Alfred Brehm

Homeland Bram was a small gertsogtsvo Germanic empire - Saxe-Weimar, the father of his Christian-Ludwig was the pastor of a small village Unterrentendorf. Here, February 2, 1829, and was born naturalist future. However, he did not become a scientist and zoologist or a doctor, as might be expected for its beautiful natural science training: Bram stopped for some reason, the architecture, which I began to study in Altenburg in 1843. But, . not long, he had to indulge in this lesson: in 1847 a rich Wц?rttemberg Baron Muller, . a great lover of nature, . proposed to accompany him in his journey conceived on Africa, . then few issledovanyomu 'Dark Continent',
. Here's the true calling of the young affected by Bram. Without a moment's hesitation, he enthusiastically accepted the offer.
The journey began in the summer of 1847. The ship passed slowly, but our naturalists is little concern, as they had but a full opportunity to spend time on the beach, watching the little-known nature of the country
. January 8, 1848 travelers arrived in Khartoum, where they were hospitably taken by the Governor-General Selymanom Pasha, here staged a menagerie for domesticated animals, hence the Bram went hunting in the surrounding forests, especially on the Blue Nile
. Extraction was rich, but we went to a naturalist not cheap: he fell ill with fever, local.
. In February, our travelers began to travel overland from Kordofan, White Nile basin, and stayed here for four months, gathering a collection of local fauna
. Especially come across a lot of eagles, falcons and vultures. Here they became acquainted with the regal lions and leopards and hyenas. For the hunter-naturalist, this country is then represented the real paradise, . but hot, . murderous climate caused our travelers to return patients to Khartoum, . hence, . After some time, . They went to all collections and menagerie of Kair.29 January 1849 Baron Muller sat in Alexandria on a ship, . to Printing in Europe, . Bram stayed in Egypt, . to take on his second trip means for Africa, all of them collected by the collection came n favor Mueller,
. In a country of pharaohs Bram remained until May 1850, studying the life of the country and the manners of its inhabitants. This, . for a better acquaintance with the life of the inhabitants, . He not only learned to speak Arabic, . but began to wear local clothes and even participated in the processions Mohammedan, . so that the Arabs regarded him as entirely his; thinking, . that he became a faithful, . They assured, . that his real name-I-bre-eat (Ibrahim), . and did not want to recognize the name of Alfred, . similar to the Arabic word afreid (devil),
. On the advice of their Arab friends young scientist has a nickname Khalil-Effendi, which greatly facilitated his relations with the Arabs.
February 24, 1850, having received money from Mueller, Bram in the company with his older brother, Oscar, and the physician P. Firtalerom up on the barge on the Nile, and then from the village of Wadi Galfa continued on their way to a new Dongola. The places here were rich in game, and travelers were happy just seeing how are increasing their collections. But in Dongola great misfortune: Oscar drowned while swimming. His death was a great loss for expeditions (not to mention the Bram, . hot lyubivshem brother), . because the deceased was an expert on insects, . were generally little known Alfred Brehm (because in his descriptions of insects are rarely mentioned, . unless such, . which catch the eye color or size, . example, some beetles and butterflies),
. Oscar was buried in the desert, but the caravan on June 13 he returned to Khartoum, where he was already a new governor, Abdul al-Latif Pasha. However, he hospitably received by travelers. Moreover, he even lent Bram money when he has exhausted the means, and the Baron Mueller did not send new. From Khartoum, our naturalist, first made expeditions into the woods of the Blue Nile, Sennar and then far beyond the. Expedition provided rich material for the collections, . especially the latter: travelers almost every night heard the roar of lions, . saw herds of elephants and huge flocks of monkeys, . hunted, . of crocodiles and hippos, . oshirnuyu assembled a collection of skins of rare birds ..,
.
In March 1851 in Khartoum has come, finally, the long-awaited letter of Baron Mueller, but its content Balo not happy to Bram: Baron wrote that he was totally bankrupt and therefore could not send money. Bram was a desperate situation: no money, far from home ... What could be worse etogoN good thing that the local Muslim merchants, who fed him respect, had loaned him small sums. But not all the same to him mooch! Meanwhile, necessary to contain not only the members of the expeditions, but also animals, who scored a big menagerie: there were birds, monkeys, crocodiles, lion. All these wild animals in the capable hands Bram become a peaceful family friends. Ability of our naturalist domesticate animals so surprised the Arabs that they have nicknamed Bram sorcerer.
Not knowing how to cope with their situation, Bram held in Sudan entire 14 months, until finally he was not bailed out of trouble the same good governor, again lent his money. After taking away all his luggage, he went to Cairo, there to rest during the winter and detom in 1852 went to Europe. In Vienna, he had to sell some of its treasures, and even to part with his beloved, faithful lioness Bahidoy to pay debts.
Of course, having spent many years in the open air and among the observations of the animals, Bram has already stopped thinking about architecture, but the whole science devoted himself for what came first, and in Jena, then at the University of Vienna. At the same time and began his literary career.
The result of a new journey of our naturalist was the appearance of light in 1863, a book about African Switzerland, as called Bram Abyssinia. In this work the first time clearly comes Bram talent as interesting narrator and observer of life of animals, ie their external senses, their way of life, spiritual inclinations, character and other.
During the publication of the first volume of this work, Bram was offered a director of the Zoological Garden in Hamburg. He readily accepted the offer, arranged and expanded the garden, but he could no longer get along with his bosses, local zoologists, and in 1866 he left Hamburg.
After Hamburg, we see Bram in place of the organizer of the Berlin Aquarium, one of the most popular current institutions Germanic capital. Here Brehm used all his strength, applied all his knowledge (among other things, then use to him and architectural art, once learned it) to make the aquarium model. He got his way, but here he could not uzhitsya m in 1874 gave place.
Since then, he lived only a literary work and lecturing, lecturer, he was fine: read only, but the degree vyshey exciting.
In 1872 he began writing his book 'Birds in captivity', do a desktop for all lovers of birds. This work was delayed until 1876. Having done the same with him, began a tireless worker for the 2-nd edition of his 'Life of Animals', considerably enlarged and revised them.
But even before okanchaniya this work, in 1876, he reposed an opportunity to travel to Siberia on funds delivered Bremen merchants and partly known Siberian figure Sibiryakov. Bram then traveled part of Turkestan to the Tau, then a large part of Siberia to the Kara Sea. Traveling has given him a wealth of material not only in zoology, and ethnography: he had to become intimately familiar with many inorodami, namely, with Kalmyks, Kirgiz, Ostyaks, Voguls, Samoyeds ... Of course, any description of this trip would give a lot of interesting. But Brehm did not have time to do this.
Siberian journey was the last great journey of Bram. Since then he has made only small, although the scientific purpose of the trip to Hungary and Spain (1878-1879 years), though in 1883 he traveled in North America, where he read popular lectures on his travels.
These years were a time when it was on all sides poured decorations (orders), especially since (1877), as he met with Prince Rudolf Habsburg, who soon became his close friend. But, along with distinction, for the same time, Bram and hit by the blows of fate: soon after his return from Siberia, he lost his mother in 1877, and the following year, his wife, the former his faithful companion and helper during their married life. Finally, when he was in America, he died a common family pet, the youngest son.
These hardships, combined with enhanced classes, so failing health Bram that he returned from America, very ill. He formed kidney disease, and which brought him to the grave. November 11, 1884 the famous naturalist died.