She was unpaid, untrained, self-funded and arrived with the starry-eyed idealism of most foreigners during early encounters with Africa. For thirteen years - the worst in Zimbabwe's volatile history - this intrepid Australian woman lived in the Hwange bush fighting for the lives of these elephants, forming an extraordinary and life-changing bond with them.Now remote from Robert Mugabe's rule, Sharon writes without restraint sequentially through the years, taking us on a truly unforgettable ride of hope and heartbreak, profound love and loss, adversity and new beginnings. This is the haunting, all-encompassing story we've been waiting for.Powerfully moving, sometimes disturbing and often very funny, Elephant Dawn is a celebration of love, courage and honour amongst our greatest land mammals. With resilience beyond measure, Sharon earns the supreme right to call them family.[The book includes 32 pages of colour photographs.]

    From the most desolate desert to the depths of the jungle, from blistering heat and freezing cold to perpetual darkness and deadly UV, discover how a whole host of creatures have adapted to life in the most extreme conditions. And how they compete with one another to become the largest, the fastest, the most poisonous, or most devious - all in a bid to survive.Planet Earth II includes the first in-depth look at the urban environment, and the surprising range of behaviours occurring right under our noses, as well as some previously untouched island worlds. Filmed with remarkable 5k and infra-red technology, these are the challenges, the confrontations, and the triumphs of some of the most extraordinary creatures in the natural world, told from their perspective.This is our planet, as you have never seen it before.

    But he's still here with me and knowing that means that I am able to gain strength from him, and harness the same passion and drive that he and I had together. There are so many people who have been inspired and are still being inspired by Steve Irwin and that makes me feel really, really proud.' - Bob IrwinBob Irwin grew up in the Dandenong Ranges where his passion for wildlife was born. A near-death experience while working as a plumber made Bob realise he needed to follow his dreams, so he and his wife Lyn moved their young family to Queensland where they opened a wildlife park on the Sunshine Coast.The Irwin children grew up in and around the Beerwah Reptile & Wildlife Park, learned about the animals there from their dad and cared for orphaned wildlife at home with their mum. Passion for the environment and all animals became a way of life for them. This unique upbringing had a profound impact on Bob's son Steve, who followed in his father's footsteps and became famous around the world as the Crocodile Hunter, educator and wildlife warrior.Bob nearly didn't survive the sudden death of his adored wife Lyn, and it was Steve who helped him face life again. When the world tragically lost Steve to a freak diving accident, it wasn't just the animals that lost the best friend they ever had. Bob did too. Describing it as moving forward without a map, Bob spent many years burying himself in physical work, as a means to cope with the loss of his son. It was the natural world and the animals within it that helped Bob to keep going, and since then he has continued to fight for his beloved Steve's legacy of protecting the wildlife, environment and planet on which our own survival depends.Entertaining, moving, impassioned and inspiring, The Last Crocodile Hunter shows the heart and soul of a great Australian character, father and wildlife campaigner.

    With more than 500,000 books sold, celebrated nature photographer Art Wolfe recounts the stories and....

    He was a city boy, unsure of what lay ahead. When he entered the forest, which would go on to become one of the last strongholds of wild tigers, it had a profound effect on him, changing his life forever.For the next forty years, he studied nearly 200 Ranthambhore tigers, spending every waking moment in close proximity to these magnificent animals. Of the various tigers he observed a handful became extra special, and it is these which come to glorious life in this book. They include Padmini, the Queen Mother, the first tiger the author got to know well; Genghis, the master predator, who invented a way of killing prey in water, the first time this had been observed anywhere in the world; Noon, one of his all-time favourites, who received her name because she was most active in the middle of the day; Broken Tooth, an exceptionally gentle male; Laxmi, a devoted mother, whose methods of raising her cubs revolutionized tiger studies; Machli, the most famous tigress in Ranthambhore, and several more.

    Famed for his portraits of the world s most elite actors, musicians, and sports stars, he has in the last decade built up one of the most spectacular portfolios of underwater shark photography.Muller s quest is to document sharks with an unprecedented proximity and precision, bringing the Hollywood portrait session to the ocean predator. In ocean depths around the world, he approaches the sharks with a patented seven-bulb, 1200-watt plexi-encased strobe lighting rig, developed with NASA engineering, and no cage.This collection of Muller s images, including the including the first-known photograph of great white breaching at night, is a catalog of adrenaline and awe. Arranged geographically, it follows Muller s ocean adventures from black tip and sand tiger sharks in South Africa to great hammerheads in the Bahamas, with thrilling narratives from each trip documenting the challenges and near-misses along the way.To compliment Muller s work for advocacy organizations such as WildAid and EarthEcho, the images are contextualized with essays from Philippe Cousteau, Jr. and marine biologist Alison Kock, who discuss exploration and conservation of our oceanic kingdom. Culture writer Arty Nelson adds an overview of Muller s work, while a technical section explains the precise equipment behind these spectacular shots. Together, these insightful texts and awesome images offer a record of breathtaking photographic feats, a tribute to the beauty and might of the shark, and a rallying cry for its fragile future."

    Each book introduces a species of animal in danger somewhere in the world and profiles a rescue center that helps it. Stunning photos by award-winning wildlife photographer Suzi Eszterhas give readers a rare view of these endearing creatures and the high level of care they receive.Sea Otter Rescue invites readers inside the Alaska SeaLife Center on the shores of Resurrection Bay in the town of Seward, Alaska. It explores how sea otters become orphaned or hurt and the process of healing and rehabilitating them. It also highlights the people who work at the clinic and how they aid the animals.Other special features include a map showing the sea otter’s native habitat range and an index, a glossary, sources, and an author Q&A based on common questions from kids. An author’s note introduces readers to small-scale ways in which even they can help with sea otter conservation.A portion of the royalties from this book will be donated to the Alaska SeaLife Center.LEVELINGGrade Range: K–5Fountas & Pinnell: PLexile: 1010LCOMMON COREL.3.3,4,4a,4c,4d,5,5b,5c,6SL.3.1,1a,1c,1d,2,3,4,6W.3.2,2a,2b,2c,2d,7,8,10RF.3.3,3c,3d,4,4a,4cRI.3.1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10

    In this collection of travel writing by famed Russian explorer and naturalist Vladimir K. Arsenyev (1872-1930), readers are shuttled back to the turn of the 20th century when the Russian Empire was reeling from its defeat in the Russo-Japanese War (1904-1905) and vulnerable to its Far Eastern neighbors. What began as an expedition to survey the region s infrastructure for the Russian military turned into an adventure through one of the most ethnically and ecologically diverse territories on the continent. Encountering the disappearing indigenous cultures of the Nanai and Udege, engaging the help of Korean farmers and Chinese hunters, and witnessing the beginning of indomitable Russian settlement, Arsenyev documents the lives and customs of the region s inhabitants and their surroundings. Originally written as "a popular scientific description of the Kray," this unabridged edition includes photographs largely unseen for nearly a century and is annotated by Jonathan C. Slaght, a biologist working in the same forests Arsenyev explored. Across the Ussuri Kray is a classic of northeast Asian cultural and natural history."

    Water is flooding into empty riverbeds and swirling down towards the lake.Soon everything will change.A Nature Storybook series title.

    This powerful collection of pictures features all the winning photographs from the 2015 competition. The collection represents the work of many international photographers, both professionals and amateurs. The photographs are chosen by an international jury for their artistic merit and originality, from categories that together represent a diversity of natural subjects. The range of styles is also diverse, as is the genre of photography, including action, macro, underwater, landscape, or environmental reportage. Together this outstanding collection is a reminder of the splendor, drama, and variety of life on Earth. Each stunning photograph is accompanied by an extended caption and there is an introduction by one of the world's most respected nature photographers.

    Now fully revised and updated by the author, this beautiful new freshly illustrated edition highlights the changes in garden wildlife over the past 30 years. Incorporating RHS research, updated best practice and addressing a multitude of controversial conservation issues, this stunning guide is also a celebration of the rich variety of wild plants and animals that can bring a beautiful garden to life. Packed full of practical advice from which plants to choose for bees, birds and butterflies, how to construct the ideal wildlife pond, where to position nesting boxes and how to enjoy wildlife in any size of outdoor space, this authoritative companion shows how wildlife gardening can make a stylish and enjoyable contribution to the environment, inspiring new gardeners while also delighting the very many owners of the best-selling original.

    Despite being an island, it is home to nearly an entire continent's variety of species, from the famous lemurs to a profusion of bizarre and beautiful birds, reptiles and amphibians. Wildlife of Madagascar is a compact and beautifully illustrated photographic guide, and an essential companion for any visitor or resident. With an eye-catching design, authoritative and accessible text and easy-to-use format, it provides information on identification, distribution, habitat, behaviour, biology and conservation for all the mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians and butterflies likely to be seen.The most comprehensive single-volume field guide to Madagascar's wildlifeAttractive layout features more than 900 stunning colour photographsCovers the mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians and butterflies, and some of the other invertebrates and plants, most likely to be seenProvides key information about identification, distribution, habitat, behaviour and conservationIntroductory sections provide background information on Madagascar and its unique environments

    A diminutive nation with abundant natural wealth, the country is host to 146 species of frogs and toads. Frogs of gemlike beauty and dizzying variety abound: some species can fit on the end of a human finger; others would take two hands to hold. In the rainforests, you can find frogs capable of gliding from high in the treetops to the forest floor, some that carry their eggs or their tadpoles around on their back, and others that secrete glue-like substances from their skin that are capable of sticking shut the mouth of attacking snakes.Costa Rica is also home to fifty-three species of lungless salamanders, whose unique adaptations and abilities have allowed them to colonize habitats inaccessible to other amphibians. In addition to the spectacularly diverse salamanders, frogs, and toads found in the country, this guide includes the caecilians--bizarre and highly specialized creatures that somewhat resemble giant worms.Author, photographer, and conservation biologist Twan Leenders has been studying the herpetofauna of Central America for more than twenty years. Leenders and his team of researchers have traipsed the rainforests, dry forests, and swamps of Costa Rica--toting portable photo studios--to put together the richest collection of photographs of Costa Rican herpetofauna known to exist. In addition to hundreds of photographs, range maps, morphological illustrations, and precise descriptions of key field characteristics, Amphibians of Costa Rica offers a wealth of natural history information, describing prey and predators, breeding strategies, habitat, and conservation status.

    This strange and fascinating world of complete darkness is not a solitary place--it is inhabited by millions of life forms. Yet most humans--creatures of daylight--have never seen any of them. Until now.In this fascinating--sometimes eerie--book, extreme wildlife photographer and scientist Dante Fenolio brings the denizens of these shadowy haunts into focus. Life in the Dark shows us the many ways in which life forms have adapted to lightless environments, including refinements of senses, evolution of unique body parts, and illumination using "biological flashlights."With more than 200 mesmerizing color photographs, Life in the Dark unveils bizarre creatures like the firefly squid, the giant Amazonian catfish, the Chinese cavefish, and even the human bot fly, which lives in the darkness beneath its host's skin. Fenolio's rich and vibrant images shed new light on the world's fascinating creatures of darkness.

    In this book, perhaps the most beautiful book on Indian birds ever published, renowned naturalist Valmik Thapar brings together the finest writing and photographs on our birds. The book also features a specially commissioned essay on the behaviour and distribution of Indian birds by the well-known birder Ramki Sreenivasan. India has more than 1,200 species of birds. The richness and diversity of the country's birdlife has been celebrated by thousands of ornithologists, birders and amateur naturalists for hundreds of years. Winged Fire brings together the best accounts, pictures and art on our birds. Contributors include luminaries like Babur, Abu'l-Fazl, Jahangir, François Pyrard, Edward Hamilton Aitken, Douglas Dewar, Jim Corbett, Colonel Kesri Singh, F. W. Champion, Salim Ali, E. P. Gee, A. Mervyn Smith, Hugh Allen, Kenneth Anderson, M. Krishnan, Khushwant Singh, R. S. Dharmakumarsinhji, E. R. C. Davidar, Zafar Futehally, Ruskin Bond, A. J. T. Singh, Peter Smetacek, Irwin Allan Sealy, Rishad Naoroji, and Bulbul Sharma. An essay by Ramki Sreenivasan provides a detailed account of the major species and their distribution, behaviour and habitats. Winged Fire is the last book in the trilogy-that also includes Wild Fire and Tiger Fire-put together by Valmik Thapar; taken together, these books give the reader an extraordinary view of India's wildlife. The most beautiful book on Indian birds ever published. • Content culled from over a million words on Indian birds. • Rare pictures selected from tens of thousands of exclusive pictures by the world's top birdlife photographers. • Most of the world's top writers on Indian birds represented in the volume. • Some of these pictures have never been seen before. • Written and edited by one of India's greatest living naturalists, Valmik Thapar.