The polar bear, king of the Arctic, is one of the world's most recognizable animals. Images of the majestic beasts roaming across the ice cap, plunging into frigid waters, and playing with furry cubs have come to symbolize the beauty and grandeur of the Arctic. Andrew E. Derocher and Wayne Lynch have spent decades following the bears, and this ......
Carl H. and Evelyn M. Ernst have completely revised their landmark reference Venomous Reptiles of North America to present the most comprehensive review of these animals in years. The first volume contains species accounts of the venomous lizards and elapid and viperid snakes found north of Mexico's twenty-fifth parallel. Volume 2 of this ......
Think of deer and the image that pops into most American's minds is that of a white-tailed deer, the most common large mammal in North America. Most Europeans are more familiar with red deer. It may surprise many people to know that there are actually about 50 species of deer found throughout the world. Here, readers will find nontechnical, expert ......
Imagine an urban oasis with hundreds of thousands of trees and whose mayor wants to plant a million more. That sylvan place is New York City, and this is a guide to the diverse trees that line its streets. Field Guide to the Street Trees of New York City acquaints New Yorkers and visitors alike with fifty species of trees commonly found in the ......
Devouring beasts, birds with razor-talons, writhing snakes and other animal predators in search of human flesh are a staple of ancient mythology. This exploration of the origin and function of storytelling argues that mythmaking evolved as a cultural survival strategy for coping with the constant fear of being killed and eaten by predators.
At the end of the time of the dinosaurs, Transylvania was an island in what was to become southeastern Europe, formed by the forces of plate tectonics. The island's limited resources affected the size and life histories of the animals, resulting in a local dwarfism. For example, sauropods found on the island measured only six meters long, while ......
When published in 1980, Benjamin B. Beck's Animal Tool Behavior was the first volume to catalog and analyze the complete literature on tool use and manufacture in nonhuman animals. Beck showed that animals -- from insects to primates -- employed different types of tools to solve numerous problems. His work inspired and energized legions of ......
Frogs are amazingly diverse, ranging from the massive Goliath frog, which weighs several pounds, to the recently discovered gold frog, which measures a mere three-eighths of an inch when fully grown. Frogs have inhabited the earth for more than 200 million years. Today, however, these amphibians face more challenges than any other vertebrate ......
Extraordinary Stories from the Battle against Extinction
In April 2007, eleven leatherback turtles captured the imagination of the public worldwide as they ''raced'' from Costa Rica toward the Galápagos Islands. Known as the Great Turtle Race, this event tracked these critically endangered sea turtles, drawing attention to their fragile status and generating data on the turtles vital to efforts to study ......
