This is the funny, poignant story of their two decades together.On Valentine's Day 1985, biologist Stacey O'Brien first met a four-day-old baby barn owl -- a fateful encounter that would turn into an astonishing 19-year saga. With nerve damage in one wing, the owlet's ability to fly was forever compromised, and he had no hope of surviving on his own in the wild. O'Brien, a young assistant in the owl laboratory at Caltech, was immediately smitten, promising to care for the helpless owlet and give him a permanent home. Wesley the Owl is the funny, poignant story of their dramatic two decades together. With both a tender heart and a scientist's eye, O'Brien studied Wesley's strange habits intensively and first-hand -- and provided a mice-only diet that required her to buy the rodents in bulk (28,000 over the owl's lifetime). As Wesley grew, she snapped photos of him at every stage like any proud parent, recording his life from a helpless ball of fuzz to a playful, clumsy adolescent to a gorgeous, gold-and-white, macho adult owl with a heart-shaped face and an outsize personality that belied his 18-inch stature. Stacey and Wesley's bond deepened as she discovered Wesley's individual personality, subtle emotions, and playful nature that could also turn fiercely loyal and protective -- though she could have done without Wesley's driving away her would-be human suitors! O'Brien also brings us inside the prestigious research community, a kind of scientific Hogwarts where resident owls sometimes flew freely from office to office and eccentric, brilliant scientists were extraordinarily committed to studying and helping animals; all of them were changed by the animal they loved. As O'Brien gets close to Wesley, she makes important discoveries about owl behavior, intelligence, and communication, coining the term "The Way of the Owl" to describe his inclinations: he did not tolerate lies, held her to her promises, and provided unconditional love, though he was not beyond an occasional sulk. When O'Brien develops her own life-threatening illness, the biologist who saved the life of a helpless baby bird is herself rescued from death by the insistent love and courage of this wild animal. Enhanced by wonderful photos, Wesley the Owl is a thoroughly engaging, heartwarming, often funny story of a complex, emotional, non-human being capable of reason, play, and, most important, love and loyalty. It is sure to be cherished by animal lovers everywhere.

    

    Timothy Treadwell had just been dragged into the alders to be eaten alive, but she was a city girl who was clueless when it came to bear safety and how to survive an attack by one. She could have lived if she had only known what to do.   Adventurer, author, and bush pilot, Tom Hron, who's spent a lifetime flying floatplanes and helicopters in Alaska's and Canada's most dangerous bear country, tells about real-life attacks and relates them to survival. He takes on the so-called experts and tells you what NOT to do. Blacks, browns, grizzlies, and polar bears--he covers them all in 240 spell-binding pages, and what you read may save your life.

    Their funny bodies with their short little legs, floppy ears, and pleading eyes make Dachshunds irresistible even to people who claim to dislike small dogs. Also, Dachshunds are natural clowns. They can keep a room in stitches with their antics and coax one more dog cookie out of the strictest disciplinarian. In addition, Dachshunds are great with kids, love to play, and can be extremely affectionate. On the other hand, Dachshunds can sometimes be very willful and hard to train, often bark a lot, and can rival a Labrador Retrievers in their ability to dismantle your furniture. Is this playful and inquisitive breed the right dog for you and your family? Dachshunds For Dummies provides the answer to this and all your questions about getting, caring for and living with this unique breed. Life-long Dachshund fancier and leading pet journalist, Eve Adamson gets you up and running with what you need to know to:Find and communicate with reputable breeders Choose the right Dachshund for you Housebreak and socialize your new puppy Educate yourself and your dog Handle behavioral problems Participate in competitions In friendly, down-to-earth language, Eve provides insights into the Dachshund temperament and loads of sensible, easy-to-follow advice on everything a Dachshund owner should know--along with fun facts and Dachshund trivia, and tips on how to have a great time with your Dachshund. You'll discover how to:Decide on whether a male or female is right for you Find and choose your new friend and bring him or her home Understand how to communicate with your Dachshund Train your Dachshund Find a good trainer and attend classes Deal with emotional conflicts Feed and exercise your Dachshund Recognize, prevent and treat common health problems Have loyal friend for life The indispensable guide for you and your Dachshund, Dachshunds For Dummies is the only book you'll need to help you have the best possible experience with this plucky breed of dog.

    When Lily the alpaca falls pregnant, they are in for an anxious few months as they battle against the odds to keep themselves afloat. 'In Seriously Mum, How Many Cats?' there is concern that the cats are going to take over the farm. There are cats in the barn, cats in the garden and even a cat invasion in the bedroom one night. Exploding tyres, flamenco dancing, religious parades and, of course, all your favourite animals return once again to entertain you in the latest story about these much-loved expats.

    Based on six years of research, the book follows a handful of unforgettable characters at Tampa's Lowry Park Zoo: an alpha chimp with a weakness for blondes, a ferocious tiger who revels in Obsession perfume, and a brilliant but tyrannical CEO known as El Diablo Blanco.Zoo Story crackles with issues of global urgency: the shadow of extinction, humanity's role in the destruction or survival of other species. More than anything else, though, it's a dramatic and moving true story of seduction and betrayal, exile and loss, and the limits of freedom on an overcrowded planet-all framed inside one zoo reinventing itself for the twenty-first century. Thomas French, a Pulitzer Prize-winning reporter, chronicles the action with vivid power: Wild elephants soaring above the Atlantic on their way to captivity. Predators circling each other in a lethal mating dance. Primates plotting the overthrow of their king. The sweeping narrative takes the reader from the African savannah to the forests of Panama and deep into the inner workings of a place some describe as a sanctuary and others condemn as a prison. All of it comes to life in the book's four-legged characters. Even animal lovers will be startled by the emotional charge of these creatures' histories, which read as though they were co-written by Dickens and Darwin.Zoo Story shows us how these remarkable individuals live, how some die, and what their experiences reveal about the human desire to both exalt and control nature.

    RUNNING NORTH is the true story of how Ann Cook, her husband, George, and their young daughter, Kathleen, moved to Alaska and how their Siberians became the first team from the lower forty-eight states to finish the Yukon Quest. It tracks George on his horrific journey through the Yukon, recording the frostbite, the hallucinations that come with exhaustion, the wolves, and the nights out on the ice at minus ninety degrees Fahrenheit. This is the great story of man struggling against nature and surviving. But unlike most accounts of high adventure that center solely on the adventurer and the quest, RUNNING NORTH is also the story of Ann Cook, who drove the truck and carried the gear and kept the family together. In the tradition of MY OLD MAN AND THE SEA, she tells both stories in simple, elegant prose that reveals the tragedy, joy, and folly that lie on either side of the curtain separating the adventurer from the world left behind. They run up against crazy landlords, win over gruff neighbors, drive a broken-down truck that sucks oil like Alaskans suck coffee, listen to a radio show that keeps trappers in contact with the world, meet mysterious fishermen who appear without notice and disappear without a sign, fight with a young cousin who will betray them in the end, protect their young daughter from the dangers of their new wild world, and stare awestruck at the wide sweep of Alaskan landscape. RUNNING NORTH is the story of two very different adventures on the edge: one among the racers braving the Yukon and the other among the people they leave behind.

    Poaching was rampant, but it was loss of habitat that most endangered the gorillas. Weber and Vedder realized that the gorillas were doomed unless something was done to save their forest home. Over Fossey's objections, they helped found the Mountain Gorilla Project, which would inform Rwandans about the gorillas and the importance of conservation, while at the same time establishing an ecotourism project -- one of the first anywhere in a rainforest -- to bring desperately needed revenue to Rwanda. In the Kingdom of Gorillas introduces readers to entire families of gorillas, from powerful silverback patriarchs to helpless newborn infants. Weber and Vedder take us with them as they slog through the rain-soaked mountain forests, observing the gorillas at rest and at play. Today the population of mountain gorillas is the highest it has been since the 1960s, and there is new hope for the species' fragile future even as the people of Rwanda strive to overcome ethnic and political differences.

    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.

    In a sequel to White Wolf, award-winning nature photographer Jim Brandenburg's powerful narrative--and 140 color photos of timber wolves in their natural habitat--will revolutionize our thinking about wolves, human nature, our primeval past, and the survival of our planet.

    With the insatiable curiosity and conversational prose that have made her a bestselling author, Goodall - along with Cincinnati Zoo Director Thane Maynard - shares fascinating survival stories about the American Crocodile, the California Condor, the Black-Footed Ferret, and more; all formerly endangered species and species once on the verge of extinction whose populations are now being regenerated.Interweaving her own first-hand experiences in the field with the compelling research of premier scientists, Goodall illuminates the heroic efforts of dedicated environmentalists and the truly critical need to protect the habitats of these beloved species. At once a celebration of the animal kingdom and a passionate call to arms, Hope For Animals Their World presents an uplifting, hopeful message for the future of animal-human coexistence.Praise for Hope For Animals Their World"Goodall's intimate writing style and sense of wonder pull the reader into each account...The mix of personal and scientific makes for a compelling read."-Booklist"These accounts of conservation success are inspirational."-Publishers Weekly

    Beyond Words, readers travel to Amboseli National Park in the threatened landscape of Kenya and witness struggling elephant families work out how to survive poaching and drought, then to Yellowstone National Park to observe wolves sort out the aftermath of one pack's personal tragedy, and finally plunge into the astonishingly peaceful society of killer whales living in the crystalline waters of the Pacific Northwest.

    Pellham **Do you own a guinea pig but don’t know the first thing about how to take proper care of it? Are you considering getting one but want to make sure it’s really the best decision for you? Whatever your situation, this book will teach you everything you need to know to make sure you are making the best possible decisions.Taking care of any pet can be a huge responsibility. That’s why it is so important to do your research and really know what you are getting yourself into before you actually commit to owning any pet. Guinea pigs are no exception to this rule. While they are becoming increasingly more common as household pets, guinea pigs are still somewhat exotic and, as a result, most people don’t really know much about exactly what they need.That’s exactly where this book comes in. If you’ve been browsing the animal shelter or pet websites and can’t resist the adorable furry face of those guinea pigs you’ve seen, read this book before you make an impulse decision you might regret.Learn about:•The 10 different breeds of guinea pig you can own as a pet•The pros & cons of owning a pet guinea pig•The supplies you’ll need to provide a proper home for your new pet (and a rough estimate of how much it will cost)•The basic care you will need to provide for your guinea pig•How to train your guinea pig to do cool & useful tricks•A brief overview of how to breed your pet guinea pig and sell the offspringSo get this book and decide if this adorable little creature is the right addition to your home and then learn how you can be the best guinea pig parent there ever was!>>Purchase or Download This Book Today, Available on Kindle & in Print. <<

    Meet a frog with a coat of hair (which turns out not to be hair at all), full grown monkeys that fit inside a teacup, mice with wings, and many more of the species endemic to the Cameroons, not to mention the local ruler, the Fon of Bafut.

    For the Mob (as they are also known), crime was big business. Feuds between Mafia families and their associates led to Lucky Luciano, the preeminent Mob boss, creating the Commission, which to this day rules over Mob activity and disputes. Throughout the 20th century, the ruthlessness of the Mafia has been in evidence: the list of Mob victims seems endless. Mafia Hits recalls the most important executions - the rival bosses, the stool pigeons and snitches, the good cops and the dirty cops, the vicious feuds and the hit-men who lived by the gun and died by it. All are here in this fascinating tale of the American underworld.