The sardine is a paradoxical fish. Seemingly insignificant, it has made fortunes for some, and, when stocks have collapsed, caused hardship for many, its status shifting from utilitarian food to gourm
Few animals elicit such a profound combination of horror, fear, and disgust as the bedbug. Uninvited, bedbugs invade our most private spaces (our beds), take away our blood, and afterwards, impudently
Bats have been maligned in the West for centuries. Unfair associations with demons have seen their leathery wings adorn numerous evil characters, from the Devil to Bram Stoker’s Dracula. But the
Common and exotic, glamorous and ferocious, sociable and sullen: zebras mean many things to many people. But one facet of zebras universally fascinates: their stripes. The extraordinary beauty of zebr
Our storybooks are full of lizards, but we usually call them something else—dragons, serpents, dinosaurs or monsters. These stories vastly increase their size, bestow wings upon them, make them
Woodpeckers are among the most remarkable birds in the avian world, having evolved a unique anatomy that enables them to peck and bore into solid timber both to find food and to create nesting cavitie
Though not generally perceived as graceful, crows are remarkably so—a single curve undulates from the tip of the bird’s beak to the end of its tail. They take flight almost without effort,
They are famously fat—cumbersome, lethargic, and oddly charming for the way they lounge around half-submerged in muddy pools all day. Hippos are gregarious herbivores that don’t much like the heat, bu
Known for their woolly charm, sure-footed strength, and a propensity to spit at you if you bother them too much, llamas have had a rich and diverse history. Since their domestication high in the Andes
Ancestors of domestic pigs, wild boars are tough, resourceful omnivores that have presented humans since prehistoric times with a tricky situation: they make for a delicious food source, but they are
"Top-notch street lit...one of the top urban fiction novels of the year." -- Library Journal Starred Review on Diamonds and Pearl'K'wan does a masterful job of keeping readers on their toes right up t
Before best-selling author Helen Macdonald told the story of the goshawk in H Is for Hawk, she told the story of the falcon, in a cultural history of the masterful creature that can “cut the sky in tw
No creature has quite the sting in our mythology and folklore as the scorpion. From the dawn of human civilization they have been a dangerous figure in our imaginations—poisonous, precise, and deadly
Unlike their gaudy day-flying cousins, moths seem to reside in the shadows as denizens of the night, circling around street lights or caught momentarily in the glare of headlights on a country lane. A
The ancient Egyptians worshipped them, the Romans dressed them in fitted coats, and the Christians associated them with their divine savior. InSheep, Philip Armstrong traces the natural and cultural h
Ancient and strange, beetles call to mind a lost world of Egyptian magic and belief—a reminder of the fascination they’ve long held for human culture. InBeetle, Adam Dodd offers a richly illustrated,
Guinea pigs are one of the world’s most popular pets—small, friendly, easy to care for, and unbearably cute. We have felt this way for a long time: guinea pigs were first domesticated in 5000 B.C.E. S
The flamingo is possible the most easily recognized bird in the world. From their long necks to their unmistakable pink color, they are certainly one of the most unusual-looking animals. But the flami
With unique fish-like tails, chainsaw teeth, a pungent musk, and astonishing building skills, beavers are unlike any other creature in the world. Not surprisingly, the extraordinary beaver has played
Bison once ranged across the Great Plains of North America in vast herds—early 18th-century explorers described them as “innumerable”—and at the beginning of the 19th century they numbered in the tens
From ?Three Billy Goats Gruff” to The Men Who Stare at Goats, this inimitable ruminant has long played a role in our literature and popular culture. And yet, our relationship with the ?poor man’s cow”
From Mickey to Jerry, Rizzo to Pinky, mice have played an important role in our childhood tales. Often a heroic figure in culture and fiction?mice are the iconic symbol of Disney and Earth’s intellect
After making a promise to leave the street life behind, a shocking revelation forces Animal back into the game to face his greatest opponent yet.When Animal’s former lover, Red Sonja, shows up on his
From the Romans who viewed the hedgehog as a weather prophet to modern gardeners who depend on the creature to keep gardens pest-free, the small, spiny animal has had a close connection with humans si
From Lewis Carroll’s poem ?The Walrus and the Carpenter” to the Beatles’s ?I am the Walrus,” walruses have played an enigmatic role in popular culture. With their prominent tusks and distinctive whisk
The leopard is the ultimate cat. It makes the lion and the tiger appear overblown and all the other members of the cat family look puny. Where lions hunt in the open and then share their kill, the leo
“At length did cross an Albatross, / Through the fog it came; / As if it had been a Christian soul, / We hailed it in God’s name.” The introduction of the albatross in Samuel Taylor Coleridge’s “The R
Our relationship to the octopus dates back to prehistory, when the eight-armed animal was depicted on vases and found in stone carvings from ancient Greece. Now we appreciate them for their abilities
From Benjamin Bunny to Peter Cottontail, the Velveteen Rabbit to the Flopsy Bunnies, the Rabbit of Caerbannog to Bugs Bunny and Roger Rabbit, the winsome long-eared animal is a permanent fixture of ou
The Celts called them “fairy cattle” and the Greeks associated them with the hunter goddess Artemis, but for most people today, deer are seen as cute, like Bambi, or noble, like the Monarch of the Gle
From Flipper to SeaWorld, dolphins have long captured our hearts. We love these friendly, intelligent mammals, and they seem to return our feelings—they enjoy interacting with swimmers and have been k
“Tick, tock, tick, tock.” Thanks to Peter Pan, this sound, if heard near water, means run: a hungry crocodile is on its way. J. M. Barrie isn’t fully to blame for spreading the word that crocodiles ar
Monkeys populate our culture, from the adorable hijinks of Curious George and the loyal friendship between Aladdin and Abu to the menacing gait of the winged ones in The Wizard of Oz. We visit them in
Ostriches may not be able to fly, but they loom large in the bird kingdom. They are the world’s tallest and heaviest living birds, and they lay the largest eggs. With their long legs, ostriches are al
Since coming to international prominence in the mid-nineteenth century when English, French, and American scientists first encountered them, the gorilla’s physical resemblance to humans has struck a d
Armed with razor-sharp teeth and capable of drinking many times its volume of blood, the leech is an unlikely cure for ill health. Yet that is exactly the role this worm-like parasite has played in bo
Hyenas are almost universally regarded as nasty, scheming charlatans that skulk in the back alleyways of the animal kingdom. They have been scorned for centuries as little more than scavenging carrion
Bug zappers were invented for one purpose: to kill mosquitoes, the bane of many summer evenings, camping trips, and exotic vacations. These blood-sucking insects do more than leave us with itchy bites
As Kermit the Frog taught us—it’s not easy being green. With good reason, since you’ll likely be dissected in biology class or have your legs gobbled up by a hungry Frenchman. And yet, these slimy cre
