Mountain Lions presents readers with substantive yet easily digestible information on these mysterious big cats. Where do mountain lions live? What enemies do they have? How do they communicate? What issues exist in the sometimes controversial relationship between mountain lions and humans? This book contains all the information you need to know to become familiar with these fascinating animals. Accompanied by numerous full-color photos of mountain lions in their habitat, this handy field guide makes an excellent take-home souvenir and reference for anybody interested in these big cats.

Conservation classic Hawks Aloft chronicles the founding of Hawk Mountain Sanctuary, the world's first refuge for birds of prey. This personal account by the Sanctuary, the world's first refuge for birds of prey. This personal account by the sanctuary's first curator, shares the difficulties and discoveries he and his wife encountered during their first years on the Mountain. Filled with information for the flora, fauna, people, and other natural phenomena of the Hawk Mountain region, this is a lively and sometimes funny account of the sanctuary's early years. Published in co-operation with the Hawk Mountain Sanctuary Association.

At the beginning of the 20th century, scientists and laymen alike appear to have been peculiarly confident that the world had been thoroughly explored and most of its creatures named and documented. Few, if any, large animals still awaited discovery. The scientific unveiling of the giraffe-like okapi in 1901 was one of the earliest of this century's discoveries to shake this belief. But many consider it to be the last great find, and view the rediscovery of extinct animals to be as likely as the alchemic conversion of iron into gold. Since 1901, however, a whole host of new and rediscovered creatures has turned up to contradict these views-including a giant 7-ft-long forest hog from Africa, a colossal Indonesian monitor lizard called the Komodo dragon, the lobe-finned coelacanth fish resurrected from 64 million years of supposed extinction, the incredible megamouth shark, deep-sea tube-dwelling worms over 8 ft tall with huge red tentacles resembling strange alien flowers, plus the extraordinary Vu Quang ox and giant barking deer both discovered in Vietnam during the 1990s. And discoveries continue to be made today, in the 21st century-ranging diversely and dramatically from giant peccaries and zombie worms to an entire new suborder of insects known as the gladiators, a veritable jungle of new monkeys, and an extraordinary chameleonesque snake. And nor can we possibly forget the sensational rediscovery in North America of the near-legendary, supposedly long-extinct ivory-billed woodpecker. The Encyclopaedia of New and Rediscovered Animals is the third, wholly-updated edition of the very first-and still the definitive-book to be devoted to the spectacular zoological discoveries and equally amazing rediscoveries of the 20th century, which attracted international acclaim and exemplary reviews following its original publication in 1993 (when it was entitled The Lost Ark), and its subsequent republication in 2002 as an updated, greatly-expanded second edition (entitled The New Zoo). This latest edition also contains an in-depth survey of the 21st century's most celebrated discoveries and rediscoveries made during its first decade, plus an exhaustive, significantly-increased bibliography, as well as the only comprehensive collection of colour and b/w illustrations of these spectacular animal species ever published (including new, previously-unpublished photographs, and several exclusive, specially-commissioned full-colour paintings). Unquestionably, The Encyclopaedia of New and Rediscovered Animals provides good reason indeed for believing that our world continues to holds many more animal surprises in store for future revelation.

This Naturalists' Handbook aims to attract more people to the study of solitary wasps by describing the ecology, distribution and natural history of these insects, including all relevant research in one convenient volume. Contents include an overview of the natural history of the solitary wasp, guidelines on identification, and advice on techniques and approaches to study. Further reading, a systematic checklist of genera and an alphabetical checklist of species and their distributions are included. Detailed keys to the identification of the species form the centre of the book and the text is accompanied by clear illustrations throughout, making this an invaluable practical guide for anyone seeking to broaden their knowledge of these fascinating, diverse creatures. Smaller, gentler and less intimidating than the black and yellow social wasps, the solitary wasps are attractive because of their bright colours and their fascinating behaviour. A female wasp will construct a nest, excavating it from wood or sand or building it from mud. She provisions the nest with prey, hunting down a suitable creature, perhaps a caterpillar or a fly, which she will paralyse before dragging it home to the nest. She lays her egg on the paralysed prey, and the larva when it hatches feeds on the prey. On a sunny day it is easy to observe the apparently purposeful behaviour of female wasps as they prepare their nests and stock them with food for the next generation. This book is a digital reprint of ISBN 0-85546-295-7 (1995). Naturalists' Handbooks encourage and enable those interested in natural history to undertake field study, make accurate identifications and to make original contributions to research.

Here are 239 trail-tested, hunter-proven tips from people who really know elk hunting, the 100,000 members of the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation. This is a book by men and women who are passionate about elk and hunting elk. Any hunter will find a useful idea in this book--in fact, a hunter probably will find dozens of ideas that will make hunting better, safer, and more successful. Short, easy-to-read, and immensely entertaining, these tips cover 14 subjects: scouting, closing in, scents, tracking, rifles, muzzleloaders, bowhunting, calling, optics, camps, horses and mules, meat and trophy care, outfitters and guides, and hunting safe and smart.

Classified into more than 45 families, this guide describes the fascinating spiders and other arachnids of Texas. You'll find all the facts for spiders most commonly encountered, spiders with potentially hazardous venom, unusual spiders, and large conspicious spiders. Other Texas arachnids, such as harvestmen, ticks, scorpions, whipscorpions, windscorpions, and pseudoscorpions, are also described

LAPPING IT UP The complete Quick & Easy Guide to Making Healthy Cat Food At Home. Learn how cats with chronic illness improved after being fed a healthy homemade diet of fresh foods. Dispel the myths that may be sabotaging your cat's health. Learn what foods you should never feed your cat. Find out what is in processed commercial cat foods, which may be making your feline sick. Learn practical cost effective solutions to feeding your cat with fresh homemade foods, using a more holistic approach for a longer, happier, and healthier life. This book contains many Quick, Easy & Healthy vet approved recipes to cook for your cat, including meals, healthy treats, cakes and even ice cream.

From the acclaimed author of Fragrance of Grass comes a meditation on water and nature, fishing and growing older. On the Water is a gorgeously written collection of essays that all take place on or near the water and pay tribute to the flora and fauna associated with those ecosystems. There are essays about the finer points of tickling rainbow trout in the streams of Normandy, and of eagles and ospreys fishing for bass while barely breaking the surface of the water. There are stories of droughts and floods, of dogs and boats, of worms and rattlesnakes and even of catching and cooking soft-shell turtles that taste like osso-bucco. There is fishing and diving in the Bahamas, tarpon fishing in the Florida Keys, and fly fishing for sailfish in Central America. And there are larger-than-life personalities that are bigger than the fish tales they tell! On the Water is a finely honed and well crafted collection of tales for the true sportsman and makes for a perfect companion volume to la Valdene's celebrated collection of essays on hunting.

The assemblage of animals living in sandy shores is richer than it might first appear, and it offers wonderful opportunities for ecological explanation without the need for expensive equipment. This book introduces the natural history of the community and provides keys that will enable readers to name the animals they find. It provides practical approaches for behavioural and ecological studies, including the survey and monitoring of populations. Local investigations of this kind form an essential basis for planning the conservation of sandy shore habitats, which are important both in their own right and as feeding grounds for birds. This is a digital reprint edition of the book originally published in 1994 with ISBNs 0855462949 (hbk) & 0855462930 (pbk).

Meet the wild world of common Texas insects with this colorful and thorough introduction. Now you can identify that critter that just crawled under your bed or landed in your backyard. This extensive guide is packed with 384 color photos, thousands of facts and figures, and dozens of illustrations.

This volume describes and illustrates all of the 105 species of snakes in Texas, the state with the largest number of different species in the nation. Facts on the biology and behavior are given, plus the latest findings on abundance, reproduction, prey, sizes, and habitat. Includes new taxonomic groupings. Color photos.

This volume contains listings of the resident, migrant, and rare birds found in every region of Texas in every season. There are pen-and-ink illustrations, location maps, explicit driving directions, detailed site descriptions, and bird checklists.

This field guide dedicated to wildlife of Yosemite National Park is an information-packed, pocket-sized book that introduces park visitors to the animals, plants, insects and more that reside in Yosemite National Park in a colorful and portable package. Published in cooperation with Yosemite National Park Association, this "Nature Guide to Yosemite National Park "contains full-color photos and easy-to-understand descriptions. Here is the perfect companion guide for the 4 million visitors who travel to Yosemite National Park every year.

Discover the number one bestselling phenomenon that is a powerful and profound mediation on grief expressed through the trials of training a goshawk. **SELECTED BY CARIAD LLOYD ON BBC TWO'S BETWEEN THE COVERS** As a child, Helen Macdonald was determined to become a falconer, learning the arcane terminology and reading all the classic books. Years later, when her father died and she was struck deeply by grief, she became obsessed with the idea of training her own goshawk. She bought Mabel for GBP800 on a Scottish quayside and took her home to Cambridge, ready to embark on the long, strange business of trying to train this wildest of animals. H is for Hawk is an unflinchingly honest account of Macdonald's struggle with grief during the difficult process of the hawk's taming and her own untaming. This is a book about memory, nature and nation, and how it might be possible to reconcile death with life and love. 'This beautiful book is at once heartfelt and clever in the way it mixes elegy with celebration' Andrew Motion 'It just sings. I couldn't stop reading' Mark Haddon, bestselling author of The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night Time 'Dazzling... Deeply affecting, utterly fascinating and blazing with love and intelligence' Financial Times

Great and unforgettable stories about the passion of fishing by some of the world's best writers.

Sam Ives's family set up camp in a Utah campground, cooked dinner, cleaned up and packed their gear away, and climbed into their multi-chambered tent to sleep. It was a great end to Father's Day. Eleven-year-old Sam crawled into the smaller compartment of the two-room tent. Without his parents knowing it, Sam ate a granola bar and placed the empty wrapper in a pocket of the tent. Sometime during the night, a black bear entered the campsite, ripped open the side of the tent where Sam slept, grabbed the boy, and killed him. His parents heard a noise and got up to have a look around, but were unable to find Sam. Terrified, they immediately called for help and a search was quickly conducted, where Sam's body was found about 400 yards from the campsite.Unfortunately, Sam's story is not uncommon-every year there are numerous reports of predator attacks on humans, many of them resulting in fatalities. When Man Becomes Prey examines the details of fatal predator attacks on humans, providing an opportunity to learn about the factors and behaviors that led to attacks. The predators profiled in the book include black bears, grizzly bears, mountain lions, coyotes, and gray wolves-the first time all five species have been included in one volume . Compelling narratives of conflicts involving these top predators are accompanied by how-to information for avoiding such clashes.