First photographic guide to Seychelles wildlife released |30 October 2006

Now on sale in local bookshops, Wildlife of Seychelles has been authored by John Bowler who was resident in Seychelles as Warden of Aride Island for three years.

It has been published by WildGuides, a UK company that specialises in nature books and contributes to conservation in the countries it features.

A percentage of all worldwide sales from the book will be given by WildGuides to Island Conservation Society and Nature Protection Trust of Seychelles.

The book includes photographs and information on birds, mammals, reptiles, amphibians, insects and other invertebrate land animals to be found in Seychelles. There are 51 photographic plates, each accompanied by text giving key identification features and including notes on the conservation status, habitat and distribution of each of the creatures covered.

Seychelles is famous for its wildlife. We have the world’s largest seed, the world’s smallest frog, a dozen species of birds found nowhere else, the world’s only amphibians in an ocean setting, some of the most spectacular seabird colonies anywhere, around 75 endemic plants and the world’s largest population of giant tortoises.

But as Adrian Skerrett says in a Foreword to the book, “It is all very well having a wonderful natural heritage but appreciation of this by as wide an audience as possible is enhanced by a well-illustrated popular guide book. This has been lacking until now.

At last here is an identification guide to the wildlife of Seychelles, one of the most fascinating corners of the earth. With superb photographs including many species never before illustrated in any book and a clear concise text, this is the culmination of years of research by the author and a celebration of Seychelles.”

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