Ontario
Mammals by Tamara Eder, 2002, Lone Pine Publishing, Edmonton
AB, Canada
Review by *Nancy Hiscock
Generally speaking I found it to be a good reference guide,
very 'nature-friendly' so to speak. It not only contains identification
guides, but material on life history and behavior, as well as
overviews of habitat types, which I find quite interesting and
helpful.
The 'Introduction' section was quite informative, particularly
the summarization of each region of Ontario (including human
altered landscapes), 'Seasonality' and 'Watching Mammals' subsections.
I like how this chapter helps pull things together, i.e., which
species are found where and why.
The description for each mammal is very good, including the comparison
to similar species; again, not too much information, but enough
for a reasonable overview.
The drawings/photographs are also very good. I do find the range
map illustrations confusing though. At first glance, the colours
used are difficult to differentiate. Perhaps these could be clearer?
I find it easy to follow and very reader-friendly; it could easily
be applied by adults and older children alike. (One question
- on pg 14, is 'paper birch' a common alternative for white birch?
I guess I'm just not used to hearing the former term used very
much.)
I like the colour-coding of the pages and certainly appreciate
the quality of paper used for the book.
Overall, for the price, a nice little treasure!
*Nancy is an Ontario Living Legacy Resource Technician with
the MNR, Pembroke District. Nancy prefers exploring wetlands
on hot buggy days and always carries 'extra' cold juice and granola
bars.
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