Field Guide to Marine Mammals of the Pacific Coast (Volume 100) (California Natural History Guides)

I have the grateful privilege of boarding on whale watch boats at least twice a week as an interpreter volunteer and found this book very helpful on these excursions. I go around answering questions from the public and many times bestowing to them stories and facts about the amazing marine mammals in California. Many of the people I talk with are attentive and sometimes even surprised by what there is to know from this handy tome.A weakness of the book is that it only focuses upon the west coast but does draw information from other sources into a more complied resource. I wish there was more general knowledge about marine mammals in it as general biology and human interaction are left wanting more but the book does exactly what its intention is: to serve as a field guide.As I see numerous whales and dolphins (even lucky and blessed to have seen wild Orca while they were in the California Bight this last week) I am able to interpret accurately, interestingly and passionately about their natural histories and their future.My criticism of this book is the lack of full body photos of these whales. We get drawn colored images of them but very few full body shots of the marine mammals are provided. What I expected to be obviously included in the book is not. This doesn't help my image of the whale very much as I read their life history or want to share with the public what they look like besides the mere blowhole or top of the head they viewed from the boat.The book is thorough and a lot of detail is put into how to identify them from the wild (images of blowholes and blows are provided). Their life histories are written and many interesting facts are dotted along the way. Wonderful read.

Much has been written about marine mammals from the eastern North Pacific, but this book is the most up-to-date of its kind, and takes into account the fact that the North Pacific Right Whale is genetically distinct from its North Atlantic cousin, and includes the recently described Perrin's Beaked Whale, which used to be misidentified as the Hector's Beaked Whale in the past. Also of interest is that the Longman's Beaked Whale is covered in this guide based on sightings in the North Pacific, considering that it was known with certainty from only two specimens until 2003.This book is a must-read for anyone interested in seeing whales or seals off California.

Guia muy completa

as described and reasonable shipping time

I bought this book to learn about the whales since I volunteered for whale watching. The book arrived within 2 days and is a great reference book for my library..

One of the best books of its kind.

Very good book tells you a lot about each mammal and were it lives

great

This compact, easy to carry guide and a pair of decent binoculars should be in every sailors kit-bag. This guide with its 19 painted plates of the mammals proved to be indispensable on our recent cruise from San Diego to Vancouver BC. Easy to reference and short list the possible whales, dolphins, porpoises, and seals while on deck, and an extensive account of the species to follow up on later on in the evening. The species account provided details on range (with maps), description and field marks with further details on the natural history of the animal being discovered. The many photographs helped clinch the ID. Congratulations and thanks to the authors. Do not get on a Pacific Ocean cruise with out this book!

The book is packed with information and good value for money. My only quibble is that it weighs too much for its size.