Pyle's classic account of discovery along the migration trail of monarch butterflies is part natural history, part road trip adventure Although no one had ever followed North American monarch butterflies on their annual southward journey to Mexico and California, in the 1990s there were well-accepted assumptions about the nature and form of the migration. But to Robert Michael Pyle, a naturalist with long experience in monarch conservation, the received wisdom about the butterflies' long journey just didn't make sense. In the autumn of 1996 he set out to uncover the facts, to pursue the tide of "cinnamon sailors" on their long, mysterious flight. Chasing Monarchs chronicles Pyle's 9,000-mile journey to discover firsthand the secrets of the monarchs' annual migration. Part road trip, part outdoor adventure, and part natural history study, Pyle's book overturns old theories and provides insights both large and small regarding monarch butterflies, their biology, and their spectacular migratory travels. Since the book's first publication, its controversial conclusions have been fully confirmed, and monarchs are better understood than ever before. The Afterword for this volume includes not only updated information on the myriad threats to monarch butterflies, but also various efforts under way to ensure the future of the world's most amazing butterfly migration.

This work is about the first manatee ever conceived and born in captivity. The pregnancy was long (about 13 months), the mother was huge (over 900 pounds), and baby Lorelei was regarded by Zeiller and his coworkers at the Miami Seaquarium as a truly blessed event. Even one addition to the dwindling number of this endangered species was reason to rejoice. Zeiller's knowledge of the history and plight of this docile sea mammal is based on his work at the Seaquarium, where he helped develop the only extant breeding herd of manatees (including Lorelei's parents, Romeo and Juliet), the only gene pool of the animal in captivity at that time. With more than 100 photographs that help to document his personal experiences, Zeiller describes ""mercy"" missions with the Mermaid Rescue Squad to liberate animals caught in drainage ditches or to care for animals injured by boat propellers. He relates his efforts and adventures with Captain Jacques Cousteau to return ""Sewer Sam"" to the freedom of Crystal River. In uncomplicated language he presents scientific information on the habitat, distribution, physiology, and feeding and breeding habits of the manatee and its relatives. Manatees are nearing extinction not because of public insensitivity, he believes, but because of a lack of knowledge. His intention throughout the book is to increase public awareness of the crises. ""Destroying or saving 60,000,000 years of evolution is in our hands"", he writes. And, from the Epilogue: ""We have named Lorelei's son (Juliet's grandson) Hugh.

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.

'A funny and beautifully written welcome to the enigmatic, weird and wonderful world of wasps' DAVE GOULSON, author of SILENT EARTH There may be no insect with a worse reputation than the wasp, and none guarding so many undiscovered wonders. Where bees and ants have long been the darlings of the insect world, wasps are much older, cleverer and more diverse. They are the bee's evolutionary ancestors - flying 100 million years earlier - and today they are just as essential for the survival of our environment. A bee, ecologist Professor Seirian Sumner argues, is just a wasp that has forgotten how to hunt. For readers of Entangled Life, Other Minds and The Gospel of Eels, this is a book to upturn your expectations about one overlooked animal and the wider architecture of our natural world. With endless surprises, this book might teach you about the wasps that spend their entire lives sealed inside a fig, about stinging wasps, about parasitic wasps, about wasps that turn cockroaches into living zombies, about how wasps taught us to make paper. It offers up a maligned insect in all its diverse, unexpected splendour; as both predator and pollinator, the wasp is an essential pest controller worldwide. Inside their sophisticated social worlds is the best model we have for the earth's major evolutionary transitions. In their understudied biology are clues to progressing medicine, including a possible cure for cancer. The closer you look at these spurned, winged insects - both custodians and bouncers of our planet - the more you see. Their secrets have so far gone mostly untapped, but the potential of the wasp is endless.

World Oceans: A Reference Handbook offers an in-depth discussion of the world's oceans. It discusses the marine life that is dependent on the sea as well as the problems threatening the health of the ocean and its wildlife. World Oceans: A Reference Handbook opens with an overview of the history of human knowledge and understanding of the oceans and cryosphere, along with related scientific, technological, social, political, and other factors. The second chapter presents and discusses about a dozen major problems facing the Earth's oceans today, along with possible solutions. The third chapter provides interested individuals with an opportunity to express their thoughts and ideas on today's ocean issues, and remaining chapters provide additional resources, such as a bibliography, a chronology, and a glossary, to assist the reader in her or his further study of the issue. Where most books for young adults learning about world oceans take a purely expository treatment, this book provides readers with additional information as well as resources, allowing them to learn more and inform further study of the subject. Provides readers with the basic background they need about the oceans and cryosphere in order to understand current problems Includes additional readings, a comprehensive chronology, a glossary, and other additional features to aid students' understanding of current issues and to guide them in designing and conducting their own research on more detailed aspects of the topic Offers ideas for additional research from a list of important individuals and organizations Rounds out the author's expertise in perspectives essays that show readers a diversity of viewpoints

Great British Marine Animals is a colourful photographic guide to fish and invertebrate life in the seas around Britain. It helps identify a wide range of species and has a special focus on their behaviour with many spreads and sequences of stunning underwater photos to show them going about their busy lives. Beautiful sea anemones lash out with superbly armed tentacles, seemingly invincible crabs shed their armour suits to grow (some decorate them afterwards!), limpets argue with each other, versatile sea slugs recycle defensive weapons from their prey, starfish exert huge forces to pull open their victims while fish can build nests, clean each other or sometimes change sex when the situation demands - to list just a few examples! The extraordinarily sophisticated cuttlefish is given ten pages to show a range of its amazing skills, while the complex social life of the tompot blenny gets nine that even includes a panel of recognised individuals. This expanded 4th edition is much the biggest upgrade so far, containing 930 high quality underwater photographs (compared to 600 in the 3rd edition) and detailing 320 species (up from 280) in 432 pages (up from 320). The book is organised by animal groups and species but has a special additional 'behaviour index' to highlight their wonderfully diverse strategies and habits. It appeals to all ages and levels of knowledge.

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.

Join Sophie Pavelle on a low-carbon journey around Britain in search of ten animals and habitats threatened by climate change in the 21st century Forget-me-not - a beautiful flower and a plea from our islands' wildlife. When climate change has driven dozens of our most charismatic species to extinction, will they be forgotten? Like many of her generation, Sophie Pavelle is determined to demand action on climate change. In her hilarious and thought-provoking first book, she describes the trips she took to see ten rare native species: species that could disappear by 2050 and be forgotten by the end of the century if their habitats continue to decline. Sophie challenged herself to find them the low-carbon way, travelling the length of Britain on foot, by bicycle, in an electric car, by kayak, on ferries and in a lot of trains. From Bodmin Moor to the Orkney Islands, Sophie encountered species on the frontline of climate change in Britain. Which are going to be seriously affected, and why? Could some bounce back from the brink? Or are we too late to save them? Forget Me Not is a clarion call: we all need to play a part in tackling this most existential of threats. Everyone can see wildlife in the British Isles without contributing to its destruction. With joyful irreverence, Sophie shows us we can dare to hope. Journey with her, and she may even inspire you to take action for nature and head out on your own low-carbon adventure.

This new edition of Sasol First Field Guide to Butterflies & Moths of Southern Africa has been fully updated and revised, bringing it in line with the most recent developments in field. It also features new images of all the species and families covered, facilitating quick, easy and accurate identification.

With the help of the full-colour photo graphs and easy-to-read text, the young adult and budding naturalist will be able to identify the more common butterfl ies and moth groups found in southern Africa, discover where they live, and learn about their unique behaviour and unusual features.

Year after year the family returns to the lake. The children, barefoot and free, explore its sun-drenched wilderness... The summer Bruce turns ten seems, at first, like any other: swimming out to the raft, watching the gulls, frogs and herons, catching crayfish. But just when he thinks that life is perfect, everything begins to change, and over the course of two months both the harshness of the adult world and the patterns of the natural reveal themselves.Barefoot at the Lake is not only a beautifully written boy's-eye view of the animals, humans and landscape of his youth, it is also delightfully funny, with a moving wisdom at its heart.

This is the definitive monograph on the gamebirds of Africa. This detailed full-colour handbook includes everything needed to identify and get to know the 89 species that fall into six groups: guineafowls and Congo Peafowl (7 species) francolins and partridges (33 species), spurfowls (26 species), quails (3 species), sandgrouse (13 species) and snipes and Eurasian Woodcock (7 species).

Gamebirds of Africa offers a concise and updated summary of the large but scattered body of accumulated scientific research and field-guide literature. Pertinent and interesting facts about the distribution, habits, breeding, and conservation status of each species are presented in a readable fashion. Numerous photographs convey the appearance, characteristic features, behavioural activities and, in many cases, the habitats frequented by each bird.

Gamebirds of Africa will be a worthy addition to the ornithological literature and to the bookshelves of bird enthusiasts, particularly birders, wing-shooters, land owners and anyone with an interest in nature and conservation, throughout Africa and across the rest of the world.

The publication of this book was made possible through the generous funding of the Wild Bird Trust and the FitzPatrick Institute of African Ornithology, University of Cape Town.