAPHY
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