The book "Unverfrorene Freunde" by Klemens Pütz. A book about penguins. Maybe you are like me one of those who consider penguins as peculiar, but wonderful birds. They are not able to fly and they rather appear clumsy on land. But by all means, penguins are very charming animals. If you want to know more about penguins, why not read the following book by Klemens Pütz? "Unverfrorene Freunde - Mein Leben unter Pinguinen". As a penguin researcher the author is an expert in these birds. In his book he shares his passion for penguins, and thus, I'm happy to write about this book and my thoughts in this blog entry. Unfortunately, the book is only in German. At least so far...
Title: Unverfrorene Freunde: Mein Leben unter Pinguinen
Author: Klemens Pütz
Imprint: Ullstein Buchverlage
Lenght: 273 pages
Published: 2018
Language: German
Blurb (only in German)
„Klemens Pütz hat ein Buch geschrieben, das die Pinguinwissenschaft zur wohl fröhlichsten Wissenschaft macht. Der kleine Band Unverfrorene Freunde ist eine Liebeserklärung an die Antarktis, an ihre Tiere und ein bisschen auch an seine Frau.“ - Berliner Morgenpost
„Ich habe den schönsten Beruf der Welt. Pinguine sind so faszinierend, dass mir keinen Tag langweilig ist“
Seit Jahrzehnten erforscht Klemens Pütz das Leben der Pinguine. Dafür reist er jedes jahr für mehrere Monate dorthin, wo diese Tiere leben - in die Antarktis, die Subantarktis und andere Regionen auf der Südhalbkugel. Nun gewährt er erstmals umfassend Einblick in den spannenden Alltag der Vögel und erklärt, was wir tun müssen, um sie zu schützen.
Thoughts about the book
Did you know that king penguin chicks spend their first winter in crèches? And that penguins are able to adapt their temperature to the temperature of the environment in order to save energy, but also to cool their freshly caught fish for their chicks? In the book "Unverfrorene Freunde - Mein Leben unter Pinguinen" by Klemens Pütz you will find out more fascinating facts about penguins.
After reading The Penguin Lessons by Tom Michell I was looking forward to read the next book about penguins. Both books are quite different, but both authors have something in common: a great enthusiasm for these exceptional birds. An enthusiasm they want to share with their readers.
In the book by Klemens Pütz you will learn a lot about penguins. At the moment there are 18 penguin species (maybe soon 19?) worldwide distributed across the southern hemisphere. As Klemens Pütz is a penguin researcher who also leads several excursions to the Antarctic and other south polar regions, he has a wealth of knowledge to share with his readers. The author gives an insight into his life as a penguin researcher. He writes about all the challenges involved with his work and about the methods he uses to find out more about penguins. Thus, the book is for everyone who not only wants to learn more about penguins, but also about how a wildlife researcher works.
Of course, the author also has dedicated many words to all the threats penguins are exposed to. I very liked in the book, that the author does not share black-and-white views. He explains connections, but also emphasizes that there is still so much out there we do not know yet.
I very liked the book, as I have not only learned more about penguins, I also could think about all those environmental issues caused by us humans.
As I write on this blog, I was especially curious about the author's thoughts with respect to tourism, as Klemens Pütz observed through his long-year research a continuous increase in visitors in the Antarctic. So far, the penguins are apparently fine (they live far away from people and no hotels are allowed to be built in the Antarctic), but for how long will that be? In general, I felt that Klemens Pütz is rather open to tourism, but only if conducted in a responsible way. As tourism might cause public interest in protecting the Antarctic, the author writes rather positive about tourism in the Antarctic. However, he also has observed that in the last years adventure tourism has increased. Do we need that?
I have to admit that sometimes I have doubts about my blog. I love to travel and explore other countries, especially wildlife. However, I expect to encourage other people to do the same by writing about animals. On one side, there are places where more visitors are still very welcome - like at the Associação Mico-Leão-Dourado or Associação Pró-Muriqui, as golden lion tamarins and southern muriquis are rather unknown in tourism (when compared to apes), although they also need more public interest for their conservation. On the other side, what happens when there are too many visitors?
At the end of the book I learned something important. When I traveled to South Africa, I visited the Boulders Beach in Simon's Town where a colony of African penguins live. Through web research I found out that the African penguin colony at the Boulders Beach was apparently still fine, although in general the species is in decline mostly due to over-fishing. However, Klemens Pütz mentioned in his book another possible cause for their decline: a change in the currents at the African coast...
Unfortunately, the book is only in German. But if you know some German and if you want to know more about penguins, I can highly recommend to read this book.
Conclusion
Great book for all those who want to learn more about penguins. But also for those who want to know more about the life of a penguin researcher. Interesting. Fascinating. And entertaining. Fantastic book!
Do you know another book about penguins? Or have you already read this book? Please let me know your thoughts in the comments.
