When I started off in zoos, I was a reptile keeper at a
southern zoo with a large reptile collection.
My greatest source of frustration back then was the incredible
difficulty I had in finding information about the species in my care (many of
which I had never even heard of before starting there). What little information I could find on many
species was about their captive care; little at all was known about their
natural history (which baffled me – shouldn’t the one inform the other?).
I would have loved to have had a book like Turtles of the World, by Franck Bonin,
Bernard Devaux, and Alain Dupre (translated by Peter C. H. Pritchard) back
then. It is an excellent reference book,
providing not only an overview of turtles, tortoises, and terrapins in general,
but a detailed description of each of the world’s species, organized by
family. It is by far the most
comprehensive, complete work on chelonians that I have ever seen. There are, of course, some species for which
much data is still not known, but the authors do a good job of providing what
is there. Data for each species can be
found in subspecies: distribution (map included), description, natural history,
and protection. The photographs are
excellent.
If there was one thing that irked me slightly about the book,
it was the occasional pot-shot taken at zoos.
The authors suggest that zoos do not contribute as much to chelonian
conservation as they seem to think they
do, and goes on to suggest that they may contribute to the threats for some
species by encouraging over-collection from wild populations. I can’t agree that this is a major threat to
tortoises and turtles in the wild – over-collection for private collections,
perhaps, for food and “medicinal” purposes, certainly. Responsible zoos do plenty to help protect
endangered turtles and tortoises; evidence: the Turtle Survival Alliance. I can agree, however, that there has been
perhaps too much focus on conserving turtles through captive breeding,
seemingly writing off the wild populations as doomed. A complete solution for protecting endangered
chelonions involves protection of wild habitats and wild populations, which captive
breeding and reintroduction used as needed.
At any rate, a little snark seems a small price to pay for
such thorough, detailed, well-research information. This book could prove extremely valuable for
any reptile keeper or enthusiast who wishes to know more about the natural
history of their animals. The authors
had an advantage in the relatively small number of turtle and tortoise
species. Hopefully, some extremely
ambitious herpetologists will someday attempt a similar work on the snakes and
lizards of the world.
Turtles of the World at Amazon.com
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