It doesn’t take long when first flipping through the new Phillipps’ Field Guide to the Mammals of Borneo and Their Ecology: Sabah, Sarawak, Brunei, and Kalimantan to realize that this isn’t just a field guide to identifying the mammals to be found on Asia’a largest island, it’s also something of a short course on the island’s ecology as well.
The brother and sister team, previously also coauthors together of the acclaimed Phillipps’ Field Guide to the Birds of Borneo, provide readers of this new mammal guide with overviews of 277 species, most not merely cited, depicted, and discretely explained but also – and this is where the ecology portion enters the picture – placed with other ecologically connected flora and fauna found in the region.
I very much look forward to delving deeper into this new guide, filled with anticipation of the natural wonders – as well as explanations of more troubling recent ecological challenges, such as the replacement of forests with oil palm plantations – awaiting me within its pages.
