Brecht de Meulenaer talks to us about A Wildlife Guide to Georgia and his passion for this stunning country.
Could you tell us a little about your background and how you came to write A Wildlife Guide to Georgia?
In 2007 I travelled to the Georgian Caucasus for the first time and it was love at first sight. Since then I have visited the country more than 20 times and spent more than 1.5 years there altogether, working in different conservation projects and guiding bird-watching groups through this hidden gem at the very edge of the European continent.
As a book fanatic and big fan of 'where to watch guides...' I always felt that a site guide to Georgia was missing and would be worthwhile. After a while the idea sprouted, why not write one myself.... It took a pandemic and its mandatory period of unemployment to turn this dream and vague plan into something realistic. If I did not use this unique opportunity, it would never happen. So in a way this book is here thanks to covid.
What is it that makes the wildlife of Georgia so special?
Georgia and the Caucasus in general are unique in a way that it has a unique blend of (Southern) European/ Mediterranean species and more Eastern, Central Asian and Middle Eastern species. Add on top of that the high degree of endemism in the mountains and you get the biodiversity hotspot the Caucasus is today.
Georgia is a very easy country to visit and has a lot of different habitats within a small distance. From the subtropical forests in the West to the semi-desserts in the East plus an altitude gradient from sea level to 5000 meters.
White
What was the biggest challenge you faced whilst writing the book?
A large challenge was definitely creating the maps. This was absolutely new to me and I had no experience whatsoever with this. With a lot of support from my friend Hans I finally managed and learned a lot! Thanks once more.
Secondly, as I wanted to include more taxa than just birds, it meant I had to do some research on groups like butterflies or plants. The latter especially turned out to be a challenge. Making a selection out of the more than 6000 plant species to be found in Georgia was not an easy task. Even the more than 300 Georgian endemics would be way too much to discuss all. So I had to make a pretty arbitrary choice... However I hope it might trigger non botanists to have a look at flora diversity.
Did you discover anything that particularly surprised you whilst researching the book?
How limited information there is on taxa like butterflies and for example grasshoppers. Grasshoppers and beetles I finally did not include in the book as I just could not find enough information.... Maybe something for the second edition!
White
Do any of your experiences with wildlife in the region stand out as favourites or most memorable?
That's a hard choice, I think I have experienced many great wildlife moments in the region. Howling wolves in Kakheti, Brown bears in Tusheti or singing Caucasian Snowcocks while skiing surrounded by 5000m peaks in Svaneti. But maybe I will pick my most recent experience with the highly coveted Marbled polecat. A species that I had never seen before and occurs only on the high plateau of Javakheti. Last month I decided to dedicate some time to the search for this beautiful mustelid. So I charged all my batteries and started spotlighting for several hours. Many foxes and a few jakhal later I could barely keep my eyes open, it was almost time to call it a day when suddenly, I detected some eyeshine low to the ground. Far away from any farm or village it didn't look like a (feral) cat this time. Being alone it took me some stressful seconds (or minutes, it felt like hours) to get the animal in the binoculars and in the torchlight to be sure about its ID: Marbled polecat it was! Later it walked even closer to me and I could even see it in the spotting scope! Great night and time to get the some much needed sleep! Ooh and obviously I should not forget the massive migration of raptors in Batumi! An amazing experience every year.
Learn more about A Wildlife Guide to Georgia here.
