Book excerpt: The 18th century witnessed a new interest in African animals. Research was undertaken at the Cape of Good Hope by explorers whose books, manuscripts and drawings concerning mammals and birds are listed and discussed within this text.;This text gives details on four collections of 300 mammal and bird drawings connected with Levaillant's research. Many examples are illustrated. The zoological contents of the material left by these seven explorers are analyzed for all mammals and birds emphasizing the history, taxonomy, nomenclature and zoogeography.