|
 Alejandro’s
Gift |
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by
Richard E. Albert, illustrated
by
Sylvia Long |
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| Alejandro's
Gift reinforces the view that the
Sonoran Desert is not a barren wasteland.
Alejandro believes he and his only
companion, a burro, live a lonely
life off a desert road, as they see
few visitors. Alejandro feels alone
and friendless. Until one day, while
in his garden, an unexpected desert
visitor drops in on Alejandro. He
soon realizes he is not alone; there
are plenty of native desert animals
surrounding his home. Alejandro decides
to give back to the desert animals,
but also receives a gift in return-the
gift of friendship. The book's message
harmonizes with the beautiful watercolor
illustrations, and is enhanced by
a desert animal glossary. Alejandro's
Gift is great for children, as well
as adults. It will inspire you to
look at the desert in a new way. |
|
 Keepers
of the Animals
Native American
Stories and Wildlife Activities
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by
Michael J. Caduto and
Joseph
Bruchacby Sylvia Long |
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An inspiring book
full of Native American stories and
wildlife activities for all ages. Activities
encompass wildlife ecology and environmental
issues and are a fun way to experience
nature and foster creative thinking.
Other books in this series include:
Keepers
of the Earth
Keepers of Life
Keepers of the Night |
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|
 There's a Bobcat
in
My Backyard!
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by
Jonathan Hanson |
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| The author is not
only extremely knowledgeable with respect
to his subject matter, but he has an
easy, conversational, and humorous
writing style. Sit down to read this
book about how to safely live and interact
with wildlife, and you will suddenly
realize that you have learned a great
deal—and thoroughly enjoyed the
experience of doing so! |
|
 Book Of Answers
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by
David Wentworth
Lazaroff for
the
Arizona-Sonora
Desert Museum
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Every
newcomer to the desert should run out
and buy this book. It will answer many
of your questions and help you better
understand the Sonoran Desert. This
book answers the questions most asked
of the staff at the desert museum.
You will find answers to questions
like:
Are Gila Monsters dangerous?
How can I keep wild animals from eating
the plants in my garden?
Whether you are a newcomer or a
longtime resident, you will learn
a thing or two from this book.
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|
 The Ten Trusts
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by
Jane Goodall & Marc
Bekoff
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| Although
the authors acknowledge that we humans
are allowing ourselves to destroy this
planet, they are not pessimistic. Their "10
trusts" show how each and every one
of us, through our everyday actions,
can help to reverse this trend. Their
arguments for change are very compelling:
they reveal our fundamental connection
to other animals and demonstrate animals' abilities
to learn and to feel love, pain, compassion,
and grief. |
|
| This
is a great book for homeowners and
homeowner associations. It is full
of great information on how to solve
wildlife problems, as well as how to
prevent them. It also contains information
on individual species: their ranges,
habitat needs, and how to observe them.
For those of you who want to make your yard more wildlife-friendly, it offers
tips for helping to make wildlife feel
at home. |
|
 A Shadow in the Forest
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by
John J. Beecham & Jeff
Rohlman
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| Biologists,
naturalists, and general readers will
find this book fascinating. It will
leave you with a better understanding
of black bears in general.
While bear rehabilitation is not
covered in this book, co-author John
Beecham has been instrumental in
starting a rehab program in Idaho.
Many game departments are opposed
to trying to rehab adults or orphaned
cubs, but Beecham thought it could
be done. He teamed up with Sally
Moughan, a local rehabber in Boise,
and the two of them developed a successful
rehab program for orphaned bear cubs.
Sally Moughan has generously shared
her wealth of knowledge to help Southwest
Wildlife develop the successful bear
rehab program that we have today. |
|
 The Sonoran Desert Tortoise:
The
Humane Approach
to Living with
Wildlife
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edited by
Thomas R.Van Devender
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In
addition to the extensive information
contained in a chapter dedicated entirely
to caring for captive tortoises, this
book thoroughly covers the natural
history and biology of the Sonoran
desert tortoise. It is frequently compared
to the other two subspecies of desert
tortoises, the Mohave and Sinaloan,
to the extent that such research/information
is available.
The authors provide comprehensive,
easy-to-understand scientific explanations
of exactly how changes in geography
and climate, as well as the types of
foods available relative to seasonal
rainfalls & topography, have affected
the evolution of theses subspecies.
Also discussed: the potential effects
of increased human development and
the introduction of non-native plants
species on the desert tortoise. |
|
 Cougar:
The
American Lion
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by
Kevin Hanson foreword
by Robert Redford
in
association with the
Mountain Lion Foundation
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Kevin
Hanson has done a superb job of researching
the cougar's way of life and separating
fact from fiction.
You will see into their world from birth to growing up and leaving home. This
is a factual, scientific book that
is easy and enjoyable to read. It sets
the record straight about this majestic
predator.
Cougars face many challenges in
the future. Their survival is our
moral obligation. If you love cougars
you will want to
run right out and buy this book.
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|
 Javelinas and Other Peccaries:
Their
Biology, Management,
and Use
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by Lyle K. Sowls
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misconceptions
abound when discussing javelinas. Are
they pigs? Are they rodents? Do they
eat meat? Where do they live? These
questions and many more are answered
in this book, which also contains valuable
information regarding javelina's anatomy,
physiology, behavior, diet, reproduction,
and habitat. The three species of javelina
are discussed in detail.
Sowls is Emeritus
Professor of Wildlife Science at the
University of Arizona. He has studied
javelina for almost
forty years and he is considered an
expert on the subject. His book is
a must for anyone interested in these
unusual creatures found only in the
southwestern part of the United States
and into South America.
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|
 The Company of Wolves
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by Peter Steinhart
|
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| the
author draws upon the first-hand experiences
of those who have studied, and even
hunted, wolves to present their natural
history, role as predators, social
structure, and behaviors in an engaging
manner. He explores the challenges
facing existing wolf populations and
reintroduction programs. His observations
on the evolving relationship between
man and wolf, from ancient times to
today, are especially interesting. |
|
 The Wolf in the Southwest:
The
Making of an Endangered
Species
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edited by David E. Brown
|
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| this
book makes excellent use of journal
excerpts and photos as it traces the
path of wolves native to the southwest
to near-extinction due to federal programs
that graduated from control, to extermination,
to the development and use of chemical
predacides. It also includes the historic
range of wolves in the southwest, anecdotes
of early encounters with them, stories
of several famous wolves, and the life
history of wolves, including physical,
behavioral, reproductive, and social
traits. |
|
 War Against The Wolf:
America's
Campaign to Exterminate
the Wolf
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edited by Rick McIntyre
|
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| for
those who wish to know and understand
more about the eradication of the wolf,
this book is a complete anthology which
contains over 100 historic journal
entries, essays, and reports in addition
to modern articles about American attitudes
toward the wolf. |
|
 The Desert Bighorn:
Its
Life History, Ecology,
and Management
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edited by
Gale Monson
& Lowell Sumner
|
|
| supplemented
generously with photos and drawings,
The Desert Bighorn begins with an investigation
of the origin of the desert bighorn
as a species and goes on to explore
the relationship between Native Americans & the
bighorn. Life history subjects are
thoroughly reviewed and include distribution,
foods, habitats, reproduction, and
behavior. Management topics such as
population dynamics, the impact of
man, habitat evaluation & protection,
and capturing, handling, & transplanting
are also covered in depth. |
|
 The World of the Coyote
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by Wayne Grady
|
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| this
Sierra Club book is a terrific introductory
book on coyotes that is filled with
beautiful photographs that capture
the spirit of the coyote. Its easy-to-read
text covers general traits, social
structure, and the natural history
of coyotes. |
|
 Don Coyote:
The
Good times and
the Bad Times of
a Much
Maligned
American Original
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by Dayton O. Hyde
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this
book is a classic, a true story about
a rancher who learned a monumental
lesson about his place in nature from
the coyotes on his ranch. The author
is now running a wild horse rescue
in South Dakota.
If you love coyotes
or know someone who does, you must
get this book. If you know someone
who hates coyotes, you
must get them this book.
|
|
 Cougar Management Guidelines
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|
cougar
Management Guidelines is a rather prosaic
title for the most important book on
cougar natural history and management
to come along since Logan and Sweanor's
Desert Puma (2001). The book's 13 authors-called
the Cougar Management Guidelines Working
Group-are a veritable who's who of
large carnivore researchers. Their
collective effort proves that something
good can indeed be done-and done well-by
committee.
The text is organized, succinct, incisive, and accessible to professional and
layperson alike. Each chapter covers
a pertinent subject area: cougar-prey
relationships, habitat, assessing populations,
depredation, sport hunting, strategies
to manage cougar-human conflicts, and
cougar research and management needs.
At only 137 pages, Cougar Management
Guidelines is a compact, up-to-date,
and easy-to-use reference. Points of
emphasis are highlighted in bold throughout.
The critical importance of habitat to both conservation and management is consistently
emphasized. These big cats wander enormous
and diverse landscapes, and effective
management begins with understanding
the habitat in which they dwell. How
and why critical habitat can be identified
is discussed, but there is little mention
about how state wildlife agencies can
affect land management policy to benefit
cougars.
Depredation is covered, as is sport hunting. These two areas of cougar management
were the primary elements of cougar
management in the past. However, the
authors point out how changing human
attitudes are changing management approaches,
such as the banning of cougar hunting
in California in 1990. The authors
point out that hunters and ranchers
are not the only stakeholders to be
considered in cougar management. They
also emphasize the importance of educating
stakeholders, especially when addressing
cougar-human conflicts, the most controversial
facet of cougar management.
The authors consistently advocate an adaptive management approach. They define
this as continual monitoring of indicators
that measure progress toward management
goals, and changing management practices
as new information indicates better
alternatives. While this sounds good
in theory, I doubt state wildlife agency
ability to embrace a concept requiring
such flexibility in approach.
Cougar
Management Guidelines does an excellent job of showing what needs to be
done to bridge the difficult gap between
cougar research and cougar management.
We live in an age where politics and
economics drive wildlife management
much more than science. Even the best
science is of little value if it is
ignored in management decisions. Cougar
Management Guidelines provides a clear
roadmap to cougar conservation. It
remains to be seen whether wildlife
managers will follow it.
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|
 Borderland Jaguars
|
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|
by
David E. Brown and
Carlos
A. López González
|
|
| following
several color photos of jaguars in
native habitat, the authors examine
the jaguar's natural history, including
physical characteristics, historical
distribution, habitat and prey preferences,
and breeding and territorial information.
They go on to document how people have
viewed and interacted with the jaguar,
from prehistoric cultures to the present
day, including numerous photos. They
close with information about the jaguar's
current status and conservation measures. |
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