The Complete Guide to Finding the Mammals of Australia

Chlidonias

Chlidonias

Moderator
Staff member
15+ year member
Thanks for posting this.
I shall probably purchase a copy sometime before I go to Australia next summer. :)
 
Below, I present the complete guide to finding mammals in New Zealand:





























































Fin.
 
I'm actually surprised it's that high to be honest. How many of those are terrestrial?
 
jbnbsn99 said:
I'm actually surprised it's that high to be honest. How many of those are terrestrial?
Click to expand...
er, mumble mumble, something unintelligible....

Actually, there are two endemic land mammals (both bats) and about 25-ish introduced terrestrial mammals. The rest are pinnipeds and cetaceans (including a number of vagrants).
 
I saw the book advertised as well, and will also be purchasing it when it comes out. I've seen more mammal species in Africa than I have in Australia and I'd like to rectify that (or at least narrow the margin: 73 in Africa as opposed to 34 in Oz, of which 5 were introduced.)

:p

Hix
 
Hix said:
I saw the book advertised as well, and will also be purchasing it when it comes out. I've seen more mammal species in Africa than I have in Australia and I'd like to rectify that (or at least narrow the margin: 73 in Africa as opposed to 34 in Oz, of which 5 were introduced.)
Click to expand...
I've seen 51 in Australia, none in Africa....
 
Just for the sake of it...

I've seen 13 in Australia and 64 in Africa (and 3 in New Zealand!)
 
LaughingDove said:
Just for the sake of it...

I've seen 13 in Australia and 64 in Africa (and 3 in New Zealand!)
Click to expand...
I've seen 20 in New Zealand.

Hey, we should have some sort of friendly-competitive thread where people post the numbers of species they see during the year! That would be grand.
 
Looks like a decent book, will have a look at it when its in store. Will be interesting to read the suggestions for those looking for Marsupial Moles, among others.
 
zooboy28 said:
Looks like a decent book, will have a look at it when its in store. Will be interesting to read the suggestions for those looking for Marsupial Moles, among others.
Click to expand...
ah yes, the mammal I would most like to see in Australia. I have read several times the best bet is just to keep a look out after heavy rain because then they may be found on the surface. Pretty slim though.

I was thinking about marsupial moles a while ago. They don't dig burrows - they simply "swim" through the surface sand, which collapses behind them - so I'm guessing that despite being rarely seen they must be pretty common, because otherwise how do individuals find each other? So just go sit in the desert for a while and eventually one will swim past. Simple.
 
I ordered mine a couple of weeks ago. According to the Australia Post website it is in transit, and has been sitting at the Sunshine West Australia Post facility since Monday the 7th.

:(

Hix
 
I'd pre-ordered the book from Amazon UK but they've decided that they won't be selling it anymore so have cancelled all UK orders.
 
devilfish said:
I'd pre-ordered the book from Amazon UK but they've decided that they won't be selling it anymore so have cancelled all UK orders.
Click to expand...
that sucks. I had a look on Bookdepository and it is on there, but the date it is available is listed as 31 March 2016.

If you order from the CSIRO site there is only an extra AU$9 postage it seems.
 
Chlidonias said:
that sucks. I had a look on Bookdepository and it is on there, but the date it is available is listed as 31 March 2016.

If you order from the CSIRO site there is only an extra AU$9 postage it seems.
Click to expand...

Thanks. I might wait in case I can make it to Australia next year and buy it there. :)
 
Has anyone got this? If so, is it worth getting?
I recently ordered 'Finding Australian Birds' and it arrived today. It seems brilliant, but also very large and heavy so with that, and a field guide for birds, and a field guide for mammals that's a lot of books to carry. So I'm undecided about whether to get the mammal finding book as well.
 
I haven't yet (I was going to wait until when I might actually need it, but I might just go ahead and buy it now anyway) - however in case you missed when I posted this on the first page, there's a preview of quite a bit of the book which you can read through on the CSIRO link (click the preview button under the book cover): Complete Guide to Finding the Mammals of Australia, David Andrew, 9780643098145

I just looked at the Cairns bit and discovered that striped possums are apparently findable at night along a boardwalk between Collins Ave and the Centenary Lakes - I wish I'd known that when I was in Cairns!!

As for books, you're not going to be carrying the "Where To Find..." ones about with you, they are reference to be left in your accommodation. So go ahead and buy this one as well.
 
My copy arrived in late December, but stuck on Christmas Island there isn't much I can do at present in respect to mammal-watching.

The book is broken up into 10 chapters, one for each state or territory plus oceanic islands and external territories, and boat-based whale and dolphin-watching.

Each state is broken into smaller sections and various locations numbered (the same as "Finding Australian Birds" by Dolby and Clarke), and for each location Key Species and other possibilities are listed first before specific details on the best place to find each.

The Oceanic Islands and External Territories chapter covers Lord Howe, Norfolk, Christmas, Cocos (Keeling), Heard and Macquarie Islands and the Australian Antarctic Territories. The chapter on boat-based cetacean watching lists all the towns/cities that have this activity, and details the species usually seen.

This is followed by colour plates of many of the commoner species, a mammal-finding guide that lists every species and where to best find them (with references back to the main body of the book), and some appendices: Introduced Mammals; Directory; Glossary; and Glossary of Botanical and Habitat terms.

The Directory appendix (not sure why it's called that) includes advice for travellers includes Planning Your Trip, Air Travel, Timing, Getting Around, Accommodation, Climate, Natural Hazards, Books on Australian Mammals, websites, Tour Operators, and Wildlife Friendly Accommodation.

I haven't used the book yet (apart from the small part on Christmas Island) but will when I return to the mainland. However, it looks really good and for me it's gonna be very good value for money.

Potential buyers should be warned though - the rarer the animal the more likely the references will be that your species "is often seen" at a particular location, but there are never any guarantees (which is only common sense).

:p

Hix
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top