Animal Science

Video game preservationist and historian Kelsey Lewin tells the story of how a mundane-sounding game full of bug-catching, letter-writing, and furniture-collecting became one of Nintendo's best-loved franchises, with Animal Crossing: New Horizons eclipsing Super Mario Bros. for all-time sales in Japan, unlocking gaming’s massive potential to tap into our desire to plant trees, find friends, and make the world a better place.

You may know about the sinking of the Titanic. But did you know science played a big role in the ship’s voyage, disaster, and discovery? Learn all about the ship and the events that led to its sinking.

When the opossum feels threatened, she becomes paralyzed. Her body temperature plummets, her breathing and heart rates drop to a minimum, and her glands simulate the smell of a putrefying corpse. Playing Possum explores what the opossum and other creatures can teach us about how we and other species understand mortality, and demonstrates that the concept of death, far from being a uniquely human attribute, is widespread in the animal kingdom.

Bald eagles, bees, and bats all fly. But a bee is an insect. A bat is a mammal. And a bald eagle is a bird! Why are these animals sorted into different groups? Let’s investigate animal classification!

Bears have always held a central place in our collective memory, from Indigenous folklore and Greek mythology to nineteenth-century fairytales and the modern toy shop. But as humans and bears come into ever-closer contact, our relationship nears a tipping point. Today, most of the eight remaining bear species are threatened with extinction. Some, such as the panda bear and the polar bear, are icons of the natural world; others, such as the spectacled bear and the sloth bear, are far less known.

Whenever middle-aged desert tour guide Forrest Bryant Johnson went out on his daily walks into the Mojave, all was usually peaceful and serene. But one beautiful summer day in 1987, Forrest heard a cry of distress. Following the cries, he came upon a small bobcat kitten, injured, orphaned, and desperately in need of help. So Forrest took his new feline friend home for a night.

Rex Dexter is itching to have a dog. His parents surprise him with a box. A box with holes. A box with holes and adorable scratchy noises coming from inside. Could it be? Yes! It has to be! A...a...chicken? One hour and 14 minutes later, the chicken is dead (by a steamroller), Rex is cursed (by the Grim Reaper), and wild animals are haunting Rex's room (hounding him for answers). Even his best friend, Darvish, is not going to believe this, and that kid believes everything.

Los ratings y las vistas están por las nubes. Los fanáticos están vueltos locos. Cada día el calabozo se vuelve más peligroso. En un lugar diseñado para devorar y escupir rastreadores por millones, Carl y la Princesa Donut tendrán que pelear más duro que nunca solo para sobrevivir. La llaman Ciudad Superior. Una metrópolis vibrante en otro tiempo, hoy devastada por una calamidad misteriosa. Pero las calles no están vacías, no. Un circo de muertos vivientes se arrastra entre las ruinas. Unas prostitutas asesinadas caen del cielo.

World-famous zoologist Dian Fossey is remembered for her inspiring work studying the mountain gorillas of central Africa’s isolated Virunga Mountains. Her tireless devotion to understanding - and actively protecting - these shy and gentle primates introduced them to an admiring public and promoted values of conservation in the African nations they inhabit. In 1966, Dian Fossey left home for Africa to conduct field research on mountain gorillas. It was her second trip to Africa, but it wouldn’t be her last.

Young Twig lives in the Deepwoods, among the Woodtrolls, but he isn't one of them. In a brave attempt to find out where he belongs, Twig wanders into the mysterious, fascinating, and sometimes hazardous world beyond the Deepwoods. In his travels he encounters myriad peculiar creatures, like his wise guardian, the Caterbird; the Slaughterers, a peaceful race who butcher animals for their livelihood; and the vicious, bile-swilling Rotsucker.

In Shiver, Grace and Sam found each other. Now, in Linger, they must fight to be together. Add to the mix a new wolf named Cole, and Isabelle, who already lost her brother to the wolves.

A wolf mother has given birth, but the warm bundle snuffling next to her brings only anguish. The pup, otherwise healthy, has a twisted paw, and the mother knows what the harsh code of the pack demands. Her pup will be taken from her and abandoned on a desolate hill. The pack cannot have weakness—the wolf mother knows that her pup is condemned to die. But alone in the wilderness, the pup, Faolan, does not perish. This his story—a story of survival, of courage, and of love triumphant.

There's been an accident. Someone crash landed a Yeerk Bug fighter, and the Yeerks have been trying to cover it up - quickly. When Tobias spots it before they get the chance, the Animorphs decide to steal the ship, to show the world that Earth has been invaded. That's when things go terribly wrong. Before they know it, Jake and the other Animorphs find themselves in another place. Another time. And there's no way home....

Dip below the ocean’s surface and you are soon confronted by forms of life that could not seem more foreign to our own: sea sponges, soft corals, and serpulid worms, whose rooted bodies, intricate geometry, and flower-like appendages are more reminiscent of plant life or even architecture than anything recognizably animal. Yet these creatures are our cousins. As fellow members of the animal kingdom — the Metazoa— they can teach us much about the evolutionary origins of not only our bodies, but also our minds.

Award-winning journalist Hannah Nordhaus tells the remarkable story of John Miller, one of America's foremost migratory beekeepers, and the myriad and mysterious epidemics threatening American honeybee populations.

The adventure continues in this sixth book in the New York Times best-selling series.

At the onset of World War II, Williams formed Elephant Company and was instrumental in defeating the Japanese in Burma and saving refugees, including on his own "Hannibal Trek." Billy Williams became a media sensation during the war, telling reporters that the elephants did more for him than he was ever able to do for them, but his story has since been forgotten.

Do you feel overwhelmed by unreliable online information while trying to embark on your dream of self-sufficient living? Are you anxious about navigating the complexities of food production, raising livestock, or emergency preparedness? Feel daunted by the idea of starting with limited space or budget? Worried about balancing time or lacking experience?

Tobias has gotten used to his new life. He's a red-tailed hawk with the mind of a kid. It was difficult when he first became trapped in his morph, but he's started to come to terms with things. After all, how many kids actually get the chance to fly? But now Tobias is about to make a very difficult choice: a choice that the other Animorphs know nothing about. And it could mean the difference between living the rest of his life as a hawk...and being human.

No matter how cushy their lives, dogs live on our terms. They compromise their freedom and instinctual pleasure, as well as their innate strategies for coping with stress and anxiety, in exchange for the love, comfort, and care they get from us. But it is possible to let dogs be dogs without wreaking havoc on our lives, as biologist Marc Bekoff and bioethicist Jessica Pierce show in this fascinating book. They begin by illuminating the true nature of dogs and helping us "walk in their paws".