Animal Science

When a fortuneteller’s tent appears in the market square of the city of Baltese, orphan Peter Augustus Duchene knows the questions that he needs to ask: Does his sister still live? And if so, how can he find her? The fortuneteller’s mysterious answer (An elephant! An elephant will lead him there!) sets off a chain of events so remarkable, so impossible, that Peter can hardly dare to believe it. But it is - all of it - true.

Animal scientists have long considered domestic livestock to be too dumb to know how to eat right, but the lifetime research of animal behaviorist Fred Provenza and his colleagues has debunked this myth. Their work shows that when given a choice of natural foods, livestock have an astoundingly refined palate, nibbling through the day on as many as fifty kinds of grasses, forbs, and shrubs to meet their nutritional needs with remarkable precision.

Without Zilla, there'd be no witches zooming around on their broomsticks and nobody would be allowed an exotic animal as a familiar. She grants permits for a living. Okay, it's not riveting stuff but it's important. The day a cute but pushy pussycat arrives at her apartment complex, so does a grotty old journal full of blank pages. Until now Zilla has enjoyed a simple life: her clean, quiet apartment; a couple of potted plants that she struggles to keep alive. She's not an exceptional woman. She doesn't have many friends. She's never owned a pet … and she most certainly does not want a cat.

Emmy was a good girl—too good, perhaps. The rat, whose cage sat on the counter next to Emmy’s desk, was not so good. On the other hand, he was the only one in Emmy’s class who would talk to her. The rest of the kids barely knew she existed. Even her teacher didn’t seem to know she was there! Only her nanny, the lovely-but-sinister Miss Barmy, really pays her much attention.

In her New York Times opinion column, Jennifer Finney Boylan wrote about her relationship with her beloved dog Indigo, and her wise, funny, heartbreaking piece went viral. In Good Boy, Boylan explores what should be the simplest topic in the world, but never is: Finding and giving love. Good Boy is a universal account of a remarkable story: Showing how a young boy became a middle-aged woman - accompanied at seven crucial moments of growth and transformation by seven memorable dogs. "Everything I know about love," she writes, "I learned from dogs."

“How we interact with animals has preoccupied philosophers, poets, and naturalists for ages,” writes Susan Orlean. Since the age of six, when Orlean wrote and illustrated a book called Herbert the Near-Sighted Pigeon, she’s been drawn to stories about how we live with animals, and how they abide by us. Now, in On Animals, she examines animal-human relationships through the compelling tales she has written over the course of her celebrated career.

A mouse with a human ear on its back. Cats that glow in the dark. Giant super salmon. These animals are just the stuff of gross-out stories and horror movies. They are real animals that have been altered by scientists. And some of these animals are alive today.

Cats have been popular household pets for thousands of years, and their numbers only continue to rise. Today there are three cats for every dog on the planet, and yet cats remain more mysterious, even to their most adoring owners. In Cat Sense, renowned anthrozoologist John Bradshaw takes us further into the mind of the domestic cat than ever before, using cutting-edge scientific research to explain the true nature - and needs - of our feline friends. Tracing the cat’s evolution from solitary hunter to domesticated companion, Bradshaw shows that cats remain independent, predatory, and wary of social contact.

Why do mandrills have blue faces? What makes a parrot's feathers so bright? Learn these answers and more about some of nature’s most colorful creatures in Science Behind the Colors.

Approximately 200,000 years ago, as modern humans began to radiate out from their evolutionary birthplace in Africa, Neanderthals were already thriving in Europe - descendants of a much earlier migration of the African genus Homo. But when modern humans eventually made their way to Europe 45,000 years ago, Neanderthals suddenly vanished.

Daughter and heir to the throne, Mancella Cliff yearns for a life without bloodshed. But as a child, she emerged from the Broken Citadel with the power to summon animals—only after killing them first. Her magic is a constant reminder of the horrors her father, the ruler of the realm, has forced upon her to strengthen their power. Silver is a charming thief struggling to survive in a world torn apart by Mancella’s father’s reign. When a mysterious benefactor recruits him for the heist of a lifetime, a chance to rob the castle, Silver relishes the opportunity for a real future—and revenge.

When a young white fox named Dilah discovers a human family, he begins to dream of being human himself. But when his parents are assassinated, long-held secrets and a legend about a miraculous treasure rise to the surface. A treasure with the power to make animals human.... The clues to its location are contained in a moonstone buried beneath their den. But evil blue foxes seek the treasure, too, and Dilah must race to find it first. Along the way, he meets all sorts of other creatures: a friendly seal, an ancient tortoise, and a fierce leopard - but can he stay one step ahead?

Sue Tidwell lived in awe of Africa’s extraordinary wildlife. After years spent appreciating the animals in her imagination, the tenderhearted American hated the idea of joining her husband on a big game hunting safari. And getting attacked by blood-sucking tsetse flies the moment she stepped off the plane gave no hint of the mind-blowing change of perspective in her future. With her initial animosity turning into curiosity as they breathlessly tracked dangerous beasts, Sue formed a surprising bond with their young female government-assigned game scout.

Last week, 12-year-old Sky found a cryptic message from her dad, who mysteriously fled the safety of their underground compound five years ago. The note said the fate of the world depended on her going topside, to a lost world that's ruled by dinosaurs. Today, after a treacherous journey through the wilderness, Sky and her friends have made it to their destination: Lake Michigan.

Travel back in time in the magic tree house with Jack and Annie in this number one best-selling series, and meet the greatest warriors of all - the Romans! Then get whisked away and meet famous founding-father and inventor Ben Franklin!

The award-winning creator of popular survival stories turns his attention to his own real life adventures in Minnesota and Alaska as he prepares for the grueling Iditarod sled dog race.

Rachel is still reeling from the news that the Earth is secretly under attack by parasitic aliens known as the Yeerks. And that she and her friends - five kids who, purely by chance, stumbled onto a downed spacecraft and were given the power to morph into any animal they touch - are the planet's only defense. But Rachel's always been something of a daredevil. So when it's suggested that they infiltrate the home of their assistant principal, Mr. Chapman, who also happens to be a human host of the Yeerks, she volunteers. But what she finds inside may be more than even she can handle.

In the face of a pandemic, an unprepared world scrambles to escape the mysterious disease causing sensory damage, nerve loss, and, in most cases, death. Neffy, a disgraced and desperately indebted 27-year-old marine biologist, registers for an experimental vaccine trial in London—perhaps humanity’s last hope for a cure. Though isolated from the chaos outside, she and the other volunteers—Rachel, Leon, Yahiko, and Piper—cannot hide from the mistakes that led them there.

In this guide, Erika Buenaflor explores the animal mythologies, spirit journeying techniques, and shape-shifting practices of ancient shamanic traditions and modern-day curanderismo. She examines how indigenous Mesoamerican peoples used animals in their ceremonial healing and divination rites and explains the innate gifts and powers that different animals embody.

The essential guide to developing your natural ability to communicate with your pets and all animals. Every animal lover has the ability to become a confident Animal Communicator. With this practical guide from expert animal communicator Dr. Cara Gubbins, you will unlock your full potential for intuitive interspecies communication.