VANISHING KINGS

357 pages. Many illustrations and photographs (mostly colour), colour maps. Pictorial cover with pictorial dustjacket.
Text by Philip Stander & Lianne Steenkamp. Photography by Philip Stander & Will Steenkamp

A very good copy with no blemishes.

"Vanishing Kings: Lions of the Namib Desert" by Dr. Philip Stander offers an intimate chronicle of the author's decades-long research on Namibia's unique desert-adapted lions, a tiny population of about 25 individuals surviving in one of the world's harshest environments. The book weaves scientific observation with gripping narratives, centring on a resilient lioness and her daughters as they raise five robust male cubs, dubbed the "Five Musketeers," without the aid of a pride male for protection. Stander, who lived among them starting in 1997, vividly portrays their ingenious hunting techniques, such as taking down massive giraffes amid towering dunes and arid scrublands, showcasing their remarkable adaptations to scarcity and extreme heat.

The story delves into profound challenges, including the death of the ageing matriarch, which forces the young females to impart vital survival skills to their maturing sons amid escalating dangers like retaliatory killings by farmers and poisoning incidents. Tragic tales emerge of coalition males like Adolf, Ben, and Paula, whose lives underscore the fragile existence of these lions threatened by human encroachment. Through Stander's fieldwork insights, the book not only reveals the secret behaviours and social dynamics of these elusive predators but also passionately advocates for their conservation, blending raw drama with urgent ecological awareness.