Maya Nature : An Introduction to the Ecosystems, Plants and Animals of the Mayan World - Softcover

Janson, Thor

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0962622184 ISBN 13: 9780962622182

Publisher: Vista Pubns, 2001

Synopsis

Thor Janson has spent over twenty years crisscrossing Central America photographing its animals and plants. He has written several books about the region, known today as the Mayan World, which includes southern Mexico, Guatemala, Belize, Honduras, and El Salvador. His pictures of animals are impressive. He has been known to sit for days in one spot in the jungle waiting for the chance to photograph a rare bird or animals. His travels also include extended stays in all of the area's national parks where he and his white camper are well known.

Take a photographic safari through the Mayan World where you will learn about some of the Earth's mos beautiful and exotic plants and animals. Here are photographs with descriptions of wildflowers, invertebrates, reptiles and amphibians, birds and mammals. Also included is detailed information of the region's national parks, how to get there, where to stay, and the most interesting sites to visit in each.

About this title

About the Author

Thor Janson has photographed the flora and fauna in Mexico, Guatemala, Belize, Honduras, and El Salvador for the past 25 years. He has published several books of photographs of this area known as the Mayan World. His photographs are testimony to his meticulous attention to detail. His animal pictures, especially, are astonishing in that they indicate the time and patience necessary in obtaining them.

Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.

One of the most ecologically diverse regions on earth is found on the intercontinental land bridge running from the Isthmus of Tehuantepec in southern Mexico around through eastern Panama. The biogeographical realm of Central America is the crossroads where elements of two of the planet's great life zones, Neartic (North American) and Neotropical (South American), have intermingled. Changes in temperature and climates during glacial periods caused vast numbers of plant and animal species to migrate into the warmer equatorial regions. As they were funneled into the narrow isthmus of Central America, temperate species found themselves thrust into new relationships with the native tropical species. Evolutionary changes accelerated and new community structures emerged. Twelve thousand years ago, near the end of the Ice Age, glaciers reached as far south as St. Louis, Missouri, in the United States.

Mastodons and giant ground sloths (Megatherium), the size of small elephants, roamed the mountains of Guatemala. Evidence suggests that the first humans arrived about that time, also. They were probably hunters following herds of large mammals which they relied upon for their sustenance. As the glaciers began to melt, a surge of icy water flooded into the Caribbean Sea, inundating the coastal lowlands and isolating many species on mountaintops, which had become islands. As the climate gradually warmed up again, many animals who prefer cooler conditions started to move north. Plants are often very sensitive to the temperature of their environment, and a change of just a few degrees may cause many varieties to move both in elevation and latitude. If we could compress ten thousand years into ten minutes, we would see the major movements which have taken place in plant communities. Pine forests which occurred along the coasts have moved up into the high mountains, while jungles similar in composition to those found in the Amazon Basin have occupied the lowlands. Many species became extinct. Others were able to disperse into North and South America.

Temperatures have remained relatively stable for thousands of years now, but the threat of global warming suggests that we may expect to see major changes in the composition of natural communities in the years to come.

What happened to the mastodons which were once common in Central America? We know without question that the aboriginal people used them for food. Some scientists believe that this and numerous other species were hunted into extinction in prehistoric times. Much still remains to be understood concerning the early evolution and movements of plants, animals, and humans. What we do know is that all these transformations and migrations have left Central America with one of the richest life systems on earth. Ancient mountain forests have nurtured the development of utterly unique endemic species. The horned guan (Oreophasis derbianus), a strange turkey-sized bird instantly recognizable by the large strawberry-red horn on its head, is found in the cloud forests of Guatemala and Chiapas and nowhere else on earth. Many unique kinds of plants are confined to a particular canyon or volcano.

The variety of distinct ecological zones found in the region is equally impressive. High in the Cuchumatanes Mountains in Guatemala, the visitor is met with a panorama reminiscent of the Rocky Mountains of Colorado. Dense coniferous forests give way to alpine meadows exuberant with wildflowers. Here mountain lions, coyotes, and ravens share habitat with jaguars and grey-headed taras. In the lowland jungles of southern Belize, the flora is 80 percent the same as that found in the Amazon Basin. This is the home of the kinkajou, the manatee, and the mot-mot bird. Five miles inland from the coast of Honduras, mountain ridges are constantly bathed in clouds, brought by the Caribeen trade winds. In these mysterious mist-enshrouded forests lives the mythical serpent bird, the resplendent quetzal.

This book you hold in your hand is intended to provide you with a general introduction to the wildlife of northern Central America. There are literally tens of thousands of different species to be found here. Nowhere on earth is the naturalist confronted with a more mind-boggling kaleidoscopic array of colors, scents, shapes, textures and unexpected surprises. Here you find photographs and information for identifying many species that the visiting explorer is likely to encounter as well as some of the more spectacular rare ones. Also included are descriptions of the best national parks and wildlife reserves of the region. For those interested in a more in-depth treatment of specific aspects of the natural world, field guides and other publications of interest are listed at the end of the book.

If you are attracted by the idea of exploring exotic tropical habitats and observing some of the world's most gorgeous creatures...then consider a tour through the Maya Realm.

Edition details

• Publisher: Vista Pubns
• Publication date: 2001
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0962622184
• ISBN 13: 9780962622182
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 128