Bovines of the world by Jose R Castello Book Review

 Bovines of the world by Jose R Castello Book review

 Princeton Press Field Guide.

It's not just Technology that I have an interest in, you may also have seen I review books too, not just zombie apocalyptic books, Im a girl who loves her natural history As a wildlife photographer I truly love all things Nature orientated .

Ive got so many books on animals and birds, British wildlife, moths, butterflies you name it I probably have a book on it; here are just a few Ive reviewed.

 But Bovines are something you just dont see many books on if any.

Many of us animal lovers have marveled on how magnificent Bison and antelopes are and we've ooed and arred at the stunning elegance of gazelles and the adorable Dik-diks yes it is a word I can assure you.

But what do you know of these, well Jose Castello has just published the "worlds first" comprehensive gorgeous chunky guide on Bovines of the world from Princeton Press

See more about this wonderful book on Bovids below...

"What are Bovids"? I here you say...yep I can hear you...well...Bovids are a diverse group of animals that have hooves and unbranched hollow horns.

That includes Antelopes, Gazelles, Cattle, Goats, sheep and others which you have to agree are among the worlds most spectacular horned animals.

The work involved in putting together such an incredible collection of animals and the information about each animal must have taken years, I cannot begin to guess how many hours Jose has put into collecting the data for such an impressive field guide. This is the one and only book you'll ever need on these animals.

Author Bio 

Jose R Castello lives in Madrid as a medical Doctor with a particular interest in zoology and biology, he is a member of the American Society of Mammalologists and the Spanish Society for Conservation and study of mammal's.

This specialized guide is for those of you that absolutely love your Natural history like me and also enjoy reading about it.

 Beautifully illustrated front cover.

 The back cover has a detailed explanation of whats inside this impressive book.

 Closeup so you can read this yourself.

So let me give you a run down of whats inside;

Its the first ever comprehensive guide of all 279 Bovid species; with 337 stunning colour plates of every Bovid. I can honestly say these images are beautiful.

Just checkout the thickness of this book, its not a pocket guide type, unless you have a very well reinforced pocket, it is heavy! The quality of  the paper and print is exceptional and you will notice the coloured sections these will help you find what your looking for using the sub index inside.

So the first part of the book has some fascinating biological info on size shape and colour of these animals. A really interesting section at the beginning is how they grow from calf to adult see the image above, then the skeletal differences between the Bovid species.

Then the antlers, well its what we all love these species of animals for, Jose goes on to show us the variety and types of horns, how they grow, what they are made of everything in detail and I do love detail.

Ive always had an interest in biology so anything with bones and skulls makes me happy.

At the back of the book it also shows some fantastic variety of skulls with these species; Im not showing too much as Ill give it all away but honestly its worth getting because of this, I find this absolutely fascinating.

He doesn't stop here this guide goes about depicting EVERY kind of Bovid with key IDs of horn morphology, distribution of that animal around the world, its habitat, and conservation plus what it eats, when it breeds, how long for, I could go on...and on...really I could.

So how can you use this book?

1. Well firstly its perfect for the person wanting to accurately identify all known species and sub-species of Bovids. Using the gorgeous illustrations of the body, measurements and a super clever part being illustrations showing each species from calf to juvenile to adult, male and female as they can differ considerably....amazing!
2. Then of course checkout the size, shape and colour of the horns its all there for you to ID your subject. As a photographer this is vital when labeling your photos correctly.
3. Jose has structured this guide based on taxonomic classification of the family Bovidae into tribes, and is organized to provide a more ease of use for us as the reader. So basically its divided into antelopes, goats etc.This is made easier by colour ID as you can see from my image at the top margin of the book.
4. So you turn to the section of family/tribe you think you saw then you can easily flick through looking at the accurate illustrations and break it down by area you saw it, what was it feeding on etc; till eventually you have accurately ID'd your Bovid. 

For an example Im using this Impala, it shows images from every view point, it's coloration (this can vary very slightly) its horn shape and general stance and the sometimes subtle differences between the sexes.

I would like to point out every species in this book is shown by actual photos as seen above.

Calf to juvenile and then a super clever idea the size in comparison to an average man; this is genius as its an instant visual measurement guide. Every species has this in the bottom left corner.

 Then we have a small map on the opposite page showing exactly where they can be found in the world.

Then of course all the info you could possible want to know about your Impala.

• Subspecies.
• Similar species (so you know where to look if this isnt your guy).
• Reproduction.
• Life span.
• Behavior.
• what it feeds on.
• what time of day its more active etc.
• Distribution across the world.
• Its habitat.

 An excellent addition and highly important section is on Status;  where Jose explains if these animals are endangered and why, deforestation etc.

For me just the sheer variety of these magnificent animals is astounding; for example Brent Huffman who writes the foreword (with Colin Groves) explains the Asian wild water Buffalo is such a massive size contrast to the tiny Royal Antelope which is the size of a rabbit with almost a thousand kg in weight difference between them.

 I was so very impressed with the stunning images; check out bully the Bison here; isn't he just magnificent...!

I love the small clip of the young..so cute.

 One of the most unusual species Ive discovered while looking through, was this Takin; they say ugly is a strange beauty; well I would tak-im home in an instant, I think he looks wonderful.

But my favorite tribe is the Antilopini and the Oreotragini like this little Klipspringer here; as they have the most adorable eyes and ears and are generally the smallest species around, about the size of a cat or small dog.

Im not going to show you guys anymore or this will be a very long review and I dont want to spoil the sheer magnificence of this beautifully illustrated book.

Summary

This stunning comprehensive field guide is one of the most thoroughly researched field guides I own and is a must for anyone who adores natural history; with 337 colour plates and 1500 photographs this is the first EVER comprehensive guide on Bovids.

Its ideal for the biologist and scientist who wants to know the details of certain species in minute detail or someone who is studying zoology. I studied zoology for many years and I would have loved this book to have helped with some of my studies. 

If your a traveler who follows wildlife throughout the world this will be an invaluable guide to ID these amazing species. Although not meant for the shirt pocket as its quite heavy despite being called a field guide.

There's nothing better than being able to ID an animal you've photographed and then find out what it likes to eat and more about its individual behaviors.

I think you will be amazed at the sheer diversity of these stunning animals, from their variety of horns; straight, curved, twisted, curly, small to large and majestic but all beautiful works of art.

I highly recommend this book, its probably not a book you will thumb through page to page to the very end...but if your like me you just cant help picking it up off your coffee table every day and discovering another new species for the first time like your a modern day Darwin.

You can get your copy of

Bovids of the World 

from Amazon UK or directly through Princeton Press

I have to thank Princeton Press for kindly sending me this amazing book to share with you all.

All my views and opinions are my own and all photos are mine unless otherwise stated.

The Lyme Lite Illuminated tick remover comb Review - Be Tick Prepared!

 The Lyme Lite Illuminated Tick comb and remover.

 If you are owned by a cat or dog, love camping or live in the country you need to checkout this review. No one likes to talk about ticks and mini monsters but Im afraid its a part of enjoying the country.  This is quite a different review for me but its an important one especially as a dog owner whose had dogs in the past that frequently got ticks during the Summer months, this was quite important to try out; especially with our new puppy.

So when I was kindly offered this new product from Lyme Lite I jumped at the chance.
Pets and people can get these on their skin and you dont want to stop your kids playing outside; after all it gets them in the fresh air and away from their computers and phones for a few hours.

 

 Quick tick detection tool and remover in one!

So Ive added a small video...WARNING which contains a real life crawly....icky...tick...!

Plus my main review all below.

Your cute cuddly Prince or Princess will still want to play in the grass, right where these little suckers lurk and you may not find them until they crawl onto you or pass on bacteria to your beloved pet.

Petshopbowl doggy unboxing
Our elderly boy Wolfie...whom you guys may have seen appearing in a few of my previous reviews seemed to be a tick magnet during the Summer. Sadly he passed away last year before I could review this with him.

Daisy our new German Shepherd puppy however is black and brown so creepy crawleys are camouflaged like ninja blood sucking machines!

AS I was kindly offered a new product to check out produced by the maker of the Plamp (review coming soon), I jumped at the chance.

Here is what I received to share with you guys; your looking at the 2 different version of the Lyme Lite not just 2 colours. These head colours have been cleverly made using a 3D printer; its the 1st product Ive ever seen made from one of these. Im so impressed, they are light, robust and strong. Each of them have 8 transparent comb prongs, wide enough to go through any thickness of coat.

The Lyme Lite measurements, ideal size to pop in your bag to take hiking just in case.

They are designed to be clipped on and off for cleaning. The fiber optic teeth are fitted securely within the moulded plastic and I have to say its super strong.

The Tick kit

 Here we have the Lyme Lite Kit, the green comb slots easily onto the torch head. The green head has some hidden extras.

This little tick remover slots neatly into the green comb for storage,

The metal end protrudes allowing it to be easily pulled out.

 The other side has the same hidden slot but this one holds an alcohol wipe (used for injections) to clean the wound afterwards and a small ziplock bag to put the little sucker into, incase you need to let a vet or Dr know the species.
(See below).

This is just genius as the wound can often bleed afterwards.

You also get a larger ziplock bag with extras, see below.

Just incase you've got alot of pets or live in a ticky area like us; they've seriously thought of everything.

The bag also contains a small Tick ID card showing the types of tick, to help you identify them if you need to. People and animals can have allergic reactions and this will identify the culprit immediately. Of course this is for those of you living in the US.

 (Images from the LDS Lymes disease association)
Here are the UK ticks and its important to be aware of what they look as they carry serious diseases like Lymes disease.
(Ive added small images for the squeamish but click on them for full the sized images.)


The second choice of Lyme Lite is the tick comb to help you track these little beasties down; this comes in 6 colours.

 
 This is simply the comb by itself with the torch handle, there's no tick remover or alcohol wipes, its the basics so you can search and find the ticks, as you may have a tick remover your already happy with.
 To be honest Id get the kit you cant go wrong!

 Whatever colour head you choose you still get the black handled 60 lumen torch with wrist strap; which has a soft touch black rubberized feel to it.

 The handle is in fact a torch with 8 super bright LEDs.

 The 3X AAA batteries pop into the end.

 We were amazed at just how bright this was.

 Just look at how bright these are..genius idea to see through dark fur.

The transparent prongs transfer the light to illuminate its way through your pets fur AMAZING!

 It even combed through Daisy's ultra crimped fur on her ears, this can get quite knotty but its great as her daily comb too.

BUT THAT'S NOT ALL.......

The clever design team have added a magnetic swivel clip, so when your not using the tick comb, snap it off and use it as an everyday work torch.

Its also ideal to check your pet for small cuts and scratches that you wouldn't normally see, especially in between their claws and around their paws.

GGR fun animation
 Don't worry guys they dont get this big ;-)

 Checkout my full Video review of the Lyme Lite with LIVE tick footage at the end so dont worry I give you guys plenty of warning for the squeamish.

 Its now Spring here and its getting warmer so its a perfect time to start using the Lyme Lite.

Use

Talk about great timing as we actually got our chance to use the tick remover for real. After just the first time of using the Lyme Lite we found her very first tick on her eyebrow.... it couldn't have been in a worse place as it was so close to her eye.We had doubts that we could actually use the tick remover as being a puppy she is going to be naturally wriggly.

However after discussing it we decided to wait till later on when she was asleep. We had the perfect opportunity a few hours later and with a quick cuddle and my other half's quick hand work; he whipped this little blood sucker out in less than 2 seconds.

SCROLL PAST NOW IF YOU ARE SQUEAMISH!

Here it is

If you really wish to see them close-up (good luck with that) just click on them lol.

It was completely whole and actually still alive and wiggling...ewww...all so often the head and mouth-parts get left in the animals skin and ends up getting infected. 

We were so impressed as how this tiny remover got it out so perfectly and in one go. 

The V shaped design of the remover allowed it to slide along the skin capturing the tick in the V and lifted out all in 1 piece...ugh!!!

Daisy didn't even feel it and wondered what all the fuss was about; its brilliant.

Im sure this wont be the last tick for this year especially with Spring getting underway; we've Summer tick season to get through now...sigh..but at least we are fully prepared! 

 So now we check through her fur outside daily and she is getting to know its treat time with a special comb.

 Obviously you comb through slowly looking at the fur where the light is shining, not like in the image lol.

So we are now "tick prepared" with a bright light to see through her fur and the remover to whip it out. 

Amazing kit and I wished we had known about this with poor Wolfie. We tried several tick removers and some home-made ideas which were "doofers" and they did the trick but sometimes not getting it all out. We were very lucky though that none of these ever got infected with him.

I have to say if you go for regular walks in the country or know your dogs or cats get frequent ticks you sooo NEED one of these it makes life easier for both you and your pet.

Plus you too as Humans can get ticks they can easily crawl from pet to you while snuggled up on the sofa or in bed; its a fact of being a dog or cat owner, animals do love to share...sorry!

Cleaning
Just to say always use the alcohol wipe to clean the tweezer or a antibacterial cleaner.
But its NOT a good idea to wash the comb in a dishwasher or to wipe the teeth with alcohol as the acrylic teeth can get little cracks in the surface from the alcohol and a hot dishwasher could hurt the glue.

I think the fibre-optic prongs are just genius.

Get one! its peace of mind and I have to say its also a bright torch too with its 8 LEDS so its an essential camping accessory to take with you. 

 The clever swivel clip is magnetic and will attach easily to a car body panel to work on it if need be...genius! So you have a hands free torch to angle at something you want to see as well as tick remover.  

Plus now they have added a little magnifying glass so you have THE PERFECT quick tick detection tool and remover all in one clever gadget and I love clever gadgets! 

Its a pet and camping essential!

We wont be without ours!

The Lyme Lite Tick Remover Kit
In 6 different colours.

The Classic Illuminated tick comb
In 6 different colours


I just wanted to thank Lyme Lite for kindly sending me this to share with you all...sorry about the close-up tick piks ;-)
All my views and opinions are my own and all images are mine unless otherwise stated.