Grand Teton National Park draws more than three million visitors annually in search of wildlife, outdoor adventure, solitude, and inspiration. This collection of writings showcases the park's natural and human histories through stories of drama and beauty, tragedy and triumph. Editor Robert Righter has selected thirty-five contributors whose work takes readers from the Tetons' geological origins to the time of Euro-American encroachment and the park's politically tumultuous creation. Selections range from Laine Thom's Shoshone legend of the Snake River and Owen Wister's essay 'Great God! I've Just Killed a Bear,' to Grace Gallatin Seton-Thompson's humorous yet fearful account of crossing the Snake River, and William Owen's first attempt to climb the Grand Teton. Conservationists, naturalists, and environmentalists are also represented: Terry Tempest Williams chronicles her multiyear encounter with her 'Range of Memory,' and Olaus and Mardy Murie recount the difficulties of 'park-making' in an often-hostile human environment. Anyone seeking a deeper understanding of the park's wild beauty and controversial past will want to read these stories by people who lived it.

From the authors of London for Lovers, this is an inspiring and comprehensive guide to London's wild side. From exploring secret gardens, parks, farmers markets and city farms, to discovering the best spots for urban bee-keeping, foraging, open-air swimming and mudlarking, Wild London is packed with ideas for how to make the most of London's hidden natural wonder. Separated by season, and filled with stunning photographs, this is a must-have, practical and eye-opening guide to alternative London for city-dwellers and visitors alike.

The lush and unique photography in this book represents National Geographic's Photo Ark, a major initiative and lifelong project by photographer Joel Sartore to make portraits of the world's animals-especially those that are endangered. His powerful message, conveyed with humor, compassion, and art: to know these animals is to save them. Sartore is circling the globe, visiting zoos and wildlife rescue centers to create studio portraits of 12,000 species, with an emphasis on those facing extinction. With a goal of photographing every animal in captivity in the world, he has photographed more than 6,000 already and now, thanks to a multi-year partnership with National Geographic, he may reach his goal. This book showcases his animal portraits: from tiny to mammoth, from the Florida grasshopper sparrow to the greater one-horned rhinoceros. Paired with the eloquent prose of veteran wildlife writer Douglas Chadwick, and an inspiring foreword from Harrison Ford, this book presents a thought-provoking argument for saving all the species of our planet.

Zoos, aquariums, and wildlife parks are vital centers of animal conservation and management. For nearly fifteen years, these institutions have relied on "Wild Mammals in Captivity" as the essential reference for their work. Now the book reemerges in a completely updated second edition. "Wild Mammals in Captivity" presents the most current thinking and practice in the care and management of wild mammals in zoos and other institutions. In one comprehensive volume, the editors have gathered the most current information from studies of animal behavior; advances in captive breeding; research in physiology, genetics, and nutrition; and new thinking in animal management and welfare. In this edition, more than three-quarters of the text is new, and information from more than seventy-five contributors is thoroughly updated. The standard text for all courses in zoo biology, "Wild Mammals in Captivity" will, in its new incarnation, continue to be used by zoo managers, animal caretakers, researchers, and anyone with an interest in how to manage animals in captive conditions.

The fifty color photographs in Frank Noelker's Captive Beauty are not simple, uncomplicated shots of animals in zoo settings; there is an ambivalence in them that only gradually envelops the viewer. Their sad, stark beauty confronts viewers, challenging them to consider the nature, purpose, and effects of zoos. Captive Beauty includes a short epigraph by the photographer. The proceeds from this work will go to the Jane Goodall Institute for Wildlife Research, Education, and Conservation.

Sculpted into graceful contours by countless centuries of wind and water, the Great Sand Dunes sprawl along the eastern fringes of the vast San Luis Valley of south-central Colorado. Covering an area of nearly thirty square miles, they are the tallest aeolian, or wind-produced, dunes in North America, towering 750 feet above the valley floor. With the addition of the enormous Baca Ranch and other adjacent lands, the dunes-originally designated as a National Monument in 1932-attained official National Park status in 2004. In Sea of Sand, Michael M. Geary guides readers on a historical journey through this unique ecosystem, which includes an array of natural and cultural wonders, from the main dunefield and verdant wetlands to the summits of the Sangre de Cristo Mountains. Described by explorer Zebulon Pike as "a sea in a storm" and by frontier photographer William Henry Jackson as "a curious and very singular phase of nature's freak," the Great Sand Dunes are a nexus of more than 10,000 years of human history, from Paleolithic big-game hunters to nomadic Native Americans, from Spanish conquistadores and transcontinental explorers to hard-rock miners and modern-day tourists in motor homes. Like these successive waves of visitors, Sea of Sand follows the water, analyzing its critical role in the settlement and development of the region. Geary also describes the profound impact that waves of human use and settlement have had on the land-which ultimately inspired the early grassroots efforts by San Luis Valley citizens to protect the dunes from further exploitation. He examines as well the more recent legislative effort led by an unprecedented coalition of local, state, and federal agencies and organizations, including The Nature Conservancy and the National Park Service, to secure the Great Sand Dunes' national park designation. Amply illustrated, Sea of Sand is the definitive history of the natural, cultural, and political forces that helped shape this incomparable landscape.

Established in 1836, the Bristol Zoo is the world’s oldestsurviving zoo outside of a capital city and has frequently been at the vanguard of zoo innovation. In The Wild Within, Andrew Flack uses the experiences of the Bristol Zoo to explore the complex and ever-changing relationship between human and beast, which in many cases has altered radically over time. Flack recounts a history in which categories and identities combined, converged, and came into conflict, as the animals atBristol proved to be extremely adaptive. He also reveals aspects of the human-animal bond, however, that have remained remarkably consistent not only throughout the zoo’s existence but for centuries, including the ways in which even the captive animals with the most distinct qualities and characteristics are misunderstood when viewed through an anthropocentric lens. Flack strips back the layers of the human-animal relationship from those rooted in objectification and homogenization to those rooted in the recognition of consciousness and individual experience. The multifaceted beasts and protean people in The Wild Within challenge a host of assumptions--both within and outside the zoo- about what it means to be human or animal in the modern world.

What stories do we tell about America's once-great industries at a time when they are fading from the landscape? Pennsylvania in Public Memory attempts to answer that question, exploring the emergence of a heritage culture of industry and its loss through the lens of its most representative industrial state. Based on news coverage, interviews, and more than two hundred heritage sites, this book traces the narrative themes that shape modern public memory of coal, steel, railroading, lumber, oil, and agriculture, and that collectively tell a story about national as well as local identity in a changing social and economic world.

Recognized today as one of America's best zoos, Riverbanks Zoo and Garden has become one of Columbia, South Carolina's most popular tourist destinations and one of the most visited zoos in the southeastern United States. Riverbanks celebrates its fortieth anniversary on April 25, 2014. Over the last four decades both the zoo and the garden have been honored with many regional and national awards for excellence.
Among its many accolades, Riverbanks has received five prestigious Edward H. Bean Awards from the Association of Zoos and Aquariums, most recently in 2011 for the long-term breeding and conservation of the endangered Bali mynah. Riverbanks also has been honored with three Travel Attraction of the Year Awards by the Southeast Tourism Society and two Governor's Cup Awards by the South Carolina Department of Parks, Recreation, and Tourism as the state's Most Outstanding Attraction. Riverbanks Botanical Garden has received praise by Horticulture magazine as one of ten gardens that inspire and by HGTV as one of twenty great public gardens in the United States.
What began in the mid-1960s as a modest dream of a few business leaders to create a small children's petting zoo has evolved into today's nationally ranked Riverbanks Zoo and Garden, visited by more than one million guests annually and supported by a membership base of more than thirty-three thousand households. Riverbanks is home to more than two thousand animals, which reside in natural habitat exhibits with barriers that are designed to create an environment almost totally free of bars and cages.
Much like the zoo itself, this book features extraordinary animals, dynamic natural habitats, and significant historic landmarks. Riverbanks's rich history is captured here through anecdotal stories and nearly two hundred brilliant photographs and illustrations, making it easy to see why Riverbanks is recognized as one of the nation's great zoological parks and botanical gardens.
Readers will discover some of the world's most magnificent and fascinating plants and animals that call Riverbanks home, while gaining a deeper understanding of how a midsized zoo gained world-class status as it pursued its mission: to foster an appreciation and concern for all living things.

By the turn of the millennium, it had become painfully apparent that the United States had made some serious misjudgments in its interactions with the natural world. The country's treasured national parks, while remaining immensely popular tourist destinations, were not immune to the damage. Preservation alone would no longer be enough; by this time, repair and restoration were necessary.

Can the United States reverse the mistaken policies that severely damaged the crown jewels of its national park system? This thoughtful and hopeful book, in turns analytical and personal, investigates that critical question by focusing on four of America's most-loved public paces. In "Repairing Paradise," William Lowry, an eminent expert on U.S. natural resource policy, details and assesses four ambitious efforts to reverse environmental damage in the national parks:

- The reintroduction of wolves in Yellowstone

- Reducing the impact of vehicle traffic in Yosemite

- Restoring fresh water to the Everglades

- Removing structural impairments to river flows in the Grand Canyon

"Repairing Paradise" combines authoritative research with extensive personal experience. Lowry has spent time in all four of the parks --observing conditions, talking to the most informed decisionmakers, and taking photos. He deftly combines his field research with solid public policy analysis to paint an instructive portrait of the mission to restore the natural health and glory of some of the world's most wondrous places.

What started as a vision about the Olifants River Game Reserve has become the story of a game ranger's life. With a naturalist's eye for detail as well as the bigger picture of managing a fragile ecosystem through years of drought and plenty, Mario Cesare brings a storyteller's delight – and a dash of Italian passion – to sharing his world. Life-and-death encounters with lion, elephant and buffalo are balanced by rescues and interventions as these giants of the lowveld suffer the effects of human interference in their ecosystem. There are problems with poachers and with rapacious neighbours; then the delights of success – and in the case of the elephant population, the conundrums of too much success. Mario Cesare's career has taken him from Timbavati and Mala Mala to Olifants River and beyond – and he delights in sharing his good fortune. His latest task: to develop and nurture the Olifants River Game Reserve as the fences of the Greater Kruger National Park area fall, undoing generations of damage. Man-eaters, Mambas and Marula Madness: A Game Ranger's Life in the Lowveld provides a wealth of lessons on conservation as well as stories of life in the bush as it is enjoyed only by those fortunate enough to live on a 'Big Five' reserve.

This title is about the Game Parks of South Africa gives a round-up of the country's diverse and often world-famous parks and reserves. An memento for tourists – particularly those attending the 2010 'World Cup' – as well as for locals visiting game parks around the country, this title captures the best-known features of our spectacular reserves. With short, punchy text and captions, and superb images, it details their key features, their unspoilt beauty and abundant wildlife, and makes a colourful keepsake to pack for home.

From the world-famous Kruger National Park in South Africa, to Botswana's Okavango Delta, Namibia's Etosha National Park and Zimbabwe's Hwange National Park, ecotravellers want to experience African savannahs, forests, deserts, and other stunning habitats and catch glimpses of some of the world's most spectacular wildlife: hornbills and parrots, monkeys and big cats, frogs and toads, crocodiles and snakes. In this title is all the information you need to find, identify, and learn about Southern Africa's magnificent animal life. The authors, professional biologists, have selected for colour illustrations more than 500 of Southern Africa's most common amphibians, reptiles, birds, and mammals - the species you are most likely to see.

Since the 1960s, zoos and aquariums have been repeatedly challenged by animal rights activists, regulatory agencies, anti-tax advocates, and an assortment of litigators. Working through the American Zoological Association, these institutions learned to use the U.S. political system to their advantage and, simultaneously, crafted a more progressive public mission. This original study draws upon interviews, archival sources, Congressional records, court cases, regulatory hearings, media accounts, and the authors' ongoing field research.

This title is field guide to over 220 species found in one of the most beloved and well-visited wildlife regions in southern Africa. Each animal category features its own colour code (yellow for mammals, green for birds, etc.), which helps the reader to quickly identify various species. Each major section begins with an overview of the group, with easy-to-follow illustrations showing the body parts of each animal. From the largest elephants roaming the open fields to the smallest butterfields and moths, every animal's habitat, appearance and characteristics is described.

If you can't get to the Kruger, the Okavango or Hwange game parks, this illustrated guide is the next best thing. And if you can get to these wonderful places, this is what you need to plan your visit. This title contains more than 800 destinations. There are computer-generated maps of each park. The parks and reserves are listed alphabetically within each of the nine regions. Vivid descriptions include information on distances, the best routes to follow, condition of the roads, where to stay and how to title, what to see and where to see it. You'll never have an excuse again to say you haven't been there.

Few experiences in life can match those of observing wildlife in its natural environment, and even fewer can match the enhancing sight of the birth of a new generation of animals, as they tentatively take their first steps into a brand new world. The de la Harpe and Dennis teams have spent years photographing wildlife, and here they offer a close-up view of the newborn, showing a wide variety of young African wildlife – from a newly born buffalo and just-hatched crocodiles, to endearing elephant calves and cute wild dog pups – and their interplay with parents and siblings. With more than a hundred photographs and a short but concise text filled with fascinating facts written by Wendy Dennis and Pat de la Harpe, Bush Babies is a must for nature-lovers of any age.