Search results for ""Author Rory Putman""

After 20 years working as a professional biologist, the author decided to 'retire' to the Highlands, moving with his wife to a croft at the edge of a small and somewhat inaccessible village on the west coast. This was no romantic and idealistic aspiration for the Good Life, nor really an attempt to 'get away from it all'; rather a growing disaffection with living in the overpopulated south of England and a desire to return to his Scottish roots. Moving was like stepping back 50 years in time: most of the other residents of this tiny hamlet had been born and bred there, the majority were Gaelic-speaking and, with few of the conventional 'services', there was a strong sense of community that had been missed. This engaging story gives a collection of cameos from those first few years as they moved into and settled in their remote smallholding. It is developed as a series of short 'anecdotes' about life in this isolated west-coast Scottish community. Actual anecdotes are interwoven with snippets of natural history observation related to various topical wildlife issues. In the tradition of Lillian Beckwith's The Hills is Lonely, the stories revolve around the strong characters who made up this isolated community and became part of their everyday life. All the people and events described in this book are real, although places and names may have been changed. Enough clues remain that professional biologists or those with a keen interest in natural history will readily identify the peninsula. It is a joy to read and reveals Highland life with all its humour and character. Beautifullly illustrated by wildlife artist Catherine Putman.

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A professional biologist with wide experience of working both in the UK and overseas, Rory Putman takes us with him on working trips to Iceland, East Africa, Nigeria and Indonesia, introducing us to the countries and their people, their natural history, and explaining some of the wildlife issues which have prompted himself and his colleagues to travel there in the first place. The stories cover episodes from more than four decades of working as a jobbing biologist overseas. The understanding required to solve problems and seek solutions to particular issues related to management and conservation of wildlife means that in some way the observer becomes much more intimately engaged, and perhaps gains a different perspective of the country and its culture than might be apparent to a more casual 'outside' onlooker. To some extent, that deeper involvement enables Rory Putman to give the reader more of an inside view and introduction to the countries and their wildlife from a wholly personal perspective. Like many other enthusiastic naturalists, the author enjoyed experiencing new habitats and seeing wonderful and exotic species on his travels and this engaging book will carry the reader along on the journey.

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This accessible introduction to animal behaviour provides an authoritative yet reader-friendly guide for the interested naturalist. It presents current knowledge about the way animals behave and will enable the reader to derive more pleasure from their observations of animals by gaining a deeper understanding of their behaviour. The concepts are presented in an easily appreciated way with which everyone can associate.In the first part of the book, the author explores how animals behave by considering the physical processes involved in the way animals perceive their environment and what determines how they respond to it. This is followed by the 'why' of animal behaviour in which the author examines many topics under the overall issue of expressing behaviour, and the evolutionary forces that have shaped - and continue to shape - the detailed form of more complex behaviours. Therefore questions such as why animals forage in the way they do and how that foraging pattern may be refined to optimal efficiency; why animals adopt a particular reproductive strategy and breeding behaviour and why some animals live as solitary individuals, while others live in groups and so on.The book is copiously illustrated throughout in support and interpretation of the text. While the pictures enhance understanding of the written text, the text also showcases the exquisite illustrations of wildlife artist Catherine Putman.

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This book provides a concise and up to date review of current knowledge on the biological processes affecting animal welfare, and the implications emerging from our improved understanding of those biological principles in terms of options available to assess and manage the welfare status of individuals and populations. Biological principles are embedded within wider consideration of the ethical basis for our concern about animals and their welfare, in recognition of the fact that concern and responsibility for welfare is strongly affected by cultural and ethical norms. The Biology and Management of Animal Welfare covers several topics not addressed in other texts. Thus it pays attention to the difference between animal welfare and animal rights and distinguishes between welfare and evolutionary fitness (which often causes confusion). The thorny problem of necessary versus unnecessary suffering is considered; most legislation provides for the prevention of unnecessary suffering but never defines it. In addition a box feature explores how human psychological development can affect attitudes to animals and how psychological dysfunctions (in terms of attitudes to other humans) can often be detected in advance from attitudes to animals. The book also includes consideration of alternatives to animal experimentation with a chapter devoted to the 3 Rs (Refine, Reduce, Replace). Written by authors who work in the field and all regularly contribute to postgraduate courses in animal welfare, in veterinary faculties and elsewhere, the text is deliberately kept short and concise to emphasise the essential principles, but is comprehensively referenced throughout in order to guide the reader in their own wider background reading around the framework provided by this overview. The book includes a number of dedicated box features that offer more detailed illustration or worked examples for some of the topics addressed in the text, or to focus attention on additional special topics.

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Ungulates are an extraordinarily important group of animals worldwide, at many levels - in their remarkable biodiversity; in many cases, as keystone species with a disproportionate effect on the functioning of the wider ecological systems of which they form a part or as dominant species acting as ecological engineers; and as a prey base for endangered or expanding populations of large carnivores. They are also important culturally and economically, as a major source of protein in subsistence cultures and because of their wide exploitation in recreational hunting, which is still a major form of land-use in many countries. A number of aspects of the balance of cost and benefit of ungulates and their management in Europe are considered. Through a synthesis of the underlying biology and a comparison of the management techniques adopted in different countries, management approaches which seem effective within their respective circumstances are explored. Each chapter is written by experts in their own particular field, ensuring that they are aware of the most up-to-date literature on that topic and can also offer an experienced and informed review based on their own research experience.

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