Wildlife of Australia by Louise Egerton and Jiri Lochman
Western Pygmy Possum
Featuring over 550 glorious colour photos, Wildlife of Australia is an engaging, accessible reference guide showcasing the full range of Australia’s wonderfully diverse biota. Don’t expect only ‘cute, furry and feathered’ because the ‘not-so-cuddly’ snakes, spiders and insects are also included, and rightly so.
The book comes to us from a talented writer/photographer team and a large, impressive group of experts from many fields including Biological and Life Sciences, Environmental Studies and Ecology.
Writer Louise Egerton, award-winning author of Know Your Birds, series editor of Green Guides and publisher of natural history books, has a degree in zoology and botany. She has a refreshingly ‘chatty’ style which informs and educates without being dry or boring.
Jiri Lochman is one of Australia’s most experienced wildlife photographers and has written several books including Wildflowers of Western Australia. He and his wife Marie, also a photographer and contributor to the book, run their own photographic agency and are recipients of the Australian Geographic Award for Excellence in Photography.
In his foreword, Professor Mike Archer, Dean of Science at the University of New South Wales and former Director of the Australian Museum, describes Wildlife of Australia, as much more than ‘a beautiful compendium of Australian animals’.
King Brown Mulga Snake
Firstly, due to the book’s inclusiveness, the reader will encounter the entire range of creatures belonging to Australia’s diverse ecosystem – many of them unique to this continent because of our geographical isolation, and all of them important if we are to save them from extinction.
Fairy Penguin
Secondly, the animals are not described in a vacuum. They are described in terms of their interdependence, of their relationship with and to other animals and to their wider environment.
This holistic approach emphasises the precarious situation facing so many of our species threatened by the naturally occurring effects of climate change and the effects of human activities such as land management and farming.
Beginning with the origins of Gondwana (the Australian landmass), the introduction takes us up to where we are today providing a comprehensive yet manageable, historical overview. Sections on Mammals, Birds, Reptiles, Frogs, Freshwater Fishes and Invertebrates follow and breakout boxes feature useful and interesting facts and information. Other inclusions are a map of Australia, an index, glossary, list of scientific names and a section listing websites, and books of interest as well as wildlife parks and zoos.
Archer’s foreword concludes, “That is why this book will be a valued addition to every household where tomorrow’s Australians are growing up today. They need to know and care about what is in this book or that is the only place where it is going to survive.”
Highly recommended as an essential family reference guide and as an excellent addition to any library reference collection.
© Paula Grunseit 2009
© Jiri Lochman Transparencies
This review was first published by Onya magazine.
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