The Natural History of Costa Rican Mammals

Rating:
Summary: Fantastic!
Review: A marvellous book, compact enough to be a field guide and yet informative enough to be a valuable reference work at home. As a field guide it is particularly valuable for its superb illustrations and also in showing and discussing things like scats, tracks, dens and sounds for those animals that one would like to see but might not! We'll certainly take it along again on our next trip. As a reference work it is excellent as a clearly and entertainingly written introduction to the natural history and conservation of Costa Rica's many fascinating mammals. It also has a comprehensive list of references to the primary scientific literature.

Rating:
Summary: From the publisher
Review: Most field guides provide very little information other than the features of the animal relevant to identifying it. Wainwright's book, however, contains loads of fascinating natural history information, written in an engaging, sometimes clever but never cute style.

Rating:
Summary: Much More Than Meets the Eye
Review: This book is far more than a review of information about mammals in Costa Rica; it is also a good field guide and a useful text on applied conservation. The author is a professional guide in the Monteverde Cloud Forest Reserve and as such is knowledgeable about a wide variety of natural history subjects. This book is primarily a review of the literature about mammals in not only Costa Rica, but elsewhere in Central America. It contains information widely applicable to other counties and the suggestions for conservation apply just as widely.

I have a pretty good library on wildlife in Central and South America and this beautifully done book is probably the best, not only about a specific group, but also about general issues. The drawings are excellent, the overall book is well put together and, the writing is clear, simple, accurate, and really first-rate. Buy this book even if you don't plan on traveling to Costa Rica.

Rating:
Summary: Goes beyond 5 stars!
Review: This book is handy for those who want to identify Costa Rican mammals, but it is especially appropriate for anyone who wishes to go beyond the simple question of "What's that?" It contains a wealth of natural history information on mammals' feeding, defecating, and sexual behavior. The author also describes ecological interactions and conservation issues. Hundreds of superb illustrations depict portraits of the animals as well as behaviors, food plants, and interesting details such as scats and penis bones. While the book focuses on species within Costa Rica, much of the information applies to mammals in Central America in general. The Natural History of Costa Rican Mammals serves as a fine reference book and a fun-to-read book at the same time.