Exploring the African Wilderness: 23 Years of Uncovering the Secrets of the Savanna

Helga: I loved reading about nature and wildlife in Africa and the Owenses way of life there

Canada on Oct 28, 2022

Joan M Neigbauer: Similar in content and readability to Cry of the Kalahari makes this a satisfying read.

United States on Aug 25, 2022

Kindle Customer: Wonderful account of courageous and hard working people that made a huge difference in Zambia and other places. My hats off to them

United States on Mar 23, 2022

Superior.Shores: This is the first book of this nature worthy of five stars. Mark & Delia have put together incredible statistics and observations and presented their findings in a logical and human context. The world is a better place because of the research they conducted in Africa. Unlike other books I’ve read, there was always a plea for money. Not so with this book. The plea, if there is one is subtle. To read of their departure from Africa was the low part of the book and yet their legacy continues.
Everyone should read this book, especially those who have been to Africa, or are planning to in the near future. Africa changed my life. This book goes deeper than what I experienced.

United States on Aug 09, 2021

I.J.: In diesem Buch geht es um die "Früchte" ihrer jahrelangen Arbeit in der Unterstützung der Bevölkerung und in der Rettung der Tiere. Das ist sehr interessant und ehrenwert. Die Tierbeobachtungen spielen allerdings eine sehr untergeordnete Rolle.

Germany on Oct 07, 2020

Gkimberly: This book was recommended by Amazon according to my recent purchases and I do love true accounts about people's adventures in Africa. I highly appreciate the dedication of the Owens in their pursuit to save African wildlife and educate communities. However, I found the book a bit dull. I thought the pages were filled with overly "frilly" lines and the chapters bounced all over the place with Mark submitting a chapter then Delia not that there was anything wrong with this, but for me the book just didn't seem to capture the depth of their experiences. The book offers 16 black and white photographs, but the quality is poor, I much preferred Daphne Sheldrick's book Love, Life and Elephants, an African Love Story
However, I did also purchase "Eye of the Elephant". Hopefully it is better.

Canada on May 25, 2016

Linda Ballou: Research for my trip to Africa included reading this inspiring memoir written jointly by Mark and Delia Owens. They each have chapters in the book, so you receive a male and female experience of the wilds they lived in for twenty three years. Aside from being a model marriage, shouldering burdens and hardships without complaint together, they are both exceptional writers. Especially, Mark who waxes lyrical on more than one occasion describing the remote landscapes and connections with the animals they were studying. Their ground breaking research provided a window into the behavior of our largest mammals. They formed an organization that helped provide jobs for locals, so they would not need to turn to poaching to survive. Their efforts turned the tide on what was the largest elephant poaching atrocity in all of Africa. Their work continues today by Africans who have learned how to work within the framework of the government to stop poaching and provide other means of survival for tribal communities.

United States on Feb 04, 2016

Sno-Bird: I was disappointed...having read Cry of the Kalahari twice I was looking forward to more animal encounters...sadly there weren't many. Mainly about poachers, villagers and measuring elephant footprints. Wasn't at all interested in the chapters about USA and the grand parents.
Again there were maps and photos but there weren't as many photos as Cry of the K and not all that interesting.
The Cry of the Kalahari talked a lot more of named (by them) animals and so was more interesting to follow their lives. Only Gift's story was touching in this one.
Their work in Africa against poachers and helping villagers is admirable but not what I was looking forward to in this book. Very few mentions of lions..only elephants who weren't there. More about people than animals.

United Kingdom on Oct 15, 2015

Dr S S Nagi (NYROBE): This book was first published in 2006, has 194 pages, 24 chapters, 16 colour pictures and 2 maps. The book is dedicated to 'Bob and Jill'. The foreword is by Alexandra Fuller. MARK OWENS M Ed, B. S. and DELIA OWENS PhD, B.S. have conducted research in Africa for 23 years. They met in the 1970s as graduate students at the University of Georgia. After they got married, they auctioned everything they owned and headed for Africa. For 7 years, they lived in tents in Botswana Central Kalahari Desert. Here they studied black maned lions and brown hyenas. From 1986 to 1997, they developed North Luangwa Conservation Project (NLCP) in Zambia and stopped poaching of elephants and black rhinos. They returned to USA in 1997. They have appeared on TV and given lectures in the name of African Wildlife Conservation. They now live in Idaho, USA.
In !986, the Owens' drove into Zambia with a lawless kind od martial law. They were going to Northern Luangwa NP to study lions. Poachers were wiping out most of the wildlife. The 7 local game scouts lacked everything. They started with donations forming NLCP. But many powerful people with lot to loose wanted Owens' out. In 1993, Owens' flew back to...

United Kingdom on Sep 03, 2015

Carl E. Carnahan: An excellent summary of what happened to the authors after their first two books. More of the same experiences, but moving on to the era of using a helicopter to do all of the covering the vast amount of Africa in their research and desire for more knowledge of their exposure to the beginnings of their first book. We went to hear them on one of their lecture tours (and hopefully fund raising support for their research and living in such primitive conditions, always to learn more. I went to college to become a wildlife biologist and nothing could have prepared me for make it in those experiences that they did. A must read for everyone with a desire to live and do research in primitive Africa.

United States on May 05, 2015