Book of the Week (August 15, 2007)

On the New Book Shelf
Call Number: QL 737 .U4 M86 2007

Exotic Animal Field Guide: Nonnative Hoofed Mammals in the United States

By Elizabeth Cary Mungall

Publisher's Description: From axis deer to zebra, an estimated 230,000 or more foreign hoofed mammals live in the United States. These "exotics"--animals native to other places--can be found in Texas, Florida, New Mexico, Maryland, California, New Hampshire, Hawaii, and other states on ranches, in wildlife preserves, at safari parks, and sometimes just behind high fences or on a mountainside along the byroads of America.

Featuring eighty different kinds of hoofed mammals, this field guide covers common exotics, such as blackbuck antelope and fallow deer, some less common species like scimitar-horned oryx, and a few newer arrivals like defassa waterbuck. In the introduction, author Elizabeth Cary Mungall explains how these species got here, tells where people can go to view them, and gives a few simple guidelines for responsible ownership.

The main portion of the book contains fully illustrated species accounts, with native range maps and information about food habits, habitat, temperament, breeding and birth seasons, and fencing needs. A list of exotics-related organizations and a reference section round out the text. Photographs of each species make identification easy, and, in a chapter on photographing exotics, Christian Mungall shows readers how to take their own great pictures of these animals.