Best of
Wildlife

2020

My Garden World: The Natural Year


Montagu Don - 2020
    This year has given us the enforced opportunity to learn more about the fascinating natural world around us. Whether you live in the countryside or the town, Monty's observations and insights are relevant to each and every one of us. My Garden World is Monty Don's personal journey through the natural year, month by month, season by season, observed from the immediate world around him.

Mia and Nattie: One Great Team!


Marlene M. Bell - 2020
    Her legs were a bit shorter than usual, and one horn was too straight, like a unicorn’s horn. But Mia thought Nattie was perfect.In a read-aloud picture book for children who love animals, award-winning writer and sheep breeder Marlene M. Bell presents Nattie the lamb’s true story. MIA AND NATTIE is a heartwarming book that teaches readers about problem-solving, teamwork, and love.On a visit to her grandma’s farm, eight-year-old Mia discovers a newborn, orphaned lamb outside in the cold and takes her to the laundry room, naming her Nattie. As she tries to nurse the lamb back to health, Mia discovers that Nattie is different from the other lambs and struggles to fit in with them like Mia does with other kids her age.When her grandmother says she will sell Nattie to a neighbor, Mia must come up with a plan to keep her friend around—one that will show the family just how special Nattie truly is.

Elephant Speak: A Devoted Keeper's Life Among the Herd


Melissa Crandall - 2020
    But over his thirty-year career, Roger discovers the joys, difficulties, and dangers of life in a zoo, all the while maintaining an unwavering devotion to Belle, Packy, and the rest of the Asian elephants in his care. As their friend, Roger faces many risks--but his willingness to learn their language and speak for the herd makes him unique among his contemporaries. In return, the elephants give Roger a rare level of trust and respect, reminding us how much we can learn when we choose to listen.Elephant Speak: A Devoted Keeper's Life Among the Herd takes place in a time when ethical conversations about animal comfort, safety, and enrichment in zoos were just beginning. More than an evolutionary history of zookeeping, this unique biography celebrates the extraordinary bonds between humans and elephants and asks what we owe elephants, where we have fallen short, and how we can move forward together.

The Clearing: A memoir of art, family and mental health


Samantha Clark - 2020
    My heart has sunk a little every time I walk in . . .Samantha Clark enjoyed a busy career as an artist before returning home to Glasgow to take care of the house that her parents had left behind. Moving from room to room, sifting through the clutter of belongings, reflecting on her mother's long, sedated years of mental illness and her father's retreat to the world of amateur radio and model planes, Samantha began to contemplate her inheritance.A need for creativity and a desire for solitude had sprung up from a childhood shaped by anxiety and confusion. Weaving in the works and lives of others, including celebrated painter Agnes Martin and scientist of dark matter Vera Rubin, The Clearing is a powerful account of what we must do with the things we cannot know.

Wildlife Photographer of the Year: Portfolio 29


Rosamund Kidman-Cox - 2020
    Portfolio 29 displays the full collection of 100 images awarded in the 2018 competition. Selected by an international jury for their artistic merit and originality from more than 40,000 entries, they represent the work of almost 100 nationalities. Displaying different styles, techniques, and ways of seeing, the collection is both a showcase for photographers who specialize in documenting the natural world and a celebration of nature.

Yellowstone Wolves: Science and Discovery in the World’s First National Park


Douglas W. Smith - 2020
    It is unprecedented and offers the most intensive examination to date of the Greater Yellowstone wolf population. “It represents the state of the art and while it’s a Yellowstone-centric book we took on all of the big themes for wolves and ecology,” Douglas Smith said, noting that while a massive amount of information had to be cut to meet length limitations, it will be shared in the coming years.

The Fire Wombat


Jackie French - 2020
    But that is just the beginning of their journey to safety.Based on events witnessed by Australian Children's Laureate Jackie French during the 2020 fires, and co-created with award-winning illustrator Danny Snell, this is a story of courage, compassion and survival, which saw people across Australia come together to save our wildlife from devastation.

Dry to Dry: The Seasons of Kakadu


Pamela Freeman - 2020
    Those seasons have shaped the astonishing variety of plants, animals, birds, insects ... migratory birds by the thousands, grasshoppers and owls, lizards and turtles, fruit bats and spear grass. And, gliding past them all in the rivers and waterholes, the long, sinuous shapes of crocodiles ...Book Features:**Beautifully written narrative that explores the unique story of one of Australia's most amazing landscapes.**Features lyrical narrative and well-researched facts by award-winning author Pamela Freeman.**Stunning original mixed media illustrations by Liz Anelli.

My Wild Life: Adventures of a Wildlife Photographer


Suzi Eszterhas - 2020
    But how did she go from snapping pictures of cats in her backyard to taking photos of cheetah cubs in Kenya? In this nonfiction picture-book biography, Eszterhas invites readers to find out what her life is like behind the lens.

Remembering Elephants


Virginia McKenna - 2020
    Ask the world's best wildlife photographers to donate an image each and produce the most beautiful book on elephants ever made. Then use that picture book to raise awareness of and funds to fight the plight that elephants are facing. Remembering Elephants is that vision come true with a total of 65 photographers coming together for this unprecedented project and their stunning images collectively showing the life enjoyed by wild African elephants in the early part of the 21st century. And sadly also, what can happen at the hands of man. This book can help play a part in helping preserve this iconic species for many generations to come. By buying a copy you will be supporting us in this endeavor, something you can be proud to tell your grandchildren. Because it is now that we need to remember elephants, before it is too late.

Is Wildness Over?


Paul Wapner - 2020
    Today, most of us live in relative stability insulated from the vicissitudes of nature. Wildness is over, right? Wrong, argues leading environmental scholar Paul Wapner. Wildness may have disappeared from our immediate lives, but it's been catapulted up to the global level. The planet itself has gone into spasm - calving glaciers, wildfires, heatwaves, mass extinction, and rising oceans all represent the new face of wildness. Rejecting paths offered by geoengineering and de-extinction to bring the Earth under control, Wapner calls instead for 'rewilding'. This involves relinquishing the desire for comfort at all costs and welcoming greater uncertainty into our own lives. To save ourselves from global ruin, it is time to stop sanitizing and exerting mastery over the world and begin living humbly in it.

On the Prowl: In Search of Big Cat Origins


Mark Hallett - 2020
    They are enduring symbols of natural majesty and power. Yet despite the magnetic appeal of the big cats, their origins and evolutionary history remain poorly understood--and human activity threatens to put an end to the big cats' glory.On the Prowl is a fully illustrated and approachable guide to the evolution of the big cats and what it portends for their conservation today. Mark Hallett and John M. Harris trace the origins of these iconic carnivores, venturing down the evolutionary pathways that produced the diversity of big cat species that have walked the earth. They place the evolution and paleobiology of these species in the context of ancient ecosystems and climates, explaining what made big cats such efficient predators and analyzing their competition with other animals. Hallett and Harris pay close attention to human impact, from the evidence of cave paintings and analysis of ancient extinctions up to present-day crises. Their engaging and carefully documented account is brought to life through Hallett's detailed, vivid illustrations, based on the most recent research by leading paleontologists. Offering a fresh look at the rise of these majestic animals, On the Prowl also makes a powerful case for renewed efforts to protect big cats and their habitats before it is too late.

Remembering Rhinos


Mark Carwardine - 2020
    Though the global population explosion is a huge factor, all too often it is money and ignorance that are the main causes of the demise. Sadly, this is certainly the case when it comes to rhinos, whose horns, made of useless keratin, are worth their weight in gold on the black market. They are being poached towards extinction, often with brutal consequences. Remembering Rhinos is the follow up to Remembering Elephants ISBN 9780993019319 and once again is born of the same vision - to bring the world of wildlife photography together to produce the most beautiful tribute to the species that we can, to raise both awareness of its plights and the funds to protect it. This book turns its attention to yet another species under attack, unwilling to sit back impotently and see it disappear on our watch. By purchasing a copy of this book, you will join us and our photographers in our efforts to play a role in turning the tide. We cannot just remember wildlife and rhinos in pictures.

Cottongrass Summer


Roy Dennis - 2020
    Beginning with cottongrass, whose snow-white blooms blow gently in the wind across the wetter moors and bogs, this is a year-round trove of insight and knowledge for anyone who cares about the natural world – from birdsong and biodiversity to sphagnum and species reintroduction.Written by one of our most prominent advocates for rewilding, the essays have a clear message: “Never give up on trying to conserve and restore wildlife and the wild places you cherish. It’s essential to try and to succeed. And remember, it’s never ‘if’, but ‘when’ – and with climate chaos closing in, the time is now.”

The Trapper


Ellie Douglas - 2020
    

Chasing Dragonflies: A Natural, Cultural, and Personal History


Cindy Crosby - 2020
    Drawing on her experiences as a natural history instructor, dragonfly monitor, cancer survivor, grandmother, and steward, Crosby tells the stories of dragonflies: their roles in poetry and art, their fascinating sex life—unique within the animal kingdom—and their evolution from dark-water dwellers to denizens of the air. We follow Crosby and other citizen-scientists into the prairies, wetlands, and woodlands of the Midwest, where they observe the environment and chronicle dragonfly populations and migration to decipher critical clues about our changing waterways and climate.   Woven throughout are personal stories: reflections on the author’s cancer diagnosis and recovery, change, loss, aging, family, joy, and discovering what it means to be at home in the natural world. Crosby draws an intimate portrait of a landscape teeming with variety and mystery, one that deserves our attention and conservation. As warm as it is informative, this book will interest gardeners, readers of literary nonfiction, and anyone intrigued by transformation, whether in nature or our personal lives.

The Wild Wonders of Alabama


C.E. Moore - 2020
    It not only leads the United States in freshwater fish, mussels, snails, and crayfish but it is also a terrestrial hot spot for predatory, carnivorous plants. The Wild Wonders of Alabama is a captivating adventure through unique habitats with the incredible native species that live there.Explore a magical world of bioluminescent larval flies, a land of fire, and a collection of rare, colorful flowers found nowhere else. Celebrate the wild things through vibrant illustrations and fun, engaging activities like designing your own species and finding hidden objects. Learn through informative graphics about ecology levels, ecosystem interactions, and biological classification. There are also Glossary and Explore Further sections at the end to encourage further exploration and learning. Come away with a better understanding of the important roles native plants and animals have in ecosystems.An entertaining and fresh non-fiction read, curious-minded readers will be inspired by and appreciate our natural wonders in this perfect introduction to Alabama's amazing natural heritage.