Product Description

Most travellers to Belize and Guatemala want to experience lush tropical forests and catch glimpses of exotic wildlife. This guide provides all the information you need to find, identify, and learn about the region's magnificent animal life. Beletsky selected approximately 500 of the animals you are most likely to see, including fish, amphibians, reptiles, birds, and mammals. Also pictured are some of the highly endangered species of the area. You will want to have this easy-to-carry, entertaining, and beautifully illustrated book as a constant companion on your journey.

Key Features
* Illustrates the most commonly spotted animals and provides information on their identification, location, and conservation
* Provides extensive, up-to-date information on animals' ecology and behavior
* Covers Belize's famous coral reef and the animals seen by divers and snorkelers
* Presents the habitats of Belize and northern Guatemala and the most common plants visitors encounter
* Describes the region's most frequently visited parks and reserves

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #259695 in Books
• Published on: 2004-11-30
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 477 pages

Features

• ISBN13: 9781566565684
• Condition: USED - VERY GOOD
• Notes:
• Click here to view our Condition Guide and Shipping Prices

Amazon.com Review
As ecotourism booms, it's only natural that eco-themed guidebooks would boom alongside it. The Ecotravellers' Wildlife Guides series, endorsed by the Wildlife Conservation Society and researched by professional biologists, is one of the more credible brands in the swelling ecotravel ranks. The series provides an encyclopedic introduction to Central America's flora and fauna, as well as a friendly primer on the principles of ecotourism. These rich ecological contexts are accompanied by hundreds of pictures and photographs. Miraculously, the guides deliver solid science without growing stilted or boring--as evinced by sections with such titles as "Avian Mating Systems and Birds That Cheat" and "Frugivory: Animals That Eat Fruit and the Trees That Want Them To." The one element that's in surprisingly short supply is ecologically sound travel tips, from general do's and don'ts to a list of ecologically responsible tour operators and other eco-friendly establishments in Belize. This is mildly discouraging--learning how to travel responsibly is as important as knowing what you're going to see. But given the relative paucity of travel literature on Belize, the guide proves a valuable resource for anyone curious about the natural wonders of this increasingly popular destination. --Andrew Nieland

From The Washington Post
"Moving from the urban to the wild, a new breed of guidebooks focuses on flora and fauna (and not in the way Harold Gatty did). The Ecotraveller's Wildlife Guides grew out of its nature-loving author's frustration that 'I could not locate a single book to take along on a trip that would help me identify all the types of animals that really interested me.' So Beletsky wrote one that did. Combining natural history -lore, habits, best places to spot each creature- with pointers on specific sites and background on the state of conservation in the region today."

Review
"...As a natural history primer, the book sets the standard." -- Mike Blair in BTO News, May-June 1999

"...No one should consider visiting the natural treasures of Belize and Guatemala without it." -- Adrian Barnett in New Scientist, July 1999

"...attractive color photographs of various natural habitats in Costa Rica will send many North Americans looking for airline tickets, especially in midwinter. ...very useful to first-time visitors to Costa Rica, both casual tourists and scientists contemplating serious research." -- K.D.W. in Copeia, 1999

"...it is the treatment of frogs and snakes that makes these volumes worth taking along." -- Winging It, June 1999

"...this convenient field guide-sized book is absolutely packed with information for the visitor. This book provides excellent background and field information for a trip to Costa Rica and is strongly recommended." -- Steve Gantlett in Birding World, 1998

"The illustrations are superb, the text simple and direct ('Jaguar - you will know it when you see it'). If you go, take this book." -- Birds, Summer 1999

"There are so many bad guides on the market trying to do what this book does so simply and so well. ...few are written with the same authority and attention to detail that wildlife biologist and zoology lecturer Les Beletsky has brought to bear in this volume. It could be the best (money) you spend all trip." -- Nick Baker in BBC Wildlife, 1999

"These are books I would certainly want to read before a visit." -- Gordon Hamlett in Birdwatching, 1999

"This book is exactly what you want to be reading on a plane headed for Costa Rica for the first time." -- The Condor, 1999

"This is the perfect field book for the general tourist who has an interest in exploring tropical environs." -- William R. Teska in Science Books And Films, June 1999

Customer Reviews

Excellent!
From Planeta journal:

An impressive first edition, not as much a tourist's guidebook as a naturalist's handbook. Color illustrations document native birds, mammals and reptiles. The author provides a brief eco-history of the region as well as background on environmental threats and conservation. Excellent!

Wonderful guide for beautiful Belize
As a frequent traveler to Belize I found this book a wonderful guide to all the natural beauty of Belize.

Great overview of Belize wildlife
I actually saw this book while travelling in Belize and wanted it to help me identify all the great animals we were seeing, but it was rather expensive. I got it on Amazon when we got home and it really helped identify some of the things I had taken pictures of. Next time I visit Belize I will be taking it with me. Nice colour photos and descriptions with some interesting information about the natural history.