Book Description
While observing a family group of elephants in the wild, Caitlin O'Connell, a young field scientist, noticed a peculiar listening behavior. A matriarch she had been watching for months turned her massive head and lifted her foot off the ground. As she scanned the horizon, the other elephants followed suit, all facing the same direction. O'Connell soon made a groundbreaking discovery: the elephants were "listening through limbs," feeling the ripples of the earth's surface for approaching friends and enemies. Through their feet, toenails, trunks, and other, subtler modes of communication, these enormous animals were communicating to one another, demonstrating the vital importance of social relationships in their lives.
Yet this grand revelation about the intelligence of wild animals is also a story of the relationship between humans and elephants as neighbors, vying for the same resources of an increasingly crowded continent. For when O'Connell was first contracted by the Namibian government to develop new methods to deter elephants from raiding villagers' crops, she was unprepared for what she would encounter -- political upheaval, tribal disputes, inhumane poachers, and a fundamentally ineffective approach to wildlife conservation. Despite these setbacks, she came to know and love each of the fascinating, unique elephants under her watchful eye, while at the same time witnessing a change in attitude and policy, providing hope for the elephant's future.
An unforgettable journey of scientific discovery, The Elephant's Secret Sense takes you deep into the wilds of Namibia, from the tops of isolated, desert observation towers to the jaws and claws of ravenous lions to aerial expeditions and dusty highways, where the naturalists do their difficult work in a troubled land threatened by expanding human populations and unstable politics. Resonant with the powerful calls of the mysterious elephant, this is a story about the resilience of nature and the inspiring, astonishing, and often heartbreaking places where humans and wild animals come together.
Customer Reviews:
Not Animals in Translation..........2007-05-20
I was expecting a book similar to Temple Grandin's Animals in Translation. Unfortunately, this book is very much unlike that book. I expected the bulk of this book to focus specifically on elephant communication, but that is not the case. Much time is spent on African conservation in general and the history of certain African areas where she was stationed. When I bought the book, it was not to read about local tribes or their politics, it was to read about elephant communication. Not saying the other topics aren't interesting, but if I wanted to read about those, I would have bought a book specifically on that. Making things worse, her style of writing is very disjointed and skips around.
There are not many books that I don't finish reading, but this was one of them. I was very much looking forward to reading this book based on the reviews. Not sure why there was such a disconnect. Maybe it's expectations. If you are expecting a more in-depth book specifically on elephant communication, with lots of scientific detail, this isn't it.
Who Knew Elephants Hear With Their Toes!.......2007-05-13
Anyone who is interested in African elephants and their rich and amazing lives will find this an interesting read. Caitlin has added hugely to the body of knowledge about Elephant communication. It is part adventure story, as most intrepid young scientists who venture into Africa for their PHD theses discover. It tells of the beauty and terror and difficulties of this most diverse land and her rich wildlife.
Caitlin's book tells of her discoveries, elephant communication research, years of working with people in the Caprivi region to combat Elephant/Human conflict as well as her memorable times in hides stalked by lion and all the other adventures.
The book is well written for the most part, does lose some momentum toward the end of the book but this would appraer to be editing rather than Caitlin's writing. I thoroughly reccomend it.
A must for animal lovers, host of Animal Tails.......2007-04-28
An intricate balance exists between humans and nature that undergirds even the most basic experiences. Ecological researcher, Caitlin O'Connell has spent her professional life exploring the lesser-known aspects of this relationship through her study of elephant behavior in sub-Saharan Africa, shedding light on their value within society and promoting the need for continued conservation and outreach. In THE ELEPHANT'S SECRET SENSE: The Hidden Life of the Wild Herds of Africa , O'Connell uncovers the fascinating and complex communication system of elephants, and conveys the deeper importance of this astounding discovery on modern African society.
An absolute page-turner.......2007-04-06
This book is a fascinating look into the world of elephants and the scientists who study them. I was humbled by Caitlin O'Connell's courageous, intelligent, and compassionate approach to working with these complex animals and the people who must learn to share the land with them.
An astounding achievement and truly riveting story.......2007-03-16
I read this whole book from start to finish on a series of flights that I took recently and I was totally taken with the story and the science behind it. I couldn't put it down and I haven't read a book in 10yrs! From a phenomenal underlying technological journey merges the principles of many scientific disciplines ranging from zoology, biology, acoustics, geophysics, chemistry, mechanics, electronics, mathematics, not to mention anthropology.
As a physicist, I loved the explanation of acoustic coupling and aliasing, a very impressive bridge, making connections between fundamental processes that are essential in tying together a very complex phenomenon.
There were tragic elements to the story that were horrific and left me in tears, but at the same time, a remarkable account of caring and human bonding. Congratulations to the author. I can't wait for her next book!
Book Description
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 Translation
Why 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 clearlyexplains how animals have "superhuman" skills: animals have animal geniuscompares 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
Customer Reviews:
Amazing!.......2007-10-14
okay i havent read the book yet, but i just wanted to say i just listened to the author lecture at my university and she is brilliant! im buying this book right now...
Fascinating and practical........2007-08-24
I am a one-to-one teacher for a teenager with Aspergers and my husband and I are also farmers. I have learned more about how it must feel to live with Aspergers from this book than any text book I have previously read. This book has had a profound impact on my understanding and empathy as a teacher and friend.
I have also been fascinated with the reasoning behind animal behaviors within their own environment. This book has given me concrete information that I can use and helped to explain why my gut feeling in certain instances with animals actually has a factual basis.
The "light-bulb" moments in this book have been continual from cover to cover. This book will stay in my personal library permanently.
Excellent Book for Pet Owners.......2007-08-14
I started reading this book out of curiosity, but it turned out to be serendipitous. Our older dog had recently died at 14, and we didn't realize that our younger dog had concluded that she was now the alpha dog until I started seeing her newly problematic behaviors (including lots of growling at people, which she never did before) on the pages of this book. I used the theories I read about to demonstrate to her that I was the dominant one, and within a few weeks, the problem was gone.
Aside from this practical use, I found the book extremely interesting and often funny.
Animals in Translation.......2007-07-16
Animals in Translation is an amazing book. This book states that by looking at human autism, we can better under animals, the way they think, the way they behave, and how they see the world. The author is an animal scientist who works primarily with slaughter houses. She is also autistic.
Before reading this book, I had very little comprehension about the way that autistic people see the world. I simply had no idea that seeing the world in a visual way was that much different than the way that I think. I now see that this different way of thinking has a lot of really interesting benefits, particularly when it comes to understanding other visual thinkers like the animals around us. As I read this book, I started to comprehend how much detail in life we normally ignore. So much of what we need to understand animals is simply looking at life from their perspective, both literally and figuratively speaking.
Informative and intuitive.......2007-07-03
I picked up this book for two reasons: I am a health care professional who deals extensively with children on the autistic spectrum, and at the same time a boggled owner of a very fearful pekingese mix whom I had adopted from a rescue shelter. Who would've known there was a great overlap in understanding both populations? This was a wonderful, enlightening book that I couldn't put down once I started reading. It was thoroughly engrossing, understanding animals and sensory-processing challenged children from the view who has intimate knowledge of their plight. This is an informative, intuitive book that analyzes behaviors in animals and people with autism, gives meaning to them, and makes them understandable to us.
This is a great read for people who deal with persons with autism behaviors, for people who love animals, and for all who would like to delve deeper in to our human - and animal, and autistic-like - natures.
Average customer rating:
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Atlas of Mouse Development
M. H. KAUFMAN
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Similar Items:
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Anatomical Basis Of Mouse Development
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Manipulating the Mouse Embryo: A Laboratory Manual
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Mouse Development: Patterning, Morphogenesis, and Organogenesis
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Molecular Cloning: A Laboratory Manual (3-Volume Set)
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The Laboratory Mouse: Handbook of Experimental Animals (HANDBOOK OF EXPERIMENTAL ANIMALS)
ASIN: 0124020356 |
Book Description
Not since the early 1970s has there been an attempt to describe and illustrate the anatomy of the developing mouse embryo. More than ever such material is needed by biologists as they begin to unravel the molecular mechanisms underlying development and differentiation. After more than ten years of painstaking work, Matt Kaufman has completed
The Atlas of Mouse Development--the definitive account of mouse embryology and development.
For all those researching or studying mammalian development, The Atlas of Mouse Development will be the standard reference work for many years to come.
Key Features
* Provides a comprehensive sequential account of the development of the mouse from pre-implantation to term
* Contains clear and concise descriptions of the anatomical features relevant to each stage of development
* Large format for easy use
* Contains explanatory notes and legends, and more than 180 meticulously labeled plates, 1,300 photographs of individual histological sections, and 200 electron micrographs, illustrating:
* Intermittent serial histological sections through embryos throughout embryogenesis and organogenesis
* Differentiation of specific organs and organ systems, including the spinal cord, eyes, gonads, kidneys, lungs and skeletal system
* External appearance of intact embryos throughout development
Book Description
Instructors will find this Seventh Edition of HUMAN HEREDITY current, clear, and complemented by an amazing array of technology for students and instructors. In addition, the latter chapters (12-19) have been reorganized for greater ease of use. There is also more coverage of hot topics like recombinant DNA technology, genetic engineering, cloning, stem cell research, and HIV. In support of this, "How Would You Vote?" questions appear at the beginning and end of each chapter. Chapters begin with an opening story?focusing on a controversial issue. After the story, the "How Would You Vote?" box directs students to the website to voice their opinion. On the website the issue is summarized, an InfoTrac activity with questions involving the issue is provided, and students cast their vote and see tallied results of the voting. Additional student support includes Human GeneticsNOW, a password-protected website integrated with the Seventh Edition that provides students with access to diagnostic Pre-Tests and Post-Tests for each chapter. It automatically generates customized learning plans for students, directing them to text information and ancillaries that help them master specific concepts. Active Figures in the text, indicated by a media icon, have corresponding narrated animations on the Human GeneticsNOW site that are included in the customized Learning Plan along with additional animations and media assets. For instructors, a Multimedia Manager provides the all of the art and photos from the text in PowerPoint form, and, lectures can be further enhanced by using animations and CNN videos on human heredity topics.
Customer Reviews:
Good Into Book.......2007-07-25
One of the better intro books I've read. Has a lot of info in an easy to read manner.
Great book on genetics.......1999-05-03
This book effectively conveys interesting, detailed material without confusing the reader. It is not the typical staugy textbook that we college students are so use to as this book made me want to read it, it was so enjoyable. I recommend it to all college students or anyone interested in genetics that would like to understand our genetic principles.
An accurate and concice look into Human Genetics........1998-03-17
This is a wonderful book for a college level exploration of Human Genetics. The chapters introduce every topic well, and in such a way that science majors will remain interested while non science majors aren't left behind. It is a great book to begin to explore the wonders of Human Genetics.
Book Description
Grayson is Lynne Cox’s first book since Swimming to Antarctica (“Riveting”—Sports Illustrated; “Pitch-perfect”—Outside). In it she tells the story of a miraculous ocean encounter that happened to her when she was seventeen and in training for a big swim (she had already swum the English Channel, twice, and the Catalina Channel).
It was the dark of early morning; Lynne was in 55-degree water as smooth as black ice, two hundred yards offshore, outside the wave break. She was swimming her last half-mile back to the pier before heading home for breakfast when she became aware that something was swimming with her. The ocean was charged with energy as if a squall was moving in; thousands of baby anchovy darted through the water like lit sparklers, trying to evade something larger. Whatever it was, it felt large enough to be a white shark coursing beneath her body.
It wasn’t a shark. It became clear that it was a baby gray whale—following alongside Lynne for a mile or so. Lynne had been swimming for more than an hour; she needed to get out of the water to rest, but she realized that if she did, the young calf would follow her onto shore and die from collapsed lungs.
The baby whale—eighteen feet long!—was migrating on a three-month trek to its feeding grounds in the Bering Sea, an eight-thousand-mile journey. It would have to be carried on its mother’s back for much of that distance, and was dependent on its mother’s milk for food—baby whales drink up to fifty gallons of milk a day. If Lynne didn’t find the mother whale, the baby would suffer from dehydration and starve to death.
Something so enormous—the mother whale was fifty feet long—suddenly seemed very small in the vast Pacific Ocean. How could Lynne possibly find her?
This is the story—part mystery, part magical tale—of what happened . . .
Customer Reviews:
Wonderful story.......2007-09-28
This is a great story, I love the book and have given it to many friends
More self-absorbed than interesting.......2007-08-30
From the black, inky black, so very black ocean at the start to her misunderstanding of gray whales and sonar at the end, Grayson romps along but never quite gets there. I found myself repeatedly flipping to the author biography on the jacket flap, wondering how on earth Lynne Cox ever got published in The New Yorker...and how she could have apparently spent so much time in the ocean without learning very much about its inhabitants.
From the reviews, I was prepared to read about a singular connection between a human being and a gray whale made one lonely morning...instead I found a self-absorbed "true" story about a young woman's encounter with a young whale that wandered off course for several hours, then met up with its mother again. Despite Lynne's self-proclaimed connection with the ocean, she doesn't even realize the young whale is swimming near her until pointed out by her friend on the pier. And then suddenly she feels she is the one totally responsible for the whale, even swimming insanely out to an oil derrick offshore to stay with Grayson. Although she places herself front and center, this event involved many people, including dockside workers, lifeguard patrols, fishing boats, and even the ship Queen Mary. This comes as a slight shock to the reader, as her emphasis on the singularity of her swim with the whale initially has us believing the book is about her interaction with the whale, rather than a multi-pronged rescue effort. It would have read better as a simple narration of what happened, instead of her projections of what the whales were thinking, complete with dopey imaginings of telepathic whale-human connection.
I think there is a nice little story in here somewhere, but Lynne Cox desperately needs better editing, and would have done better to have written it as "based on a true story", which would have allowed the plethora of animal description and interaction without causing readers familiar with marine fauna to suffer from eyeroll strain.
Good read aloud.......2007-08-20
Because of the music of the prose here and the subject matter, this is a great little book to read aloud to kids. It's a charming little story, with a bit of oceanography thrown in.
For an afternoon on the sun porch..........2007-07-31
Greyson is a tale by Lynne Cox in which she has a close encounter with a large ocean dweller. Having taken place in her teens, this story is her "coming of age" in a few short hours. This book probably won't change your life, but it might just shift your perspective a little - and that is a good thing.
A bit of a disappointment.......2007-05-22
This book was a bit of a disappointment for me. I was hoping for a story about a whale, but got the reminicenses (sp) of a woman remembering...well, herself rather than the whale. She prattles on about her open-minded thinking and brash individualism. Whatever. I wanted to hear about the whale and the ocean. I suppose this could be taken as a motivational speech; but, again, I was hoping the whale would take center stage. I also wish she had written this as a younger woman so that we might have experienced some of her wonder and awe (at the creature -- not herself).
Book Description
This is the long-awaited revision of the best-selling classic mammalogy text. The biology of mammals is viewed from a broad range of perspectives, making it useful to instructors with contrasting approaches to the subject. Based on the extensive studies of researchers, MAMMALOGY holds the interest of students, while maintaining the respect of the members of the scholarly community of mammalogists. The topics covered were chosen as the most important, interesting, and essential to the understanding of mammals.
Customer Reviews:
Very Disappointing Text.......2006-11-03
This book was assigned for my under-grad mammalogy class, and I (as well as most of the students in the class) was sorely disappointed in the content of the book. This book attempts to cover both general mammalian characteristics and detailed descriptions of each mammalian family, but it fails to do an adequate job on either subject. The general characteristics are too broad, with very little specifics about any one system, and the chapters on specific families cover only the most general aspects. Not recommended.
A remarkable overview of the mammals.......2000-02-03
Mammalian diversity - and the remarkable adaptations of living and fossil mammals - are the topic of this updated version of the standard text on mammalian biology. New figures and a completely updated systematic treatment characterize this volume, which should become the standard for professionals and the general public interested in the biology of mammals.
Book Description
The revised edition of this bestselling textbook contains a unique blend of text, colour photographs, imaging and diagrams, describing the gross systematic and topographical anatomy of domestic mammals. The 3rd edition includes a new chapter on topographic clinical anatomy, a revised introductory chapter with material on the history of veterinary and general anatomy, and greatly enhanced use of imaging-ultrasound, CT and MRI. All the illustrations are now in colour and in total the new edition contains approximately 100 extra pages. Throughout the book the authors focus on anatomical relationships to clinical conditions and where appropriate, to microscopic anatomy, histology, embryology and physiology. Greatest emphasis is given to dog and cat and horse, with relevant information on ox/cow, pig, sheep, goat and rabbit. The book combines meticulous science and superb illustrations, and will be a life-long source of reference for veterinary students, practitioners, educators and researchers.
Book Description
We expose it, cover it, paint it, tattoo it, scar it, and pierce it. Our intimate connection with the world, skin protects us while advertising our health, our identity, and our individuality. This dazzling synthetic overview, written with a poetic touch and taking many intriguing side excursions, is a complete guidebook to the pliable covering that makes us who we are. Skin: A Natural History celebrates the evolution of three unique attributes of human skin: its naked sweatiness, its distinctive sepia rainbow of colors, and its remarkable range of decorations. Jablonski begins with a look at skin's structure and functions and then tours its three-hundred-million-year evolution, delving into such topics as the importance of touch and how the skin reflects and affects emotions. She examines the modern human obsession with age-related changes in skin, especially wrinkles. She then turns to skin as a canvas for self-expression, exploring our use of cosmetics, body paint, tattooing, and scarification. Skin: A Natural History places the rich cultural canvas of skin within its broader biological context for the first time, and the result is a tremendously engaging look at ourselves.
Customer Reviews:
An excellent overview.......2007-05-12
Drawing from many fields, this work is an excellent overview of its subject. I would recommend it both for the casual reader and as a good supplemental text for an upper division class in anthropology or biology.
Nina Jablonski does a great job of presenting complex material in a very readable format.
Almost a complete waste of time - very disappointing.......2007-02-28
I bought this book expecting a thorough overview of the subject for the educated lay person, but I was terribly disappointed. It started off well, giving a pretty good overview of the basic structure of the skin (although I noted a few small errors). Then the meat of the book is covered in a little depth, but the meat of this book consists solely in the author's own specialty, which is the role of melanin.
The rest of the book is a hurried, slapdash job, merely mentioning all the many topics that ought to be covered but aren't. She makes it painfully obvious that she has no interest in going into depth on anything but her beloved melanin/vitamin D topic, and the number of errors I noticed in the second half of the text increased over the first half.
Of course, the book itself is only about half there, with much of it taken up by references, all crammed in the back to make it look like a bigger book, instead of what it is -- basically a monograph on melanin.
I showed the book to my dermatologist, and his response was "pure fluff," which basically summed up my impression. Don't waste your time on this one.
More than you ever thought you'd want to know, but very interesting........2007-02-25
Skin is one of the more remarkable of our organs, and in may ways. It's certainly the most visible of our organs, and it's very appearance tells us an awful lot about the person we are observing. It's the thing that we see when we see beauty. Its color can insight fear. Its wrinkles indicate age, exposure to harsh sunlight and strong winds.
Beyond that, it's skin that keeps us cool. It's skin that keeps body fluids from escaping and rainwater from coming in. Skin protects our insides from diseases, toxins, and all kinds of other nasty stuff. It even helps control our intake of Vitamin D from sunlight by making people who live in areas with little sun lighter than those who live in the tropics (thereby creating all kinds of other problems).
This book is a welcome addition to the poular science culture by providing both an interesting read and many very interesting little excursions down paths that attracted the authors attention from time to time.
A great overview.......2007-01-19
This is a great book which tells the lay person everything they may want to know about skin, without the technical jargon of the medical text book. It covers everything from the structure and uses of skin, to how and why skin and skin colors evolved, and on into ways people have ornamented their skin. Very informative, and an enjoyable read.
Looking Deeper.......2006-12-20
"It isn't good to take for granted something as important as skin," writes Nina G. Jablonski in _Skin: A Natural History_ (University of California Press). Whatever risk you have of taking skin for granted, Jablonski isn't likely to do so. She is a professor of anthropology, and her research has been done on different aspects of skin, especially skin color. She describes her new book as "not a systematic treatise or a manual, but more an idiosyncratic guidebook, replete with personal detours into topics about skin that have most engaged me in my work over the years." Engaged is a good word; she clearly loves her subject, and succeeds in communicating her enthusiasm. Skin itself is of undoubted importance. It is the largest of our organs (just because it is your outer covering and not an inner mound of tissue like your liver doesn't keep it from being a unified organ). It is, unlike the skin of most animals, basically naked, with not very much hair and no scales or feathers. Like any of our other organs, it is a product of evolution that has its current properties because it has done a good job: "Our fabric doesn't wear out, our seams don't burst, we don't spontaneously sprout leaks, and we don't expand like water balloons when we sit in the bathtub." Jablonski is right that we take skin too much for granted, and her book is a happy corrective.
In a phrase that has been made famous by pop anthropology, we are "naked apes," but the reason for our hairlessness (at least compared to our primate cousins) has been disputed. Jablonski discusses the best explanation for our not having hair is that we sweat, sweating, of course, being an important function of our skin. As we developed sweating as our cooling system, we lost fur, because sweating into fur is inefficient; the cooling of a body covered with wet fur would occur at the outermost layer of fur but not at the skin so that the body itself could get cool. Jablonski has splendid chapters on skin color, the superficial characteristic on which so much history and sadness has been based. Melanin has become the governor that mediates between the opposing goals of protection from ultraviolet radiation versus synthesis of vitamin D. Humans have by now turned the "natural" and geographic order of skin color into a relative chaos because of the speedy travel that we have been able to accomplish only in the last few centuries, but the play of skin colors originally evolved on strictly geographic lines because skin molecules were being juggled as key mediators of our ability to be out in the sun. Skin colors represent evolution at work in dermatological molecules, and do not have deeper significance. With our tendency to judge and group based on superficialities, skin colors carry a lot more meaning, but not in any biological sense.
Jablonski winds up her tour with thoughts about the future of skin. Oh, sure, we will always have skin, but perhaps robots will, too; our skin helps us in measuring tasks as delicate as lending an arm for support to another or turning a doorknob, and artificial skin for robots may do such things, and perhaps even help robots start making the me / not me distinction that is essential for consciousness. If that sounds too far fetched, then consider tattoos of the future that will be essentially permanent until the wearer wants to be rid of them, and does so by shining a light of a single wavelength upon them, breaking down the dye. And if that sounds too frivolous, consider the possibility that burn patients might have a spray put on their wounds consisting of cultures of their own cells, all the many types of cells found in the skin; such a preparation would enable new and natural skin rapidly to regenerate. The speculation is fun, but Jablonski's history of the evolution of skin and the many functions it accomplishes for us brings a complicated topic into deep and appealing focus.
Book Description
*2003 National Outdoor Book Award Winner *Detailed track and trail data for 135 species with actual-size track illustrations in one section *Scat photos and data for dozens of animals
The most thorough treatment of the subject ever published, this amazing guide brings together clear track and trail illustrations, range maps, and full-color photographs showing feeding signs, scat, tunnels, burrows, bedding areas, remains, and more, to give a wealth of information about hundreds of mammal species living in North America. How to find, identify, measure, and interpret the clues mammals leave behind--explained and illustrated like never before. Includes essays that contextualize tracking as a developing science continually garnering more interest and participation; included also are instructive anecdotes from the author's work as a tracker and wildlife expert. An invaluable resource for beginning or professional trackers and wildlife enthusiasts in all North American locations.
Customer Reviews:
Great illustrations and descriptions.......2007-09-13
This book has very clear pictures and descriptions. It is a great guide to help you identify tracks and scat when you are in the mountains. It is a great resource to use when you see tracks or scat and want to know what animal left them.
Mammal Tracks Review.......2007-09-01
Great book - very thorough collection of mammal tracks and more. Very much worth the money.
Excellent resource.......2007-06-08
This book has great photos of scat, prints, and other animal sign. I was able to use it to definitively identify otter scat on my property. Information is grouped by type of sign, so all the scat pictures are together, for example, and those are subdivided by how they look (pellets, amorphous, etc.). For many animals there are several examples of scat showing what you might see if the animal had been eating berries, or meat, or whatever. In addition to the photographs are drawings and scale data, and other information about animals and their habits. Though as you can tell, I mostly use it for scat identification.
A huge help!.......2007-03-11
I am earning a B.S. in wildlife management and I was needing a book that would help me with mammel signs. I reviewed several and found that they were not what I was looking for. After purchasing Mammal Tracks & Sign: A Guide to North America Species, I found that it was a huge help! This book gives understandable descriptions and a lot of pics of mammal dens, feces, tracks, and other signs. I encourage anyone who is in the wildlife perfession or just the everyday wildlife lover to purchase a copy.
A Text Book - Not a Field Guide.......2007-03-08
Great book with loads of detail. This blows away anything else out there on the subject, but it is not a field guide or a week-end reader. This book will take you a serious amount of time to read and then a lifetime to comprehend and master. This book is a textbook and should be purchased with that in mind. I believe the organization of the book could be better arranged and more navigable. In the book there is some preaching, recruiting and praising of the Tracker and the art of Tracking early on, but it passes soon enough to be of no concern. You will come away with a new perspective regarding tracks and their interpretation. Well worth the money, and I could not beat the Amazon price either. There are other places to get the book, but they charge $10 more. Happy reading.
Book Description
Cynthia Moss has studied the elephants in Kenya's Amboseli National Park for over twenty-seven years. Her long-term research has revealed much of what we now know about these complex and intelligent animals. Here she chronicles the lives of the members of the T families led by matriarchs Teresia, Slit Ear, Torn Ear, Tania, and Tuskless. With a new afterword catching up on the families and covering current conservation issues, Moss's story will continue to fascinate animal lovers.
"One is soon swept away by this 'Babar' for adults. By the end, one even begins to feel an aversion for people. One wants to curse human civilization and cry out, 'Now God stand up for the elephants!'"—Christopher Lehmann-Haupt, New York Times
"Moss speaks to the general reader, with charm as well as scientific authority. . . . [An] elegantly written and ingeniously structured account." —Raymond Sokolov, Wall Street Journal
"Moss tells the story in a style so conversational . . . that I felt like a privileged visitor riding beside her in her rickety Land-Rover as she showed me around the park." —Sarah Blaffer Hrdy, New York Times Book Review
"A prose-poem celebrating a species from which we could learn some moral as well as zoological lessons." —Chicago Tribune
Customer Reviews:
Captivating Elephant Saga.......2006-12-21
Moss takes you on an incredible journey into the lives of African elephants and allows you to take a bird's eye view of the research she has done. The book, while captivating, can seem a little discombobulated to some, however. The book divides itself into the different years Moss is writing about, each chapter being a different year. This set up, however, is a bit confusing as the chapters do not limit themselves to that particular year, but instead discussed a myriad of years all while focusing on a particular topic. That said, you do see progression in the timeline as the book reads on.
The only downside I saw to this book was the fictional retelling of circumstances that she was not witness to. She describes the deaths of a few elephants as well as some mishaps involving the elephants in near poetic detail, though she never actually saw what happened, or she only witnessed the very end of the circumstance. She does not note where the fictionalization begins, and you only understand what parts are ficionalized after reading on and seeing where she says "I don't know what happened." These are merely assumptions made on the part of the author and though they could have very real merit, it can hurt the integrity of the book when read by someone who is looking for a purely factual account of African elephants. While Moss does warn that she does make assumptions, it would have been better if she noted right before each fictionalized story that it was an assumption. That said, the stories do involve true elephant behavior and shows the audience how elephants may react in certain situations.
There is an incredible amount of insight in this book. You become attached to certain elephants, feel joy over new births, celebrate victory over hardship, and mourn the deaths of these creatures. It teaches the reader about their behaviors, environment, and most of all, the conservation of these majestic animals.
HOW WONDERFUL ELEPHANTS ARE.......2006-07-05
IT IS AMAZING TO ME THAT MAN DOESNT KNOW OR CHOOSES NOT TO ACKNOWLEDGE HOW INTELLEGENT AND WONDERFUL THESE BEAUTIFUL CREATURES OF GOD ARE AND THIS BOOK MAKES IT REAL CLEAR.
The lives of elephants revealed.......2002-01-18
This is a wonderful book. Cynthia Moss takes the reader deep into the intricate social lives of Africa elephans in Amboseli National Park (Kenya), and leaves a profound impression. How very sensitive these animals are, and how endearing. It is entirely clear how these creatures have suffered at the hands of humans, but also nobody can read this book and not feel the urge to conserve this fantastic species. Also it may inspire some to travel to Amboseli to see the elephants 'in person' - an experience that you will never forget!
Intriguing.......2002-01-05
This is an excellent book. At first, the book seems confusing as the author continuously refers to the individual elephants on a first name basis when one has no idea of who these "people" are. As the names become more familiar and the individual stories develop, the strange names develop into a wonderful, although at times anthropomorphic story on the natural history of these gentle animals. As she warns us, the author takes the liberty of adding unwitnessed, fictional pieces to most stories, which can be confusing and at times blur the objective observations that she makes with subjective, although probably real, assumptions.
But this book is not a hard core technical text, despite glimpses of it being so in the beginning. The book is about remembering the wonderful social and behavioral characteristics of individuals that make up a population. From matriarchs to lonely males, from birth to death during periods of drought or at the hands of Masai warriors, this book gives a comprehensive insight into relevant issues affecting the survival of the African elephant. The author comes across as a human being, with emotions that go beyond the hard-core science. Although her prose is dry at times, this book is very enjoyable and opens a magnificent window into the world of the Amboseli elephants.
Thorough and moving study of elephants!.......2001-01-11
This book covers thirteen years of Cynthia Moss' research on elephants at Amboseli National Park in Kenya. Several of the elephant families residing at Amboseli are featured in this book. Cynthia Moss learned to distinguish each individual elephant by such characteristics as the shape of their ears, ear markings or the size and shape of the tusks. Each chapter focuses on a different aspect of elephant life like mating, draught etc. Together with fellow researcher Joyce Poole Cynthia Moss discovered that the bulls like their Asian cousins go into musth too (the period they are the most attractive to the cows). Thus a longstanding mystery was solved. But through it all shines Cynthia Moss' deep love for the elephants, she found with them so much to recommend. Learning from them. She certainly succeeds in sharing the joy of studying and living with elephants. I warmly recommend Ian and Oria Douglas-Hamilton and Joyce Poole's books too. Indeed Cynthia Moss has found new insights but this is still the book to read on elephants in the first place.
Books:
- The Good Food Cookbook for Dogs: 50 Home-Cooked Recipes for the Health and Happiness of Your Canine Companion
- The Neurobiology of Taste and Smell, 2nd Edition
- The Perfect Ride
- The Pony Club Quiz Book
- The Search: The Continuing Story of the Tracker
- The Venomous Reptiles of the Western Hemisphere, 2 Vol. Set (Comstock Books in Herpetology)
- The Wolf: The Ecology and Behavior of an Endangered Species
- The Yearling
- Time For Kids: Bears! (Time For Kids)
- Travels in Search of Endangered Species
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