Southern Africa's Threatened Wildlife by John Ledger

Southern Africa's Threatened Wildlife (First Edition Illustrated EWT Conservation Title)

An Illustrated Overview of the Endangered and Vulnerable Animals of Southern Africa, by the Then Director of the Endangered Wildlife Trust

Bibliographic Specifications

• Title: Southern Africa's Threatened Wildlife
• Author: John Ledger
• Publisher: Endangered Wildlife Trust
• Publication Date: 1990
• ISBN-13: 9780620150835
• ISBN-10: 0620150831
• Edition Details: First Edition.
• Binding: Publisher's laminated pictorial hardcover boards, white spine lettered in red with the paw-print logo. Issued without a dust jacket.
• Physical Format: Roughly square, medium-sized format. Illustrated in colour throughout with watercolour illustrations.
• Language: English

Official Condition Report

• The Book: Very Good (VG)
• Exterior / Boards: Cream laminated pictorial boards with a rhino to the front cover, and a white spine lettered in red that is clean and straight. There is a small nick in the laminate at the lower fore-edge of the front board, with slight rubbing and bumping at one corner and a small crease at the spine-end. The front cover shows light scuffing and glossy wear, the board edges are lightly grubby, and the back board has a small dent or crease near the lower left edge.
• Interior: The text block is clean and tight. The endpaper is clean, with a few tiny specks and slight toning at the edges, and the page edges show some slight dust and toning. No foxing, tears or markings were seen apart from the inscription noted below.
• Provenance: Blue ink handwritten name and date on the front endpaper, reading approximately 'Josie Gindoot 1989', with a faint pencil mark nearby.
• The Dust Jacket: Not Applicable (As Issued)

Synopsis & Historical Value

Published by the Endangered Wildlife Trust in 1990, Southern Africa's Threatened Wildlife is an illustrated overview of the region's animals that are endangered or vulnerable. It covers the threatened species of the land, seas and skies, and the problems they face.

Written by John Ledger, then director of the Endangered Wildlife Trust, and illustrated in colour throughout with watercolours, the book is pitched at readers of all ages, and especially at young people. It is a readable introduction to conservation concerns in southern Africa at the close of the 1980s.

As a first edition from the Trust's own press, it is a worthwhile addition to a collection of South African conservation literature and natural history.

Author Profile: John Ledger

John Ledger trained in medicine, earning a PhD in Tropical Pathology from the University of the Witwatersrand, and spent 18 years at the South African Institute for Medical Research, where he became Head of the Department of Medical Entomology. From 1985 to 2002 he was Director of the Endangered Wildlife Trust.

In 1973 he founded the Vulture Study Group with Peter Mundy, and he later received BirdLife South Africa's Austin Roberts Memorial Medal. His other books include a revision of Skaife's African Insect Life (Struik, 1979), The Vultures of Africa (1992) and African Predators (2001), the latter co-authored with Gus Mills and Martin Harvey.