by Amanda on 22 May 2012
Random House Struik invites you to join the newly-formed Struik Nature Club! By joining, you’ll be the first to know about Struik Nature’s new releases, stand a chance to win some great monthly prizes, and score invites to author events. With over 180 titles on a variety of subjects, Struik Nature is leading specialist Natural History publisher in southern Africa. Join the Struik Nature club today!
By joining our Struik Nature club, you will be the first to know about our new releases, special offers and special editions, plus you will be invited to our launches and author events and will stand in line to win great prizes monthly!
It’s just our way of saying thank you for your continued support and to find out what books you would be interested in buying.
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by Lindsay on 21 May 2012
African Penguin have launched a new title in their series of childrens’ books that are based on true stories and deal with issues that impact our wildlife. Their latest offering iThemba in Where there’s Life there’s Hope tackles the topical issue of rhino poaching in a way that is accessible for children:
iThemba is the Xhosa word for Hope.
With rhino poaching a serious threat to our rhino populations (over 430 rhino were poached in South Africa alone in 2011), it is up to our two-ton heroine, iThemba, and her game-ranger friend Joe, to save her skin – and her horn – when poachers come calling.
Kids will love how iThemba and Joe foiled the wicked horn hunters one dark night in an exciting tale which is loosely based on the real-life arrest of rhino poachers in the Kruger Park, and learning more about these magnificent creatures along the way.
Their first book, Peter, Pamela and Percy in the Big Spill has just been made into a fun, interactive iPad app. Watch a video of the app in action:
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by Amanda on 18 May 2012
Get Bushwise and Random House Struik are giving away three DVD and book sets to young explorers!
To enter, visit their site and answer this simple question:
What environment is the natural home for a buffalo?
A. Desert
B. River
C. Bushveld
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by Mabel on 17 May 2012
In an article for the Huffington Post, Rob Brooks, evolutionary biologist and author of Sex, Genes and Rock ‘n’ Roll, addresses the misinterpretation of the term “bisexual philopatry” in a report on bottlenose dolphins, which led to the media calling these creatures “bisexual rapists”. He explains how the misunderstanding came about and what the report really means:
A few weeks ago a big story about dolphins beset the net. Not just dolphins; rather “bisexual dolphins”, “gay dolphins” and “gang rapist dolphins”. With just the right juxtaposition of sexual taboo and a charismatic animal, the story got the kind of global media coverage that whets a PR consultant’s dreams.
But Richard Connor and his collaborators whose work the story described weren’t cracking open the champagne. They had reported an uncontroversial (but important) finding that bottlenose dolphin societies are “open” — lacking rigidly defined boundaries between group territories. They also found that both males and females were likely to settle as adults quite near to where they were born and raised.
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by Amanda on 16 May 2012
Two Random House Struik imprints have just launched eBook library apps for the iPad. The apps, Earth & Nature (Struik Nature) and South Africa in Print (Zebra Press), will house a wide selection of natural history and current events eBooks at discounted prices.
Titles available at the initial launch include Guide to Night Skies of Southern Africa, Basic Bird ID in Southern Africa, Filmer’s Spiders, Winnie Mandela: A Life, Herschelle Gibbs’ biography To the Point and eBook bestseller 32 Battalion.
Additional titles will be added to the libraries on an ongoing basis and will immediately be available for purchase when the customer next opens the app.
The Apple iBookstore is currently not available in South Africa, but South Africans can purchase apps from iTunes. These library applications enable local and international iPad users to purchase South African eBooks. The apps can be downloaded for free from iTunes and customers can then purchase eBooks seamlessly from within the app.
The apps can be downloaded from here iTunes: Earth and Nature and South Africa in Print.
Random House Struik (Pty) Ltd is South Africa’s leading publishing house and offers readers the best of both local and international titles. It promotes books written in both English and Afrikaans through its many diverse and highly respected imprints, which include the Struik Lifestyle, Struik Nature, Struik Travel & Heritage, Zebra Press, Umuzi, eKhaya and Fernwood Press imprints.
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by Lindsay on 15 May 2012
Verdict: carrot
Conservation areas cover about 7.5% of South Africa’s total land area. This field guide, organised by province, provides an overview of 43 of the country’s most popular parks, reserves and wilderness areas. It is definitely going to tour with me in future!
The history, location, geology, vegetation, fauna and flora of each park get comprehensive coverage. Interesting wildlife facts are highlighted in informational panels, as are the various facilities and activities offered by each park. Detailed maps, as well as vegetation maps and notes on climate, ensure that the visitor is well prepared.
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