100 Animals to See Before They Die

By Nick Garbutt

100 Animals to See Before They Die is inspired by the Zoological Society of London's recently launched conservation project EDGE - Evolutionarily Distinct and Globally Endangered. EDGE targets some of the world's most bizarre and unusual creatures, animals which are extremely distinct in the way they look, live and behave. They have few or no close relatives and require immediate action to save them from extinction. If they disappear there will be nothing like them left on the planet. Amazingly, many of these species are ignored by existing conservation plans. 100 Animals fights this ignorance by highlighting the danger these species are in and will encourage greater involvement in the fight to save them. Some EDGE species, such as tigers, elephants and pandas are well known, but 100 Animals features dozens of lesser known and extraordinary animals such as the Yangtze River Dolphin (the world's rarest cetacean), the Bumblebee Bat (the smallest mammal on earth) and the egg-laying Long-beaked Echidna. Organised by world regions (Eurasia, Australasia, Africa, New World, South East Asia, the Oceans) and with a whole section devoted to Madagascar, 100 Animals is inspirational and packed with information about each animal and where to find it. Each animal is illustrated in colour and accompanied by a distribution map and information about its key characteristics and the specific threats it faces, plus details about any conservation work taking place.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1841622362
• ISBN13: 9781841622361
• Release Date: December 2007
• Publisher: Bradt Travel Guides
• Length: 160 Pages
• Weight: 1.75 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.7" x 8.1" x 9.2"

Customer Reviews

Everyone should read this informative book

Perfect, stunning photographs with up to date information on where to visit these amazing endangered species.

A vitally important book

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!

A Book to Inspire Some People to Become Interested in Conservation

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.