Few people know bears as intimately as Else Poulsen. She has raised bears, comforted bears, taught bears, learned from bears, had bears communicate their needs to her, and nursed bears back to health. This remarkable book reveals the many insights about bears and their lives that she has gained through her work with them. In the eighties, Poulsen became a zookeeper in Calgary, where she rehabilitated bears in crisis. She has shared in the joy of a polar bear discovering soil under her paws for the first time in twenty years, felt the pride of a cub learning to crack nuts with her molars, and grieved at the horror of captivity for Asian black bears in China.Smiling Bears provides an enlightening and moving portrait of bears in all their richness and complexity and of Poulsen's exhilarating work with them. Also available in paperback.

    Describes basic methods of training a dog, covering such topics as using a clicker, housebreaking, and controlling unwanted behavior, and includes instructions on how to train a dog to do tricks.

    The pages take the reader on a wild narrative ride through the world of squid science and adventure, along the way addressing some riddles about what intelligence is, and what monsters lie in the deep. In addition to squid, both giant and otherwise, Kraken examines other equally enthralling cephalopods, including the octopus and the cuttlefish, and explores their otherworldly abilities, such as camouflage and bioluminescence. Accessible and entertaining, Kraken is also the first substantial volume on the subject in more than a decade and a must for fans of popular science.

    Mischievous, mysterious, content, curious, and full of attitude, these stories mirror the personality of these creatures that dwell in our homes and our hearts.

    Wells begins his work as an inexperienced recent college grad and emerges a caring and beloved veterinarian. Affording the reader an inside glimpse into his daily life, he narrates many uplifting, life-altering, lifethreatening, and hilarious episodes.

    This glorious, graphic volume will stop you dead in your tracks as you are presented with images of man's best friend caught in contortion: hair wild, eyes darting, ears and jowls flopping every which way.With Shake, photographer Carli Davidson proves how eager and elated we are to see our pets in new ways. The result is a one-of-a-kind book: a colorful assemblage of photographs that are simultaneously startling and endearing, consistently hard to look away from, and revealing.

    Wouldn't it be great to have a single source of quick answers to all our questions about how living things work? Now there is.From molecules to animals, cells to ecosystems, Biology For Dummies, 2nd Edition answers all your questions about how living things work.Written in plain English and packed with dozens of illustrations, quick-reference Cheat Sheets, and helpful tables and diagrams, it cuts right to the chase with fast-paced, easy-to-absorb explanations of the life processes common to all organisms. More than 20% new and updated content, including a substantial overhaul to the organization of topics to make it a friendly classroom supplement Coverage of the most recent developments and discoveries in evolutionary, reproductive, and ecological biology Includes practical, up-to-date examples Whether you're currently enrolled in a biology class or just want to know more about this fascinating and ever-evolving field of study, this engaging guide will give you a grip on complex biology concepts and unlock the mysteries of how life works in no time.

    Harriman includes the latest in veterinary information and helpful how-to sections on care and feeding. 100 photos. Charts.

    Instead of pills, reach for:Cinnamon Tea to soothe your throat . . . Garlic Hummus to support your immune system . . . Ginger Lemon Tea for cold and flu symptoms . . . Cayenne Salve to relieve sore muscles . . . Cardamom Chocolate Mousse Cake for heart health . . . A glass of Spiced Cold Brew Coffee as a powerful antioxidant . . .Alchemy of Herbs will show you how to transform common ingredients into foods and remedies that heal. What were once everyday flavorings will become your personal kitchen apothecary. While using herbs can often seem complicated or costly, this book offers a way to learn that’s as simple and inexpensive as cooking dinner.With the guidance of herbalist Rosalee de la Forêt, you’ll understand how to match the properties of each plant to your own unique needs, for a truly personalized approach to health for you and your family. In addition to offering dozens of inspiring recipes, Rosalee examines the history and modern-day use of 29 popular herbs, supporting their healing properties with both scientific studies and in-depth research into herbal energetics.   Grow your knowledge of healing herbs and spices and start using nature’s pharmacy to feed, heal, and nurture your whole family!

    She knows how to scratch upright surfaces, cough up hairballs, send messages with her pee, and party all night. To the feline mind, these are the stuff of everyday life--as important as sleeping all day and grooming for several hours using nothing but your tongue.Your clever kitty knows you very well (after all, she sits and stares at you when you're in the bathroom). But how well do you know her? Find out why cats knead against us, the best way to hold a cat, how cats can jump onto your kitchen counters without even a running start, why they chew on your sweaters.Award-winning pet experts Dr. Marty Becker and Gina Spadafori explain the ins and outs of the feline psyche. Because the better you understand cats, the easier it is to love the kitty on your couch. Can you teach an old cat new tricks? You bet! Expecting a baby? It's perfectly okay to keep your cat. What about kittens? You'll find everything you always wanted to know about feline sex but were afraid to ask.Your cat's not crazy, but she can be mysterious. Did you know cats can tell time? They talk with their tails and walk on their toes. And there are even rumors that some cats are descendents of space aliens. It's no wonder the ancient Egyptians were not the only ones who worshipped them.You'll also find the answers to questions that tend to tickle your curiosity: Why do cats' eyes glow in the dark? What's in catnip that makes kitties so silly? Can curiosity really kill a cat?You've got questions? This book's got answers. Do cats always land on their feet? Find out!

    Parlez-vous Doggish? At long last, dogs will know just how smart their owners can be. By unlocking the secrets of the hidden language of dogs, psychologist Stanley Coren allows us into the doggy dialogue, or “Doggish,” and makes effective communication a reality. Drawing on substantial research in animal behavior, evolutionary biology, and years of personal experience, Coren demonstrates that the average house dog can understand language at about the level of a two-year-old human. While actual conversation of the sort Lassie seemed capable of in Hollywood mythmaking remains forever out of reach, Coren shows us that a great deal of real communication is possible beyond the giving and obeying of commands. How to Speak Dog not only provides the sounds, words, actions, and movements with which we can effectively communicate with our dogs, but also deciphers the signs that our dogs give to us. With easy-to-follow tips on how humans can mimic the language dogs use to talk with one another, original drawings illustrating the subtleties of their body language, and a handy visual glossary and “Doggish” phrasebook, How to Speak Dog gives dog lovers the skills they need to improve their relationships with their pets.

    The king cobra: That's an A-plus animal. The garden snail? D-minus. On a good day.In Animal Review, Jacob Lentz and Steve Nash give authoritative listings and ratings of dozens of your favorite (and least-favorite) animals. Expanded from their popular blog, the entries mix fascinating animal facts with hilarious assessments, set off with brilliantly captioned photos and enlightening charts and graphs. It's a perfect gift for animal lovers of any age, with sophisticated but kid-friendly humor and tons of interesting information.

    And the first step is to start looking after the insects, the little creatures that make our shared world go round. Insects are essential for life as we know it. As they become scarcer, our world will slowly grind to a halt; we simply cannot function without them. Drawing on the latest ground-breaking research and a lifetime's study, Dave Goulson reveals the shocking decline of insect populations that has taken place in recent decades, with potentially catastrophic consequences. He passionately argues that we must all learn to love, respect, and care for our six-legged friends. Eye-opening, inspiring, and riveting, Silent Earth is part love letter to the insect world, part elegy, part rousing manifesto for a greener planet. It is a call to arms for profound change at every level--in government policy, agriculture, industry, and in our own homes and gardens. Although time is running out, it is not too late for insect populations to recover. We may feel helpless in the face of many of the environmental issues that loom on the horizon, but Goulson shows us how we can take simple steps to encourage insects and counter their destruction.

    Following the phenomenal success of Does Anything Eat Wasps? (2005) and the even more spectacularly successful Why Don't Penguins' Feet Freeze? (2006), this latest collection includes a bumper crop of wise and wonderful answers never before seen in book form.As usual, the simplest questions often have the most complex answers - while some that seem the knottiest have very simple explanations. New Scientist's 'Last Word' is regularly voted the magazine's most popular section as it celebrates all questions - the trivial, idiosyncratic, baffling and strange. This all-new and eagerly awaited selection of the best again presents popular science at its most entertaining and enlightening.

    Their mission? Tracking down the elusive Tasmanian tiger. Tragically, this mysterious, striped predator was hunted into extinction in the early part of the twentieth century. Or was it? Journeying first to the Australian mainland and then south to the wild island of Tasmania, these young naturalists brave a series of bizarre misadventures and uproarious wildlife encounters in their obsessive search for the long-lost beast. Filled with Rockman’s stunning drawings of flora and fauna originally crafted from river mud, wombat scat, and even the artist’s own blood, Carnivorous Nights is a hip and hilarious account of an unhinged safari, as well as a fascinating portrayal of a wildly unique part of the world.Carniverous Nights is:One of the New York Public Library's "25 Books to Remember from 2005"A New York Public Library Books for the Teen Age, 2006 selection