Costa Rica: The Ecotravellers' Wildlife Guide (Ecotravellers Wildlife Guide: Costa Rica)

Amazon.com

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 to have surfaced 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 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 Costa Rica. This is somewhat discouraging--learning how to travel responsibly is as important as knowing what you're going to see. Though the book isn't quite a one-stop information source for the ecologically minded, it's an excellent guide to the natural wonders that make Costa Rica such a rewarding destination. --Andrew Nieland

Book Description

With Costa Rica: The Ecotravelers Wildlife Guide, Les Beletsky provides the tourist to Central America with an invaluable handbook to natural history, ecology, and wildlife habitats. The readable, informative text along with photos and drawings will help the ecotourist to identify animals encountered on their visit. Also included are lists of wildlife reserves and other ecologically significant sites with up-to-date conservation techniques in Costa Rica. It is the only book that gives the reader a mix of natural history, ecology, conservation, species identification and site guide all in one volume.

Key Features
* The only guide to Costa Rica to combine general ecological information with basic species identification
* Readable, informative text
* Plates of species with photos of typical habitats and drawings of common plants
* Lists of Reserves and sites to visit
* Up-to-date text on conservation in Costa Rica

Customer Reviews:

good but not great.......2004-05-30

For 30% less of the cost of this book, you could (as I did) pick up a superior book that details the history of conservation in the country's diverse geographical zones (seacoasts, prairies, jungles and volcanic highlands). That book is "Costa Rica: The Last Country The Gods Made."

excellent nature guide.......2003-02-17

This guide has got three sections: an introduction to the neotropical ecosystems, a description of families of animal, and a section with pictures, for purposes of identification.
The second section is for people who are willing to dig deeper into this stuff, the first section gives a good introduction into Casta Rica and it's ecology.
To shallow for professionals, to deep for absolute beginners (only the last section will appeal to them), but very good stuff for the informed layman!

Excellent Resource.......2002-02-11

This book provides a fascinating, well-written and often humorous overview of Costa Rican natural history as well as a detailed description of the most often seen wildlife. I cannot overstate how much this book enhanced my trip to Costa Rica and gave me a greater understanding of what I was seeing. It is not exhaustive, but unless you want to carry multiple, subject-specific books with you, this is the one to bring. It had information on virtually every bird and creature I saw there.

Not enough coverage.......2001-07-04

I took this book with me to Costa Rica so that I could spot and identify commonly-seen birds and wildlife there.

The first part of the book contains an overview about Eco-traveling that could have been summarized a bit more. The book conveniently places details about wildlife in the center of the book, and puts the illustrations in the back so that you can do faster lookups.

Although I appreciate the emphasis on Eco-travel, I found this book rather disappointing when used as a reference. Some of the birds I saw more than once were not listed at all. There are few illustrations of what the birds look like in flight and there is little about age- or gender-based differences in appearance. Also, although the wildlife coverage is fairly good for reptiles and amphibians, there is very little about marine or plant life.

I'm still relatively new to birding, but if I could do it again, I would have paid the additional cost and bought the Stiles and Skutch book.... If you're not a bird watcher and you're just looking for a basic 'wild life' identifier, I would suggest skipping the book, and instead, buying one of those laminated 'bird/wildlife identification' cards that you can find for about $10 in many of the visitor-oriented shops around Costa Rica.

A Beginner's Guide.......2001-04-18

If you really consider yourself to be an "ecotraveller" then you will be greatly disappointed by the limited information provided in the book.

The attractive title "Ecotravellers Wildlife Guide" had me sold. Unfortunately this book is not for ecotravellers, but for the novice wildlife observer. This book is very elementary and is very limited in the variation of species of birds and reptiles listed. As for the mammals, the book was sufficient.

I just returned from my trip to Costa Rica 3 days ago and I had more than one of my wildlife tour guides criticize this book for its lack of information. It was so frustrating to see gorgeous birds and lizards everywhere and not be able to find hardly any of them within the book. Costa Rica has 1600 species of birds, so it is understandable that many birds would go unmentioned. Unfortunately, this book does not even scratch the surface of the diversity of birds found in this amazing country. While on my trip I was fortunate enough to be able to borrow a book from my tour guide so that I could go out bird-watching. The book I borrowed was fabulous and it was called "A Guide to the Birds of Costa Rica" by F. Gary Stiles & Alexander F. Skutch. (highly recommended)

I hope this information is helpful and best of luck on your trip!

Costa Rica: The Ecotravellers' Wildlife Guide (Ecotravellers Wildlife Guide: Costa Rica)

Average customer rating:

Costa Rica: The Ecotravellers' Wildlife Guide (Ecotravellers Wildlife Guide: Costa Rica)
Les Beletsky
Manufacturer: Academic Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000OH98T8

Customer Reviews:

Lots of detailed info & resources. Sloppy editing........2007-02-03

This book is Pre -tsunami. & Pre-enviromental-ban for Sipadan

CONS:
1) This edition is basically the same as the 2nd edition. If you have #2 then you don't really need #3. Just call ahead and make sure the LDS info is correct.

2) Although some of the information may have been updated since the 2nd edition, sloppy editing ruins the book. Maps are not on the page indexed and are not on the page referred to in the paragraph. You'd really expect better editing and not just #2 regurgitated with add-on info.

3) Many of the contributors also have their own Dive Guide/Book published, so you may find some duplicate info.

4) Doesn't list all major dive shops in the area, (but it comes pretty close). Doesn't list dive shops on the smaller islands (not even reputable ones).

5) Publishing company extremely rude (Periplus Singapore) and unhelpful to the public when called at the number listed.

PROS:
1) Maps of the entire region are very helpful especially if you want to be sure whether you are diving island 3 or island 4a. & your dive guide doesn't know - unfortunately happens more than you think since everyone wants to do their divemaster/instructor training course here. Just show the boat captain the map and he'll tell you.

2) This book packs a lot of detailed info on each and every area and dive site. All you need is a Guide that knows where the fish are and how to get back to the boat.

3) This book often contains more pertinent and detailed info than many "single area" books out there.

4) All the contributors are highly respected and very well-known in their own areas and beyond. Most are regular contributors to dive magazines and have their own guides published. Some still take groups out despite owning their own dive shop, travel agency, internet cafe, Tshirt stand, satay and fruit juice stall.

5) Good quality photos and paper.

6) Nice map of the region inside the front cover.

Overall one of the better dive books out there. You will find this one really helpful for:
*Planning dive trips in S.E. Asia
*Knowing where you are
*What to look out for at a site/area
*Alternative dive resources for S.E. Asia (Lists of websites diving & otherwise).

Diving Southeast Asia: A Guide to the Best Dive Sites in Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines and Thailand (Periplus Action Guides)

Average customer rating:

Good general guide to top dive spots

Diving Southeast Asia: A Guide to the Best Dive Sites in Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines and Thailand (Periplus Action Guides)
Fiona Nichols , John Williams , and Kal Muller
Manufacturer: Periplus Editions
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Water Sports | Sports | Subjects | Books

General | Sports | Subjects | Books

Philippines | Asia | Travel | Subjects | Books

Southeast | Asia | Travel | Subjects | Books

Customer Reviews:

Good general guide to top dive spots.......1999-12-06

E-mail links, contacts, maps and description of each site plus how to get there and when to go all very helpful

Book Description

Favorite Eyewitness titles are now available in Spanish-language editions for American readers. With the help of special language consultants, each book has been expertly translated with U.S. Spanish speakers in mind, offering native speakers and language students alike the opportunity to experience the truly unique resource that is Eyewitness.

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Atlas historico de la antigua Grecia (Atlas historicos series)
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Manufacturer: Edimat Libros
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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Spanish | Foreign Language Nonfiction | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books

Book Description

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Average customer rating:

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ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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Manufacturer: Sigmar
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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Antiguas civilizaciones: Los primeros hombres-antiguo Egipto, Asia y Europa-antigua Grecia-los romanos (Enciclopedia Ilustrada Juvenil)
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Manufacturer: Editorial Libsa Sa
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ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Spanish | Foreign Language Nonfiction | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books

Product Description

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Manufacturer: see notes for publisher info
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
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De Amazonas a ciudadanos : pretexto ginecocrático y patriarcado en la Grecia antigua
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ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: 8446011689

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