Why do cats purr? How much can you learn about a cat's mood from the direction it flicks its tail? How do cats show trust with their eyes? Why do cats rub against their owners' legs? Arranged in chapters covering physical characteristics, senses, lifecycle and behaviour, Cats features a huge range of breeds from all around the world. From Siamese to Russian Blue, Manx to American Bobtail, Burmese to Bombay, the book expertly explores and celebrates this most beloved pet. With fascinating captions on every page, even cat lovers will learn something new. Cats is a brilliant examination in 150 outstanding colour photographs.

The perfect hilarious and heartwarming gift for the festive season! When the Comedy Wildlife Photography Awards announced a contest for the funniest animal photo, they received entries from all over the world. Now authors and the original Award founders Paul Joynson-Hicks and Tom Sullam showcase the best of the best - as well as some never before seen - to present the most joyful photographs of wildlife ever printed. A pelican losing its lunch; a three-headed giraffe; a meerkat having a rough day... this is the must-have book that is perfect for animal lovers of all stripes!

While the past decade has seen a surge of research regarding canine cognition, this newfound interest has not caught the attention of many philosophers. Studies pertaining to dog minds have been pouring out of canine cognition labs all over the world, but they remain relatively ensconced within the scientific, sociological, and anthropological communities, and very little philosophical thought on dog cognition exists. Philosophers certainly have not shied away from theorizing about the nature of nonhuman animal cognition generally. Theories range from Cartesian disavowal of all nonhuman intelligence to arguments that even fish have complex minds and therefore humans should not eat them. Serious philosophical considerations about dogs and their relationship to humans, however, remain incredibly rare. Even less common, if not entirely nonexistent, is a critical examination of the question "What are dogs thinking?" and what asking and attempting to answer this question reveals, not so much about dogs, but about us. With Minding Dogs Michele Merritt attempts to fill two significant gaps in the philosophy of animal cognition. First, she adds to the growing discussion on canine cognition, which has been overlooked until recently and requires more consideration. Second, she takes seriously our dynamic collaborations with our canine friends as crucial to understanding both their minds and our own.

A full-colour, fully updated field guide to identifying British Columbia's bats, with new material on acoustic identification. With more than 1,400 species worldwide, bats live on every continent except Antarctica and in virtually every type of habitat, from desert to forest. Around the globe, bats fill important ecological roles by controlling insect populations, pollinating plants, dispersing seeds, and even providing humans with medicines-the saliva of the famous vampire bat can be used to treat strokes! Yet despite their importance to the planet's ecosystems, there remains more misinformation than fact and more fear than respect for these diminutive guardians of the night. Since the first edition of Bats of British Columbia was published in 1993, an explosion in field studies of the province's bat fauna, applying new tools such as genetic techniques and acoustic bat detectors, has added a wealth of new knowledge. This fully updated second edition includes new colour photographs throughout, with new material on acoustic identification. With in-depth information on biology, conservation, ecology, and identification of the 18 species found in the province, the new Bats of British Columbia will help create an appreciation of this fascinating group of mammals.

We all suffer loss in life, be it the loss of a person we love, a pet, health, fortune, identity or fame. In order to assuage the pain of such losses we need to regain balance in our lives. This remarkable man, Poet Tristan, through humor, storytelling, heartbreak, self-deprecation and whimsy, in this, perhaps his first volume of work, helps us to replace that balance through his songs of love and life.

This highly visual new guide introduces readers to 100 of the most memorable trees in the bushveld – the northern and eastern regions of South Africa, encompassing both the lowveld and the highveld.

An introduction covers the basics of tree anatomy, supported by a pictorial glossary, and details the author’s streamlined ID method that enables even novices to make quick and sure identifi cations.

• Most trees are generously featured across double-page spreads;

• Full tree images along with diagnostic photos (bark, leaves, thorns, fl owers, pods, fruit, etc.) enable readers to distinguish even those trees that are most confusing, such as the ‘acacias’ or the bushwillows;

• Concise text highlights each tree’s key features;

• Interesting facts, multiple uses and particular value the trees have among local populations are given.

With its abundant, detailed photographs and straightforward text, this guide will help readers unlock the complicated world of trees.

THE SUBTITLE OF THIS BOOK OUGHT TO BE 'THE LEGACY OF BUP and Thane' because, quite simply, if it hadn't been for those two German Shepherd dogs, this book would never, could never, have been written. First, because Bup pulled my adoptive mother out of deep, cold, fast moving irrigation water in the canal when she was three, thus saving her from drowning, and second because Thane, at the age of seven months, fought a house-breaker down a flight of stairs and drove him away one bitter January day when I was living far out and away from town, all alone on a large cattle ranch with no other help within call. Without that big pup, I seriously doubt I would have survived that attack intact, if I had survived it at all. In the first case, I would have been adopted by someone else and might never have grown up with German Shepherd dogs, and in the second case I probably wouldn't have survived at all. _______________ REFLECTIONS FROM THE DOG HOUSE HAS been in the works for over 100 years. The German shepherd dog sprang on to the scene in the late 1890s and early 1900s when a retired German Army Calvery General made the development of national dog breed his mission. This book traces the development, and what many have lamented to be, the decline of this noble breed we call the German shepherd. The book is divided into six parts containing seventeen (17) chapters.