M. Hutchins – Grzimek’s Animal Life Encyclopedia (17 Volumes, Second edition)

Описание

Earth is teeming with life. No one knows exactly how many
distinct organisms inhabit our planet, but more than 5 million
different species of animals and plants could exist, ranging
from microscopic algae and bacteria to gigantic elephants,
redwood trees and blue whales. Yet, throughout this wonderful
tapestry of living creatures, there runs a single thread:
Deoxyribonucleic acid or DNA. The existence of DNA, an
elegant, twisted organic molecule that is the building block
of all life, is perhaps the best evidence that all living organisms
on this planet share a common ancestry. Our ancient
connection to the living world may drive our curiosity, and
perhaps also explain our seemingly insatiable desire for information
about animals and nature. Noted zoologist, E. O.
Wilson, recently coined the term “biophilia” to describe this
phenomenon. The term is derived from the Greek bios meaning
“life” and philos meaning “love.” Wilson argues that we
are human because of our innate affinity to and interest in the
other organisms with which we share our planet. They are,
as he says, “the matrix in which the human mind originated
and is permanently rooted.” To put it simply and metaphorically,
our love for nature flows in our blood and is deeply engrained
in both our psyche and cultural traditions.
Our own personal awakenings to the natural world are as
diverse as humanity itself. I spent my early childhood in rural
Iowa where nature was an integral part of my life. My father
and I spent many hours collecting, identifying and studying
local insects, amphibians and reptiles. These experiences had
a significant impact on my early intellectual and even spiritual
development. One event I can recall most vividly. I had
collected a cocoon in a field near my home in early spring.
The large, silky capsule was attached to a stick. I brought the
cocoon back to my room and placed it in a jar on top of my
dresser. I remember waking one morning and, there, perched
on the tip of the stick was a large moth, slowly moving its
delicate, light green wings in the early morning sunlight. It
took my breath away. To my inexperienced eyes, it was one
of the most beautiful things I had ever seen. I knew it was a
moth, but did not know which species. Upon closer examination,
I noticed two moon-like markings on the wings and
also noted that the wings had long “tails”, much like the ubiquitous
tiger swallow-tail butterflies that visited the lilac bush
in our backyard. Not wanting to suffer my ignorance any
longer, I reached immediately for my Golden Guide to North
American Insects and searched through the section on moths
and butterflies. It was a luna moth! My heart was pounding
with the excitement of new knowledge as I ran to share the
discovery with my parents.
I consider myself very fortunate to have made a living as
a professional biologist and conservationist for the past 20
years. I’ve traveled to over 30 countries and six continents to
study and photograph wildlife or to attend related conferences
and meetings. Yet, each time I encounter a new and unusual
animal or habitat my heart still races with the same excitement
of my youth. If this is biophilia, then I certainly possess
it, and it is my hope that others will experience it too. I am
therefore extremely proud to have served as the series editor
for the Gale Group’s rewrite of Grzimek’s Animal Life Encyclopedia,
one of the best known and widely used reference
works on the animal world. Grzimek’s is a celebration of animals,
a snapshot of our current knowledge of the Earth’s incredible
range of biological diversity. Although many other
animal encyclopedias exist, Grzimek’s Animal Life Encyclopedia
remains unparalleled in its size and in the breadth of topics
and organisms it covers.
The revision of these volumes could not come at a more
opportune time. In fact, there is a desperate need for a deeper
understanding and appreciation of our natural world. Many
species are classified as threatened or endangered, and the situation
is expected to get much worse before it gets better.
Species extinction has always been part of the evolutionary
history of life; some organisms adapt to changing circumstances
and some do not. However, the current rate of species
loss is now estimated to be 1,000–10,000 times the normal
“background” rate of extinction since life began on Earth some
4 billion years ago. The primary factor responsible for this
decline in biological diversity is the exponential growth of human
populations, combined with peoples’ unsustainable appetite
for natural resources, such as land, water, minerals, oil,
and timber. The world’s human population now exceeds 6 billion,
and even though the average birth rate has begun to decline,
most demographers believe that the global human
population will reach 8–10 billion in the next 50 years. Much
of this projected growth will occur in developing countries in
Central and South America, Asia and Africa—regions that are
rich in unique biological diversity. Finding solutions to conservation challenges will not be
easy in today’s human-dominated world. A growing number
of people live in urban settings and are becoming increasingly
isolated from nature. They “hunt” in supermarkets and malls,
live in apartments and houses, spend their time watching
television and searching the World Wide Web. Children and
adults must be taught to value biological diversity and the
habitats that support it. Education is of prime importance now
while we still have time to respond to the impending crisis.
There still exist in many parts of the world large numbers of
biological “hotspots”—places that are relatively unaffected by
humans and which still contain a rich store of their original
animal and plant life. These living repositories, along with selected
populations of animals and plants held in professionally
managed zoos, aquariums and botanical gardens, could
provide the basis for restoring the planet’s biological wealth
and ecological health. This encyclopedia and the collective
knowledge it represents can assist in educating people about
animals and their ecological and cultural significance. Perhaps
it will also assist others in making deeper connections to nature
and spreading biophilia. Information on the conservation
status, threats and efforts to preserve various species have
been integrated into this revision. We have also included information
on the cultural significance of animals, including
their roles in art and religion.
It was over 30 years ago that Dr. Bernhard Grzimek, then
director of the Frankfurt Zoo in Frankfurt, Germany, edited
the first edition of Grzimek’s Animal Life Encyclopedia. Dr.
Grzimek was among the world’s best known zoo directors
and conservationists. He was a prolific author, publishing
nine books. Among his contributions were: Serengeti Shall
Not Die, Rhinos Belong to Everybody and He and I and the Elephants.
Dr. Grzimek’s career was remarkable. He was one of
the first modern zoo or aquarium directors to understand the
importance of zoo involvement in in situ conservation, that
is, of their role in preserving wildlife in nature. During his
tenure, Frankfurt Zoo became one of the leading western advocates
and supporters of wildlife conservation in East Africa.
Dr. Grzimek served as a Trustee of the National Parks Board
of Uganda and Tanzania and assisted in the development of
several protected areas. The film he made with his son
Michael, Serengeti Shall Not Die, won the 1959 Oscar for best
documentary.
Professor Grzimek has recently been criticized by some
for his failure to consider the human element in wildlife conservation.
He once wrote: “A national park must remain a primordial
wilderness to be effective. No men, not even native
ones, should live inside its borders.” Such ideas, although considered
politically incorrect by many, may in retrospect actually
prove to be true. Human populations throughout Africa
continue to grow exponentially, forcing wildlife into small islands
of natural habitat surrounded by a sea of humanity. The
illegal commercial bushmeat trade—the hunting of endangered
wild animals for large scale human consumption—is
pushing many species, including our closest relatives, the gorillas,
bonobos and chimpanzees, to the brink of extinction.
The trade is driven by widespread poverty and lack of economic
alternatives. In order for some species to survive it will
be necessary, as Grzimek suggested, to establish and enforce
a system of protected areas where wildlife can roam free from
exploitation of any kind.
While it is clear that modern conservation must take the
needs of both wildlife and people into consideration, what
will the quality of human life be if the collective impact of
short-term economic decisions is allowed to drive wildlife
populations into irreversible extinction? Many rural populations
living in areas of high biodiversity are dependent on
wild animals as their major source of protein. In addition,
wildlife tourism is the primary source of foreign currency in
many developing countries and is critical to their financial
and social stability. When this source of protein and income
is gone, what will become of the local people? The loss of
species is not only a conservation disaster; it also has the potential
to be a human tragedy of immense proportions. Protected
areas, such as national parks, and regulated hunting in
areas outside of parks are the only solutions. What critics do
not realize is that the fate of wildlife and people in developing
countries is closely intertwined. Forests and savannas
emptied of wildlife will result in hungry, desperate people,
and will, in the long-term lead to extreme poverty and social
instability. Dr. Grzimek’s early contributions to conservation
should be recognized, not only as benefiting wildlife, but as
benefiting local people as well.
Dr. Grzimek’s hope in publishing his Animal Life Encyclopedia
was that it would “…disseminate knowledge of the animals
and love for them”, so that future generations would
“…have an opportunity to live together with the great diversity
of these magnificent creatures.” As stated above, our goals
in producing this updated and revised edition are similar.
However, our challenges in producing this encyclopedia were
more formidable. The volume of knowledge to be summarized
is certainly much greater in the twenty-first century than
it was in the 1970’s and 80’s. Scientists, both professional and
amateur, have learned and published a great deal about the
animal kingdom in the past three decades, and our understanding
of biological and ecological theory has also progressed.
Perhaps our greatest hurdle in producing this revision
was to include the new information, while at the same time
retaining some of the characteristics that have made Grzimek’s
Animal Life Encyclopedia so popular. We have therefore strived
to retain the series’ narrative style, while giving the information
more organizational structure. Unlike the original Grzimek’s,
this updated version organizes information under
specific topic areas, such as reproduction, behavior, ecology
and so forth. In addition, the basic organizational structure is
generally consistent from one volume to the next, regardless
of the animal groups covered. This should make it easier for
users to locate information more quickly and efficiently. Like
the original Grzimek’s, we have done our best to avoid any
overly technical language that would make the work difficult
to understand by non-biologists. When certain technical expressions
were necessary, we have included explanations or
clarifications.
Considering the vast array of knowledge that such a work
represents, it would be impossible for any one zoologist to
have completed these volumes. We have therefore sought specialists
from various disciplines to write the sections with which they are most familiar. As with the original Grzimek’s,
we have engaged the best scholars available to serve as topic
editors, writers, and consultants. There were some complaints
about inaccuracies in the original English version that may
have been due to mistakes or misinterpretation during the
complicated translation process. However, unlike the original
Grzimek’s, which was translated from German, this revision
has been completely re-written by English-speaking
scientists. This work was truly a cooperative endeavor, and I
thank all of those dedicated individuals who have written,
edited, consulted, drawn, photographed, or contributed to its
production in any way. The names of the topic editors, authors,
and illustrators are presented in the list of contributors
in each individual volume.
The overall structure of this reference work is based on
the classification of animals into naturally related groups, a
discipline known as taxonomy or biosystematics. Taxonomy
is the science through which various organisms are discovered,
identified, described, named, classified and catalogued.
It should be noted that in preparing this volume we adopted
what might be termed a conservative approach, relying primarily
on traditional animal classification schemes. Taxonomy
has always been a volatile field, with frequent arguments
over the naming of or evolutionary relationships between various
organisms. The advent of DNA fingerprinting and other
advanced biochemical techniques has revolutionized the field
and, not unexpectedly, has produced both advances and confusion.
In producing these volumes, we have consulted with
specialists to obtain the most up-to-date information possible,
but knowing that new findings may result in changes at
any time. When scientific controversy over the classification
of a particular animal or group of animals existed, we did our
best to point this out in the text.
Readers should note that it was impossible to include as
much detail on some animal groups as was provided on others.
For example, the marine and freshwater fish, with vast
numbers of orders, families, and species, did not receive as
detailed a treatment as did the birds and mammals. Due to
practical and financial considerations, the publishers could
provide only so much space for each animal group. In such
cases, it was impossible to provide more than a broad overview
and to feature a few selected examples for the purposes of illustration.
To help compensate, we have provided a few key
bibliographic references in each section to aid those interested
in learning more. This is a common limitation in all reference
works, but Grzimek’s Encyclopedia of Animal Life is still
the most comprehensive work of its kind.
I am indebted to the Gale Group, Inc. and Senior Editor
Donna Olendorf for selecting me as Series Editor for this project.
It was an honor to follow in the footsteps of Dr. Grzimek
and to play a key role in the revision that still bears his name.
Grzimek’s Animal Life Encyclopedia is being published by the
Gale Group, Inc. in affiliation with my employer, the American
Zoo and Aquarium Association (AZA), and I would like
to thank AZA Executive Director, Sydney J. Butler; AZA Past-
President Ted Beattie (John G. Shedd Aquarium, Chicago,
IL); and current AZA President, John Lewis (John Ball Zoological
Garden, Grand Rapids, MI), for approving my participation.
I would also like to thank AZA Conservation and
Science Department Program Assistant, Michael Souza, for
his assistance during the project. The AZA is a professional
membership association, representing 215 accredited zoological
parks and aquariums in North America. As Director/
William Conway Chair, AZA Department of Conservation
and Science, I feel that I am a philosophical descendant of Dr.
Grzimek, whose many works I have collected and read. The
zoo and aquarium profession has come a long way since the
1970s, due, in part, to innovative thinkers such as Dr. Grzimek.
I hope this latest revision of his work will continue his
extraordinary legacy.