Floericke, Kurt
"Tiervater Brehm : Seine Forschungsreisen : Ein Gedenkblatt zum 100. Geburtstag." by Dr. Kurt Floericke is a biographical account written in the early 20th century. It commemorates the life and journeys of the naturalist Alfred Edmund Brehm, highlighting his African and European expeditions, his vivid field observations, and his role in popularizing zoology through works like the Illustrated Animal Life. The focus is on travel, adventure, and scientific discovery, woven with character sketches and cultural encounters. The opening of this volume first sketches Brehm’s background: his upbringing under the famed ornithologist Christian Ludwig Brehm, early talent, decisive Sudan expedition with Baron von Müller, later studies, travels, and authorship. A vivid scene in the Renthendorf parsonage shows Müller recruiting the young Brehm amid a technical debate on wagtail subspecies, leading to his departure for Africa. The narrative then follows Nile voyages with scrapes and misunderstandings, a near-fatal crocodile episode, and the dramatic, first-ever European passage of the Wadi Halfa cataracts. Hardships in Kordofan—malaria, thirst, hostile misreadings, and the searing Samum—contrast with rich natural-history observing, oases life, and a homesick Christmas night punctuated by wild elephants’ trumpeting. Brief solo forays bring illness and tension with Müller over collecting results. In Cairo and Khartum, the story moves through sunstroke, an earthquake, sharp portraits of Bedouin…
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