What an incredibly difficult and admirable undertaking! I was left awestruck by their dedication to their science and the magnificent carnivores of the arid Kalahari. The photographs were a very welcome addition too. A highly recommended read for anyone considering field research in the natural sciences. ( )

I usually really enjoy this genre of book, but this one did not do it for me. Maybe I would have liked the print book better than audio. I felt like some of the sections about the animals were dry and rambling. Story also seemed disjointed at times.
What they did to complete their research is quite a story, but the overall book just did not do it for me. ( )

Amazing book. Loved the story. ( )

In 1974 Mark and Delia headed to Africa to start a research project just one year after their wedding day. Cry of the Kalahari is the story of their seven years in the Kalahari Desert. Taking turns, they share their experiences living with brown hyenas, lion prides, and unpredictable jackals, among many other animals. Because most of the animals have never seen humans before they are neither threatened or antagonized by Mark and Delia’s presence. At face value, Cry of the Kalahari is romantic and idealistic.

Admittedly, I have a few issues with Cry of the Kalahari, beginning with the trivial. One, how many times they mentioned the temperatures being 120 degrees in the shade. You are in the Kalahari desert! What did you expect?
Two, their so-called research. They went to Kalahari not really sure what they wanted to work on. When they discovered there was little known about the brown hyena they set about to learn all they could about the species, then they added jackals, and yet after Bones, a male lion, was murdered by hunters they changed their focus to protecting all wildlife of the Kalahari. By the end of the book their focus had widened to include wildebeest. How they received funding for such vague and vast research is beyond me. However, the couple is quick to point out Cry of the Kalahari is not detailed report of their research. That will show up elsewhere they promised.
My third issue is probably the most personal. They claimed over and over they didn’t want to interfere with the wildlife because it would change the validity of their research. They cried as animals starved to death outside their food-laden tent. Yet they had no problem performing a makeshift surgery on Bones, a lion who had broken his leg, or smearing motor oil on Blue, another lion who suffered from parasites. Most likely both of these animals would have died without human intervention. Essentially, the Owenes actions disrupted the circle of life in the Kalahari. ( )

A truly amazing and sometimes dumbfounding travelogue about two idealistic rookie survivalists who decide to traipse out into the deep bush with a rickety plane and few supplies. She barely scrambles into the truck to escape being eaten lions in one chilling nighttime vignette. He gets the aforementioned little plane to start just in the nick of time in another. Their trusted African guide deserts them one day on a trip to town and never returns; they espy him later, but don't say anything to him (if I remember correctly) and walk away, realizing he simply got tired of the lonely and perilous grind that is wilderness study. They sometimes sleep on the bare ground of the savannah under the wing of their plane at night. Yes, in an area teeming with lions, hyenas and leopards. Talk about a wing and a prayer... They become some of the first humans to make detailed observations of the intricate social behavior of brown hyenas, including underground in their burrows. There are photos of them cuddling with adult hyenas (the land predators with the strongest bite force on earth) in their campsite, which is unbelievably foolish in my opinion, as hyenas sometimes prey on lions and leopards. They eventually get more grant money and are able to set up a more official, scientifically-capable campsite in which to do their research. How this has not been made into a Hollywood movie is beyond me, as is how they managed to not to become dinner à la Grizzly Man. Some of the photos, such as one of a hornbill scavenging inside their cooking pot, provide comic relief. The best way to read this book is to occasionally put it down and go watch some videos of predation in Kruger National Park on YouTube. That's in nearby South Africa, not Botswana (where this book takes place), but it has a larger concentration of these beasts and hence more blood-curdling action to behold.
Too bad the photos are in black & white; do later editions possibly have color photos? ( )