125 million years ago on the floodplains of North America, a burrowing lizard started down the long evolutionary path of shedding its limbs. The 60-plus species of snakes found in Sean P. Graham's American Snakes have this ancestral journey to thank for their ubiquity, diversity, and beauty. Although many people fear them, snakes are as much a part of America's rich natural heritage as redwoods, bald eagles, and grizzly bears. Found from the vast Okefenokee Swamp to high alpine meadows, from hardwood canopies to the burning bottom of the Grand Canyon, these ultimate vertebrates are ecologically pivotal predators and quintessential survivors. In this revelatory and engaging meditation on American snakes, Graham, a respected herpetologist and gifted writer, * explains the everyday lives of American snakes, from their daily routines and seasonal cycles to their love lives, hunting tactics, and defensive repertoires * debunks harmful myths about snakes and explores their relationship with humans * highlights the contribution of snakes to the American wilderness * tells tales of "snake people"-important snake biologists with inspiring careers Neither a typical field guide nor an exhaustive reference, American Snakes is instead a fascinating study of the suborder Serpentes. Brimming with intriguing and unusual stories-of hognose snakes that roll over and play dead, blindsnakes with tiny vestigial lungs, rainbow-hued dipsadines, and wave-surfing sea-snakes-the text is interspersed with scores of gorgeous full-color images of snakes, from the scary to the sublime. This proud celebration of a diverse American wildlife group will make every reader, no matter how skeptical, into a genuine snake lover.

Sloths: cute, cuddly and so impossibly chilled! Get ready to hang out with nature's laziest, craziest creatures with this photographic and illustrated collection of sloths. It'll have you slowed down and feeling mellow in no time!

This handy photographic guide offers a stunning look at the wildlife of Southeast Asia, which includes Burma, Thailand, Laos, Cambodia, Vietnam, West Malaysia, and Singapore. Accessible text and more than 500 color photographs help readers to learn about and identify the most common species found in the region, particularly the mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians, and insects that visitors will most likely encounter. Detailed photos are accompanied on facing pages by succinct species accounts highlighting key identification features, status, and distribution. The book's brief introduction offers readers useful information on major wildlife sites as well as practical advice on making the most of a wildlife-watching trip. Wildlife of Southeast Asia is the essential resource for visitors and residents interested in the fauna of this fascinating area of the world. * A photographic guide to the wildlife of Southeast Asia, including Burma, Thailand, Laos, Cambodia, Vietnam, West Malaysia, and Singapore* More than 500 stunning color photographs* Accessible species accounts highlight key identification features, status, and distribution* A brief introduction discusses wildlife locations and practical travel know-how

Muntjac and water deer were introduced to Britain from East Asia. This book provides a comprehensive overview of their natural history and the management of their environmental impacts. In lowland England, muntjac deer are one of the drivers of changes in woodland structure and species composition, and many of the principles relating to such woodland impact are also applicable to the activities of other species of deer. Interest in environmental impacts of deer is not solely restricted to woodlands. The highest densities of water deer occur in wetlands, where there is potential for conflict, and considerable numbers are also found on agricultural land. Muntjac have also settled in suburbia and frequently cause impacts there. Conservationists and national decision makers are concerned both about invasive alien species and about increasing deer populations. The first section covers the natural history of both species including: breeding biology, deer in the field, colonisation of Britain, a detailed look at colonisation in a single county, methods for studying deer populations and a review of deer population numbers. The second section covers environmental impact: risk assessment, impact management, control of muntjac, effect of muntjac browsing and grazing, habitat recovery from muntjac impacts and a study on the impacts of water deer. The section concludes with an overview of management and monitoring. The costs and benefits of both species are discussed, and questions asked about whether we are getting on top of problems caused by muntjac (locally and nationally) and will water deer turn out to be similar to muntjac? Attitudes and approaches to these species are changing: with water deer we are actively studying whether it might be an environmental problem, not waiting until after it has obviously become one. What will happen to distribution, numbers, impacts and attitudes in the future? Will water deer ever become a suburban animal? What does the future hold for water deer in China and Korea - and how important is the English population as a global conservation resource?

The Kingdon Field Guide to African Mammals is the essential companion for anyone going on safari or interested in African mammals--no other field guide covers the whole continent in a portable format. Now fully revised and updated, it covers all known species of African land mammals and features 780 stunning color illustrations. Detailed species accounts describe key identification features, distribution, habitat, food, behavior, adaptations, and conservation status. Coverage of several of the more complex groups of small mammals is simplified by reference to genera, and there are introductory profiles of each mammal group and more than 500 maps. This new edition includes many newly recognized species, and classification has been fully updated. Written and illustrated by a world authority, The Kingdon Field Guide to African Mammals is a must-have guide for travelers and armchair naturalists alike. * Covers more than 1,100 species* Features 780 color illustrations* Describes key identification features, distribution, habitat, food, behavior, adaptations, and status* Includes many newly recognized species, and classification has been fully updated

For 50 years, the Wildlife Photographer of the Year competition has championed honest and ethical wildlife photography, while pushing the boundaries of artistic freedom, technical skill and narrative excellence. This powerful collection of pictures features all the winning photographs from the prestigious 50th competition. The collections represents the work of many international photographers, both professionals and amateurs. The photographs are chosen by an international jury for their artistic merit and originality, from categories that together represent a diversity of natural subjects. The range of styles is also diverse, as is the genre of photography, whether action, macro, underwater, landscape or environmental reportage. Together this outstanding collection is a reminder of the splendour, drama and variety of life on Earth. Each stunning photograph is accompanied by an extended caption and there is an introduction by one of the world's most respected nature photographers.

Our world is built on an invisible one we are barely beginning to understand. In The Hidden Half of Nature, geologist David R. Montgomery and biologist Anne Bikle argue that Earth's smallest creatures-microbes-could fundamentally change how we grow food, what we eat and how we practise medicine. The Hidden Half of Nature shares Montgomery and Bikle's efforts to turn a barren patch of ground into a flourishing garden, and Bikle's struggle with cancer. Taking readers deep into the science and history of agriculture and immunology, they show that microbes can provide powerful solutions to the problems plaguing modern agriculture as well as our own bodies. A spellbinding story, The Hidden Half of Nature reveals how we can restore fertility to the land and defeat chronic diseases.

A beautifully illustrated and detailed guide to the world's horses Horses of the World is a comprehensive, large-format overview of 570 breeds of domestic and extant wild horses, including hybrids between the two and between domestic breeds and other equids, such as zebras. This beautifully illustrated and detailed guide covers the origins of modern horses, anatomy and physiology, variation in breeds, and modern equestrian practices. The treatment of breeds is organized by country within broader geographical regions--from Eurasia through Australasia and to the Americas. Each account provides measurements (weight and height), distribution, origins and history, character and attributes, uses, and current status. Every breed is accompanied by superb color drawings--600 in total--and color photographs can be found throughout the book. Describing and depicting every horse breed in existence, Horses of the World will be treasured by all who are interested in these gorgeous animals. * A unique large-format, field-guide approach that provides complete coverage of the world's 570 horse breeds*600 superb color illustrations showcasing every breed* Additional color photos and maps * Accessible text offers detailed information on each breed, including measurements, distribution, origins and history, character and attributes, uses, and current status

Pangolins have long been sustainably harvested by local communities for their meat and scales, but today the burgeoning trade in these mammals has reached crisis point. Eight pangolin species occur worldwide, four in Asia and four in Africa, and all face extinction if current rates of hunting and trading continue unabated.

Now the spotlight is on the world’s most trafficked mammal. Scientists have identified pangolins as the likely source of the coronavirus infection that has brought the world to its knees. This multi-trillion dollar disaster makes pangolins the most expensive meals ever eaten.

In this timely exposé, Richard Peirce unpacks the horrors and dangers of the trade in this enigmatic, little-known mammal. He explains the links between wildlife and Covid-19, and details China’s response to the pandemic.

He also tells the story of a particular pangolin poached in Zimbabwe and brought to South Africa to be traded. Readers accompany an agent of the African Pangolin Working Group, assisted by the local police, on an actual sting operation to rescue the animal and capture the traffickers. And they follow the subsequent progress of the rescued pangolin, from near death to rehabilitation and release into the wild.

These timeless, beautifully written essays share encounters and observations on a variety of Alaskan wildlife and include natural history information. They have a wide reach, in a number of ways. Besides essays about Alaska s best-known and most charismatic animals for instance grizzlies and wolves, moose and Dall sheep, bald eagles and beluga whales Sherwonit introduces readers to many of Alaska s largely overlooked species, from wood frogs to redpolls and shrews to lynx and wolverines. The stories are also geographically diverse, with stories that stretch across the state, from the Panhandle to the Arctic, and also from Alaska s urban center, Anchorage, to its most remote backcountry. The essays also examine the complicated relationships humans have with other animals, and consider different ways of knowing, and relating to, these critters. They are intended to be thought-provoking as well as entertaining: to increase readers awareness and get people thinking about their own relationships with wild neighbors, wild relatives, and the inherent value that these animals have, irrespective of what they give to us."

What is it about Yellowstone National Park that draws millions of visitors from all over the world? If you've visited Yellowstone, you should already know the answer. If you've never visited--or you have, but still don't know the answer--Michael Leach explains it to you in his book of essays, "Grizzlies on My Mind."
Leach is a Yellowstone insider with unmatched passion for this nation's first national park. At the age of twenty-two, Leach's dream of becoming a Yellowstone ranger came true. It wasn't long before he'd earned the nickname "Rev" for his powerful Yellowstone "sermons."
In "Grizzlies on My Mind," Leach shares his love for Yellowstone--its landscapes and wildlife, especially its iconic bison and grizzlies--as he tells tales that will delight anyone interested in the national park system, wildlife and wild landscapes, rivers and adventure. Heartwarming and heartbreaking stories of human lives lost, efforts to save a black bear cub, a famous wolf who helped Leach through some dark personal days, the unique and oftentimes humorous Yellowstone "culture," backpacking trips that nearly ended in disaster, and Leach's spiritual journey with his Assiniboine-Gros Ventre "brother" fill the pages--and the reader's heart.
If you've never been charged by an elk, traveled solo at dawn across Yellowstone's frigid interior (working your way slowly through a herd of peaceful bison in the process), or lain awake in a backcountry tent, listening for the spine-tingling breaths of a curious grizzly--but you crave such experiences, "Grizzlies on My Mind" is the book for you.

This is the new edition of the successful Spanish Pyrenees and steppes of Huesca - Spain. It covers the central part of the Pyrenees, and the dry steppe plains further south, to the river Ebro - a region that roughly coincides with the province of Huesca.Within this region, most of the iconic alpine parts of the Spanish Pyrenees are found. Additionally, some of the finest, desert-like landscapes of Spain are here. This Crossbill Guide covers all aspects of this region: Wildlife and landscape: birdwatching sites, the most intact wilderness areas, the butterflies and wildflowers and geological phenomena. Like all other Crossbill Guides, this title answers two questions: what makes this area so special, and how you can see this for yourself. It includes 21 detailed routes and 26 sites with concrete indications on where and how to find the birds, wildlife and flora.

Mammals are the animals that most people come to wilderness areas to see. They range in size from the pygmy shrew (2g) to the blue whale (120 tonnes). But what makes a mammal a mammal - indeed why is the blue whale not a fish? How does the elephant's trunk work? Why do many mammals have coat pattern.

This title follows in the footsteps of its immensely popular predecessor, Beat About The Bush - Birds. This expanded version has, however, been revised to cover mammals in a much more comprehensive manner with updated classifications, new questions and answers, a more user-friendly format and more than 600 full-colour photographs. The section on tracks and signs is superbly illustrated to make this intimidating and confusing subject easy to grasp.

The overall result is a field companion that still manages to answer all those everyday questions about mammals in a style that appeals to tourists, bush enthusiasts and field guides alike, by presenting the fundamentals of our wildlife in a detailed, yet easily understandable fashion.

It is difficult to think of a more quintessential symbol of the British countryside than the British Hedgerow, bursting with blackberries, hazelnuts and sloes, and home to oak and ash, field mice and butterflies. But as much as we might dream about foraging for mushrooms or collecting wayside nettles for soup, most of us are unaware of quite how profoundly hedgerows have shaped the history of our landscape and our fellow species. One of Britain's best known naturalists, John Wright introduces us to the natural and cultural history of hedges (as well as ditches, dykes and dry stone walls) - from the arrival of the first settlers in the British Isles to the modern day, when we have finally begun to recognise the importance of these unique ecosystems. His intimate knowledge of the countryside and its inhabitants brings this guide to life, whether discussing the skills and craft of hedge maintenance or the rich variety of animals, plants, algae and fungi who call them home. Informative, practical, entertaining and richly illustrated in colour throughout, A Natural History of the Hedgerow is a book to stuff into your pocket for country walks in every season, or to savour in winter before a roaring fire.