Australia's venomous snakes are widely viewed as the world's most deadly and are regarded with cautious curiosity, fascination and, regrettably, fear. Australia's Dangerous Snakes examines the biology, natural history, venom properties and bite treatment of medically important venomous marine and terrestrial snakes. It contains comprehensive identification profiles for each species, supported by keys and photographs. In addition to their medical importance, the environmental roles of these snakes and the threats that are causing the decline of many of these reptiles are discussed. Drawing on the authors' experience in the fields of herpetology, toxinology and clinical medicine, this book stimulates respect and admiration and dispels fear of Australia's fascinating snakes. Australia's Dangerous Snakes will provide hours of rewarding reading and valuable information for anyone interested in Australia's unique wildlife and natural history, and will be an essential reference for herpetologists, toxinologists, physicians, zoo personnel and private snake collectors.

"Magnificent . . . A joyful, hopeful book. Safina gives us ample reasons to be enthralled by this astonishing ancient animal--and ample reasons to care.""--Los Angeles Times" As Carl Safina's compelling natural history adventure makes clear, the fate of the leatherback turtle is in our hands. The distressing decline of these ancient sea turtles in Pacific waters and their surprising recovery in the Atlantic illuminate the results--both positive and negative--of our interventions and the lessons that can be applied, globally, to restore the oceans and their creatures.
We accompany award-winning natural history expert Safina and his colleagues as they track leatherbacks across the world's oceans and onto remote beaches of every continent, including a thrilling journey from Monterey, California, to nesting grounds in Papua, New Guinea. Throughout, in his peerless prose, Safina captures the delicate interaction between these gentle giants and the humans who are playing a significant role in their survival.

This is the authorized guide to the Maine Birding Trail, which opens in 2009. The book features more than 260 sites in Maine and includes bonus material on Campobello and Grand Manan islands. Unlike most guides, which emphasize species identification, this book highlights the sites themselves. Bird enthusiasts will count on it to lead them to the best birding locations in Maine and to list the species they will most likely find at each destination.

BANTAMS AND HOW TO KEEP THEM: A PRACTICAL GUIDE TO THE HOUSING, BREEDING, FEEDING, SHOWING AND GENERAL MANAGEMENT OF BANTAMS. By C.A. House. This most commendable book on Bantams was first published in the early 1920s. The author was an expert poultry keeper with Fancy Bantams being his specialty. He was well known and respected on the show circuit with many important wins to his credit. The book was written as much for the benefit of the backyard poultry keeper as well as assisting the show bantam enthusiast. Although written primarily for the early 20th century reader, virtually all of the book's contents remain relevant today. The information on rarer Bantam breeds will be especially useful to modern breeders. READ COUNTRY BOOKS has now re-published this scarce book using the original text and vintage black and white photos. 128 pages contain 21 informative chapters: - Housing. - Breeding. - Rearing. - General Management. - Exhibiting. - Washing. - Game Bantams. - Breeding Game Bantams. - Old English Game. - Rosecombs. - Sebrights. - Malays. - Indian Game. - Minorcas, Leghorns, Andalusians and Spanish. - Nankins, Burmese, Sultans, Japanese, Rumpless and Polish. - Wyandottes. - Pekins. - Brahmas, Booted, Plymouth Rocks, Scots Greys, Anconas, Hamburghs, Sussex, Barnevelders. - The Rhode Island Red. - Frizzles. This book can be thoroughly recommended for inclusion in the library of all Bantam enthusiasts and fanciers. "There are few who can object to the music of a pen of Bantams."

This practical pocket field guide, published in association with the Wildlife Trusts, provides essential information on identifying and attracting eighty-eight species of garden bird. Each species account contains accurate artworks that show details to help readers differentiate between similar looking species, and male and female birds. A concise written account further outlines their size, plumage, voice, habitat, food and distribution in Britain and the near Continent. The book also includes general guidelines on food, feeders, nest boxes and other items that can greatly increase the presence of birds in your garden. The easy-to-follow layouts and illustrations aid quick identification, and make this book an indispensable reference in the field as well as at home. It is compact enough to fit in the pocket, yet filled with essential information for nature enthusiasts.

Raising children, nursing them when ill, and teaching them to respect nature falls right into a parallel category of nursing injured animals that are brought home for a parent to help them recover. Sewing skills, honesty, and creative problem-solving are also a plus when tackling unchartered waters. It also helps to have a tender heart

Discover the story of the land of Myakka. This book takes you into shady hammocks of twisted oaks and up into aerial gardens, down the wild and scenic river, and across a variegated canvas of prairies, piney woods, and wetlandsall located in Myakka River State Park, the largest state park in Florida. Each adventure tells the story of a unique facet of this wilderness area and takes you into secret places it would take years to discover on your own.

Whether you're visiting the park for the first time or have frequented the area since childhood, the adventures described here are sure to awaken your primitive instincts to explore the unknown. If you return to the same places at different times of the year, you'll find enough adventures to last a lifetime. You'll never be one of those people who ask "What's there to do in the park today?"

'Kindness and co-operation have played a crucial role in raising humans to the top of the evolutionary tree ... We have thrived on the milk of human kindness.' Observer BY THE AUTHOR OF ARE WE SMART ENOUGH TO KNOW HOW SMART ANIMALS ARE? 'There is a widely-held assumption that humans are hard-wired for relentless and ruthless competition ... Frans de Waal sees nature differently - as a biological legacy in which empathy, not mere self-interest, is shared by humans, bonobos and animals.' Ben Macintyre, The Times Empathy holds us together. That we are hardwired to be altruistic is the result of thousands of years of evolutionary biology which has kept society from slipping into anarchy. But we are not alone: primates, elephants, even rodents are empathetic creatures too. Social behaviours such as the herding instinct, bonding rituals, expressions of consolation and even conflict resolution demonstrate that animals are designed to feel for each other. From chimpanzees caring for mates that have been wounded by leopards, elephants reassuring youngsters in distress and dolphins preventing sick companions from drowning, with a wealth of anecdotes, scientific observations, wry humour and incisive intelligence, The Age of Empathy is essential reading for all who believe in the power of our connections to each other.

It seems obvious that animals have emotions. Dogs bark with excitement when their masters return home, snarl aggressively at the approach of a stranger, and cower with anxiety at the vet's office. Our ordinary ways of talking about animals suggest that animals and humans are emotional kin.
In this exploration of our emotional kinship with animals, philosopher B. A. Dixon invites the reader to consider what is philosophically controversial about the idea that animals have emotions. Dixon guides the reader through a tangle of philosophical issues related to the concept of emotion and the various ways in which emotions are morally significant. She demonstrates that claims about animal emotion often stand in for a more fundamental property it is believed that animals and humans share--namely morality.
Do some animals have "morally laden" emotions? Dixon examines various arguments in favor of this idea and finds them lacking. Her close analysis elucidates the concept of emotional kinship, the role of emotions as virtues, Darwin's principle about evolutionary continuity, the nature of primate empathy, the possibility of morally appraising children and animals, and how the animal narrative should be used as a methodology for thinking about the animal mind. Each chapter begins with an animal story or anecdote to illustrate the theme to be covered.
Dixon concludes that we are unwarranted in attributing to animals morally laden emotions.

This title is suitable for children of ages 8 years & over. In this engaging story of one of nature's most fascinating creatures, science educator Stephen Whitt follows a mother sea turtle on the most difficult and dangerous journey of her life, the journey home to lay her eggs. Along the way he shows young readers how the events of the universe, many of them both far away and long ago, have resulted in a world where a turtle may swim through a salty sea, struggle up a sandy beach, and dig her nest just beyond the reach of the highest tide. "The Turtle and the Universe" is a story of connection. Through the life and struggles of one female turtle, youngsters learn that the universe is a single thing. Everything within the universe is linked to everything else, by time, by origin, by ultimate fate. In the elements that make the sea turtle there are shadows of an exploded star from far away and long ago. In the movement of the turtle's flippers is the energy of the fireball that began our universe some thirteen billion years ago. In the sand, in the seawater, in the eggs the turtle lays there are hints of the deep connections shared by all the things, and all the events, that we call the universe. Whitt also reveals how the actions of our own species are altering the world that we and the sea turtles share. He underscores the necessity of using our natural resources wisely to ensure the future of the whole interconnected earth. This elegantly told story captures the many wonders that science discovers in the natural world while teaching children essential facts of astronomy, chemistry, and biology.

Discover the pro secrets for catching more and bigger walleye. Walleyes may be the most popular game fish in America after bass, and for good reason. Consistently catching this temperamental game fish can be a major challenge, but when you succeed, the reward is a tasty meal of what's commonly considered the best-tasting freshwater fish.
In this expertly written book, pro angler Mark Martin shares never-before-published advice for catching the big ones, including insider tips and techniques by season. See how to trick out your boat and the importance of breaklines in spring. Discover how to adjust for water depth and use live bait in summer. Find out the importance of location, location, location--and learn how to work weed beds in the fall. And try Martin's gear choices and favorite bait, jigs, and spoons for fishing in winter. Whether you are a beginner, intermediate, or expert angler, you will benefit from this complex course on walleye fishing.

Kansas and western Missouri are astonishingly rich in birdlife. Located in the very center of the North American continent, the area is home to most of the eastern bird fauna and many of the western species, and even hosts occasional visitors from the far north. Over 400 species of birds have been recorded in Kansas alone, an abundance that places it among the top five birding states in the country.

"A Guide to Bird Finding in Kansas and Western Missouri" is a guide to this rich mosaic of birdlife. Written for both resident and visiting birders, the book begins with an introduction to the region's avian diversity and to its eleven major biotic communities. Illustrated with 17 line drawings by renowned artist and ornithologist Robert Mengel, A Guide to Bird Finding also features 26 detailed maps, a checklist of birds of the region, and an annotated list of "Specialty Species." The book's main focus, though is on birding tours--75 of them. Meticulously described and thoroughly "road-tested," these tours lead down paved highways, dirt roads, and paths, past old cemeteries, around lakes, along creeks, into cities, and out onto the prairie, winding through the birding hotspots of Kansas and western Missouri.

With this new guide in hand, birders can tailor their expeditions to focus on the big picture, taking advantage of all the birding possibilities a particular location has to offer, or the small picture, searching out one or two especially challenging species. Zimmerman and Patti have provided information on road conditions and tour routes, and have also zeroed in on a few birding surprises--like Bobolinks next to saline marshes in central Kansas.

Among the many birding possibilities the book suggests are: a trip to the tallgrass prairie of the Flint Hills where Greater Prairie-chickens and Henslow's Sparrows can be seen; a tour of the Cimarron National Grassland, the best place in the U.S, to see Lesser Prairie-chickens; a tour of Missouri's Squaw Creek National Wildlife Refuge, the spectacular staging area for over 500,000 geese and other waterfowl; and a trip to Quivira National Wildlife Refuge and Cheyenne Bottoms, internationally significant wetlands that are an essential migration stopover for hundreds of species, particularly waterfowl and shorebirds, and even Whooping Cranes.

Never before have so many exciting, hair-raising tales of bear encounters been collected into one book. Read about a man who swam into a lake to try to escape a furious bear only to find to his horror that bears can swim too! Or of the old gold prospector who got mauled and sewed up his own stomach-and lived to tell about it! When a bear attacks, it does so with devastating ferocity. Although the average attack lasts but thirty seconds, grievous injury can result from powerful paws and jaws. Strangely enough, most attacks are nonfatal. This book is filled with true-life episodes of close-calls, maulings, and deaths by all three North American bears: black, grizzly, and polar. These stories are not fiction. All are, eerily enough, based on complete fact. Even the FOX TV show When Animals Attack uses Kaniut's material for their shows. The author of two previous best-selling books on dangerous bears brings you a cliffhanger-you won't want to miss his latest and best yet!

The deep sea is the last, vast wilderness on the planet. For centuries, myth-makers and storytellers have concocted imaginary monsters of the deep, and now scientists are looking there to find bizarre, unknown species, chemicals to make new medicines, and to gain a greater understanding of how this world of ours works. With an average depth of 12,000 feet and chasms that plunge much deeper, it forms a frontier for new discoveries. The Brilliant Abyss tells the story of our relationship with the deep sea - how we imagine, explore and exploit it. It captures the golden age of discovery we are currently in and looks back at the history of how we got here, while also looking forward to the unfolding new environmental disasters that are taking place miles beneath the waves, far beyond the public gaze. Throughout history, there have been two distinct groups of deep-sea explorers. Both have sought knowledge but with different and often conflicting ambitions in mind. Some people want to quench their curiosity; many more have been lured by the possibilities of commerce and profit. The tension between these two opposing sides is the theme that runs throughout the book, while readers are taken on a chronological journey through humanity's developing relationship with the deep sea. The Brilliant Abyss ends by looking forwards to humanity's advancing impacts on the deep, including mining and pollution and what we can do about them.