Season on the Plain

The book: a very unusual book - entirely without people. This is a fictional account of life on the East African plain, based on good scientific research, and with a few main 'characters' such as an old male lion, a female hyaena with a litter, a male leopard and a baboon split from his troop. Linked to these are sub-stories about many other species, prey or parasite or both, from elephants to viruses, ants, hunting dogs and tsetse. In one cycle of season, the dry and the wet, we see parts of the lives of these animals and their interactions. The author: Franklin Russell was born in New Zealand, worked in WEngland for a while as free-lance writer, emigrated to Canada, and settled in the USA in 1962. He has written a series of books on wildlife, including Watchers at the Pond. My opinion: a great book - no 'humanizing' of animals, and still exciting and fascinating. The interactions of animal (and some plant) species on the East African plains are really well described, as are the interactions with landscape, weather and disease; good on behaviour and social structure, and still very readable. I have read this a couple of times and will keep it for more re-readings; not one I read every three years, but definitely a keeper!