Tracker Manual: A practical guide to animal tracking in southern Africa

This practical guide to animal tracking is a one-of-its-kind manual, based on
information developed with the help of southern Africa’s few remaining traditional
trackers and their centuries-old wisdom in the fi eld.
It presents the more concrete and obvious wildlife signs for some 160 animals
and teams them with a host of seemingly unrelated details to give a comprehensive
picture of recent – and not-so-recent – traffi c through the bush.
Simple, bulleted text guides readers through the key points and teaches the
broad-based observational skills required to detect and interpret messages; multiple
photographs, some annotated, along with accurate track drawings for all the animals,
offer a clear visual guide too.
Rich in detail, accurate, and with an instructive introduction, this guide to the
region’s animal tracks and signs is every tracker’s go-to manual.

Alex van den Heever is a founder member and general manager of the Tracker Academy. He has spent the last 20 years working as an environmental manager, guide and trainer and assessor of trackers in South Africa. He has travelled to many of the world’s most remote regions to learn traditional tracking skills from expert trackers.

Renias Mhlongo was born in what is today the greater Kruger National Park. He was a member of the team of trackers who successfully habituated the now-famous leopards of Londolozi in the 1980s, where he has lived for 32 years. A founder member of Tracker Academy, he is the head Academy trainer based at Londolozi Game Reserve.

Karel Benadie spent 33 years as a tracker and field ranger in the Karoo National Park. Using tracking-based evidence he successfully collected data on the habits of black rhino for a respected scientific journal. A founder member of Tracker Academy, he is currently the principle Academy trainer based at Samara Game Reserve.