100 Animals to See Before They Die (Bradt Guides)

It's difficult to imagine a more timely and important book. With the recent extinction of the Baiji (Chinese river dolphin) has come the certain knowledge that our best efforts to save even flagship species may be too late. And we can't save what we're not aware of!

This book is an excellent introduction to a selection of EDGE (Evolutionarily Distinct and Globally Endangered) species of mammal, both for the novice and those with a broad knowledge of the animal world. In this book, you'll find photographs of animals you're unlikely to see elsewhere, from the Cuban solendon to the Sumatran rhinoceros. To see animals as universally recognised as the Tiger (listed in the thousands, across all subspecies) conveys the enormity of the tragedy.

That said, this is also a book about ecotourism, with useful tips and information on how and where to possibly see these amazing beasts. It's also pleasing to see that Madagascar rightly gets a chapter to itself, given the singular evolution and biodiversity of this "mini continent." Buy a copy for yourself, and for a friend, and join a wildlife preservation organisation or two as well!

Interesting play on the 100 places to see before you die and the like titles out there. 100 Animals does pretty much what the title suggests gives information on 100 different endangered animals from all over the world and where they can be found. The book is laid out like a travel planning book telling the reader the best way to run into each animal. Which is where it sort of goes against the message of those of us who work or have worked in the conservation industry of not encouraging people to seek out these habitats for personal life changing moments, photos or whatever. In fact the locations of many colonies of endangered species are deliberately kept secret from the general public which obviously is a bit of a hindrance to the research of someone writing a book like this which would explain why some of the more interesting species such as the Mahogany Glider, various tree kangaroo species etc are not listed in here.

The book is educational though in that it does obviously provide information on the various wildlife which could be used for school assignments and so on and also points out the threats to each species. Confusingly there is also a complicated Edge Rank ranking on each animal which even after reading the blurb on what this is, near the front of the book it makes no sense at all.

A good book to learn about 100 unique animals but don't try and track them down in the wild. Go see these animals in wildlife parks such as David Fleay Wildlife Park on the Gold Coast, QLD Australia that have breeding programs to reintroduce endangered species to the wild as you won't be disturbing wild populations and as a bonus your park entry fee will probably help assist these creatures survival as well.