Norman Owen-Smith is Research Professor in African Ecology and heads the Centre for African Ecology at the University of the Witwatersrand. He was awarded the Honorary Overseas Membership Award by the Ecological Society of America for his exceptional contribution to ecology. His previous book is Megaherbivores: The Influence of Very Large Body Size on Ecology (1988, 0521 36020X hardback and 0521 426375 paperback).