Synopses & Reviews
I don't know if people will ever be able to talk to animals the way Doctor Doolittle could, or whether animals will be able to talk back. Maybe science will have something to say about that. But I do know people can learn to "talk" to animals, and to hear what animals have to say, better than they do now. --From
Animals in TranslationWhy would a cow lick a tractor? Why are collies getting dumber? Why do dolphins sometimes kill for fun? How can a parrot learn to spell? How did wolves teach man to evolve? Temple Grandin draws upon a long, distinguished career as an animal scientist and her own experiences with autism to deliver an extraordinary message about how animals act, think, and feel. She has a perspective like that of no other expert in the field, which allows her to offer unparalleled observations and groundbreaking ideas.
People with autism can often think the way animals think, putting them in the perfect position to translate "animal talk." Grandin is a faithful guide into their world, exploring animal pain, fear, aggression, love, friendship, communication, learning, and, yes, even animal genius. The sweep of Animals in Translation is immense and will forever change the way we think about animals.
*includes a Behavior and Training Troubleshooting Guide Among its provocative ideas, the book:
- argues that language is not a requirement for consciousness--and that animals do have consciousness
- applies the autism theory of "hyper-specificity" to animals, showing that animals and autistic people are so sensitive to detail that they "can't see the forest for the trees"--a talent as well as a "deficit"
- explores the "interpreter" in the normal human brain that filters out detail, leaving people blind to much of the reality that surrounds them--a reality animals and autistic people see, sometimes all too clearly
- explains how animals have "superhuman" skills: animals have animal genius
- compares animals to autistic savants, declaring that animals may in fact be autistic savants, with special forms of genius that normal people do not possess and sometimes cannot even see
- examines how humans and animals use their emotions to think, to decide, and even to predict the future
- reveals the remarkable abilities of handicapped people and animals
- maintains that the single worst thing you can do to an animal is to make it feel afraid
Review
PRAISE FOR
ANIMALS IN TRANSLATION"Neurology has Oliver Sachs, nature has Annie Dillard, and the lucky animal world has Grandin, a master intermediary between humans and our fellow beasts . . . Animals is one of those rare books that elicits a 'wow' on almost every page. A."--Entertainment Weekly
"Inspiring . . . Crammed with facts and anecdotes about Temple Grandin's favorite subject: the senses, brains, emotions, and amazing talents of animals."--The New York Times Book Review
Review
"Inspiring . . . Crammed with facts and anecdotes about Temple Grandin's favorite subject: the senses, brains, emotions, and amazing talents of animals."
Review
"Grandin's focus in
Animals in Translation is not on all the 'normal' things autistics and animals can't do but on the unexpected, extraordinary, invaluable things they can."
Review
"Neurology has Oliver Sachs, nature has Annie Dillard, and the lucky animal world has Grandin, a master intermediary between humans and our fellow beasts . . . At once hilarious, fascinating, and just plain weird,
Animals is one of those rare books that elicits a 'wow' on almost every page. A."
Synopsis
A reference guide to the behavior of North American mammals.
Synopsis
The Peterson Field Guide Series (R) Sponsored by the National Wildlife Federation, the Roger Tory Peterson Institute, and the National Audubon Society
America's Best-Selling Field Guides
THE PETERSON IDENTIFICATION SYSTEM Roger Tory Peterson's unique identification system explains exactly what features to look for to tell one species from another.
EASE OF USE Peterson Field Guides are designed to work in the field, and every illustration, every word, is directed to that end.
THE AUTHORS AND ILLUSTRATORS In each Peterson Field Guide, an author with expertise in the subject and an experienced artist work closely with the editors to ensure that both text and illustrations are accurate.
A Field Guide to Animal Tracks, third edition This completely updated edition includes 100 color photographs of tracks and sign, more than 1,000 line drawings, and updated nomenclature for all the mammals of North America. The text includes descriptions of habits, habitats, tracks, signs, and ranges and is filled with wonderful natural history stories.
Olaus J. Murie was one of America's leading mammalogists. His extensive fieldwork ranged throughout the United States and Canada, from Labrador to the Aleutian Islands, with special concentration in the Northwest. For twenty-five years he was a field biologist with the U.S. Biological Survey, now the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. He also served as director of the Wilderness Society for many years. Murie lived in Moose, Wyoming. He was the author of The Elk of North America and many articles on natural history.
Mark Elbroch is the author of several tracking guides,including two award-winning books, Mammal Tracks and Sign: A Guide to North American Species and, with Eleanor Marks, Bird Tracks and Sign: A Guide to North American Species. He has contributed to numerous North American research projects, from monitoring bears to capturing cougars to inventorying carnivores in dry tropical forests. He is working with Cybertracker Conservation in South Africa to create the first North American evaluation for wildlife trackers. Elbroch currently works as a wildlife consultant, specializing in field inventories and identifying corridors, and teaches workshops on wildlife and tracking across North America.
Synopsis
This ambitious volume covers the 36 species of gulls that occur in North and South America, with detailed information to help you identify these fascinating but challenging birds in their many and varied plumages. With 1,160 carefully chosen color photographs, this new reference guide, written by two of North America's top gull experts, is the definitive new work on gulls of the Americas.
Peterson Reference Guides offer authoritative, comprehensive information, including detailed text, maps, and superior illustrations. Written by expert authors, the guides are an unparalleled resource for understanding specific groups of animals.
Synopsis
A comprehensive examination of the molt processes (feather growth) of different species of birds, one of the most important and fundamental processes in the life history of any bird.
Synopsis
To most observers, molt seems an overwhelming subject. But birders use many aspects of molt more than they realizeandmdash;to distinguish juvenile birds from adults, to pick out an individual hummingbird from among dozens visiting a feeder, and much more.
And for those whose interest goes beyond simply identifying birds, questions such as What triggers molt to start? How fast do feathers grow? and How long do they last? offer a fascinating window into the lives of birds. Put plainly, molt relates in some way to everything a bird does, including where it lives, what it eats, and how far it migrates.
Here, for the first time, molt is presented for the nonscientist. Molt is very orderly and built on only four underlying strategies: simple basic, complex basic, simple alternate, and complex alternate. This book clearly lays out these strategies, relates them to aspects of life history, such as habitat and migration, and makes this important subject accessible.
and#160;
Description
Oftentimes when we glimpse an animal in the wild, we have no idea what
we've seen. We want to know, and field guides are an ideal aid for
identification. But when we want to know more about the lives of these
animals - their natural histories, their place in the larger ecological
community, and where to look for them in the future - we can now turn to
Behavior of North American Mammals.
This exciting new addition to the Peterson Reference Guide series is
highly readable and full of fascinating facts. For example, when an
opossum plays dead it isn't pretending: opossums actually do enter a
catatonic deathlike state. Armadillos sequester air in their guts,
blow up to twice their normal volume, and paddle across the water. And
beavers stockpile food for winter by caching it in beneath a raft of
branches, which gets frozen in place and keeps them well supplied
until spring.
A guide not to identifying mammals, but to understanding what they do,
Behavior of North American Mammals provides detailed information on
more than 70 species of mammals and includes illuminating and
attractive photographs and drawings. Comprehensive, authoritative, and
accessible, the book includes information on daily and seasonal
activity, food and foraging, home range and habitat, communication,
courtship and mating, development and dispersal of young, interactions
with their own species, and interactions with other species.
About the Author
Mark Elbroch is author and coauthor of several guides to natural history.andnbsp;He is currently leading cougar projects in Southern Chile and the United States.Roger Tory Peterson, one of the world's greatest naturalists, received every major award for ornithology, natural science, and conservation as well as numerous honorary degrees, medals, and citations, including the Presidential Medal of Freedom. The Peterson Identification System has been called the greatest invention since binoculars. These editions include updated material by Michael O'Brien, Paul Lehman, Bill Thompson III, Michael DiGiorgio, Larry Rosche, and Jeffrey A. Gordon.
Table of Contents
ContentsHow to Use This Bookand#8194;4
SPECIES ACCOUNTSand#8194;15
Order Didelphimorphia
and#160;Family Didelphidae
and#160;and#160;Virginia Opossumand#8194;16
Order Sirenia
and#160;Family Trichechidae
and#160;and#160;West Indian Manateeand#8194;20
Order Cingulata
and#160;Family Dasypodidae
and#160;and#160;Nine-banded Armadilloand#8194;25
Order Lagomorpha
and#160;Family Ochotonidae
and#160;and#160;American Pikaand#8194;31
and#160;Family Leporidae
and#160;and#160;Eastern Cottontail and Alliesand#8194;36
Order Soricomorpha
and#160;Family Soricidae
and#160;and#160;Northern Short-tailed Shrew,
and#160;and#160;and#160;with Notes on Water Shrew and Alliesand#8194;43
and#160;Family Talpidae
and#160;and#160;Star-nosed Mole and Alliesand#8194;49
Order Chiroptera
and#160;Family Molossidae
and#160;and#160;Mexican Free-tailed Bat and Allies 53
Order Carnivora
and#160;Family Felidae
and#160;and#160;Bobcat and Canada Lynxand#8194;60
and#160;and#160;Cougarand#8194;68
and#160;Family Canidae
and#160;and#160;Coyoteand#8194;76
and#160;and#160;Wolfand#8194;85
and#160;and#160;Common Gray Fox, with
and#160;and#160;and#160;Notes on Kit and Swift Foxesand#8194;94
and#160;and#160;Arctic Foxand#8194;100
and#160;and#160;Red Foxand#8194;105
and#160;Family Ursidae
and#160;and#160;American Black Bearand#8194;112
and#160;and#160;Brown Bearand#8194;121
and#160;and#160;Polar Bearand#8194;129
and#160;Family Odobenidae
and#160;and#160;Walrusand#8194;136
and#160;Family Phocidae
and#160;and#160;Northern Elephant Sealand#8194;141
and#160;Family Mustelidae
and#160;and#160;Sea Otterand#8194;146
and#160;and#160;North American River Otterand#8194;152
and#160;and#160;Wolverineand#8194;158
and#160;and#160;Fisher and American Martenand#8194;163
and#160;and#160;Weasels and Black-footed Ferretand#8194;170
and#160;and#160;American Minkand#8194;177
and#160;and#160;American Badgerand#8194;182
and#160;Family Mephitidae
and#160;and#160;Striped Skunk, with
and#160;and#160;and#160;Notes on Spotted Skunksand#8194;187
and#160;Family Procyonidae
and#160;and#160;Raccoonand#8194;193
Order Artiodactyla
and#160;Family Tayassuidae
and#160;and#160;Collared Peccaryand#8194;198
and#160;Family Cervidae
and#160;and#160;Mooseand#8194;203
and#160;and#160;White-tailed Deer and Mule Deerand#8194;210
and#160;and#160;Elkand#8194;222
and#160;Family Antilocapridae
and#160;and#160;Pronghornand#8194;231
and#160;Family Bovidae
and#160;and#160;American Bisonand#8194;237
and#160;and#160;Mountain Goatand#8194;244
and#160;and#160;Bighorn Sheepand#8194;250
Order Rodentia
and#160;Family Aplodontiidae
and#160;and#160;Mountain Beaverand#8194;256
and#160;Family Sciuridae
and#160;and#160;Eastern Gray Squirrel, Eastern
and#160;and#160;and#160;Fox Squirrel, and Alliesand#8194;260
and#160;and#160;Red Squirrel and Douglasand#8217;s Squirrel,
and#160;and#160;and#160;with Notes on Flying Squirrelsand#8194;266
and#160;and#160;Black-tailed Prairie Dogand#8194;275
and#160;and#160;Yellow-bellied Marmot and Woodchuckand#8194;281
and#160;and#160;Uinta Ground Squirrel and Alliesand#8194;291
and#160;and#160;Eastern Chipmunk and Alliesand#8194;298
and#160;Family Castoridae
and#160;and#160;American Beaverand#8194;304
and#160;Family Heteromyidae
and#160;and#160;Desert Kangaroo Rat and Alliesand#8194;310
and#160;Family Cricetidae
and#160;and#160;Meadow Vole and Alliesand#8194;316
and#160;and#160;Common Muskratand#8194;321
and#160;and#160;Woodratsand#8194;328
and#160;and#160;North American Deermouse,
and#160;and#160;and#160;with Notes on California Deermouseand#8194;335
and#160;Family Erethizontidae
and#160;and#160;North American Porcupineand#8194;342
Acknowledgmentsand#8194;352
Glossaryand#8194;354
Selected Bibliographyand#8194;357
Indexand#8194;371