Animal Books

Highly illustrated, with images drawn from a wide range of cultures, historical periods and media, Paul Carter’s Parrot is a roller-coaster ride through parrots in literature, jokes, folklore, mythology, film, TV and children’s stories worldwide, as well as an examination of parrot conservation, talking bird experiments and parrot portraiture.Parrot is a fascinating natural and cultural history. The book covers three broad areas: ‘Parrotics’ – the historical, cultural and scientific classifications of parrots; ‘Parroternalia’ – the association of parrots with the different languages, ages, tastes and dreams of society; and ‘Parrotology’ – the mimicry of parrots and what that can tell us about our own systems of communication.This book differs from previous histories, which have treated parrots as subjects of curiosity and a pretext for elegy. A new kind of animal history, Parrot is philosophical and poetic: it takes seriously the critical and ironic mirror that parrots hold up to human society. Humorously written and wide-ranging in scope, Parrot will have broad appeal, and will be of interest to parrot enthusiasts and specialists, as well as a general readership.

The fastest animal alive, the falcon deserves attention not just for the combination of speed, power, beauty and ferocity that has made it an object of fascination for thousands of years, but for the light it sheds on the cultures through which it has flown. This book, bridging science and cultural history, surveys the practical and symbolic uses of falcons in human culture in new and exciting ways. Bestselling natural history writer Helen Macdonald follows the movements of the falcon, her personal experience and knowledge of falconry enriching the history and lore of this bird of prey. She ranges across the globe and over many millennia, taking in natural history, myth and legend, falconry, science and conservation, and falcons in the military, in urban settings and the corporate world. Along the way we discover how falcons were mobilized in secret military projects, their links with espionage, the Third Reich and the space programme, and even how they have featured in erotic stories. Originally published in 2006, this revised 2016 edition features a new introduction. Combining in-depth practical, personal and scientific knowledge, Macdonald offers a fascinating account of the place of these birds in human history. Falcon is for lovers of the countryside, birdwatchers or anyone who has ever wondered why falcons are so compelling.

Its hooves were supposedly a cure for epilepsy, it is the mascot of the clothing company Abercrombie and Fitch, and its meat is a delicacy. The moose is a fascinating but elusive animal of the north, and its little-known natural history is the focus of Kevin Jackson’s engaging new book. Moose explains the animal's behaviour, evolution and diet, and describes its natural environments around the world, including in the USA, Canada and Scandinavia, where the moose is the national animal of Sweden and of Norway. Jackson considers why the moose is really an elk and an elk is a wapiti, and he also discusses the controversy behind the naming of the Irish Elk. The moose has been a quarry for humans since the Stone Age, and the book does not stint on the animal’s role in human history, including the 'alces' in Julius Caesar’s history of the Gallic Wars and figures such as Thomas Jefferson, poet Ted Hughes, and Theodore Roosevelt with his Bull Moose Party. The Rocky and Bullwinkle Show, a 150-foot statue being built in Sweden, and colourful moose lore all appear in this wide-ranging study, making this an essential read for naturalists and moose lovers alike.

‘The owls are not what they seem.’ From ancient Babylon to Edward Lear’s The Owl and the Pussycat and the grandiloquent, absent-minded Wol from Winnie the Pooh to David Lynch’s Twin Peaks, owls have woven themselves into the fabric of human culture from earliest times. Beautiful, silent, pitiless predators of the night, possessing contradictory qualities of good and evil, they are enigmatic creatures that dwell throughout the world yet barely make their presence known. In his fascinating new book, bestselling author and broadcaster Desmond Morris explores the natural and cultural history of one of nature’s most popular creatures. Morris describes the evolution, the many species, and the wide spread of owls around the world – excluding Antarctica, owls are found on every land mass, and they range in size from 28 centimetres (the Least Pygmy Owl) to more than 70 centimetres tall (the Eurasian Eagle Owl). As a result of their wide distribution, owls also occur in the folk-tales, myths and legends of many native peoples, and Morris explores all these, as well as the many examples of owls in art, film, literature and popular culture. A new title by an acclaimed author, and featuring many telling illustrations from nature and culture, Owl will appeal to the many devotees of this emblematic bird. Despite the fact that many have never seen or even heard an owl, he illustrates through this enticing read that the owl’s presence is still very real to us today.

Our frequent urban companion, cooing in the eaves of train stations or scavenging underfoot for breadcrumbs and discarded scraps, the pigeon has many detractors – and even some fans. Written out of love for and fascination with this humble yet important bird, Barbara Allen’s Pigeon explores its cultural significance, as well as comparing it to the dove. While the pigeon and the dove are essentially the same bird, from the family Columbidae, the dove is seen as a symbol of peace, love and goodwill, yet the pigeon is commonly perceived as a filthy, ill-mannered ‘rat with wings’.Readers will find here an enticing exploration of the historical and contemporary bonds between humans and these unique birds. For polluting statues and architecture, the pigeon has earned a bad reputation, but pigeons have also been sources of food, messengers and aids to scientists such as Charles Darwin. Pigeon describes the literary love for and celebration of pigeons and doves in the work of such writers and poets as Shakespeare, Dickens, Beatrix Potter, Proust and Elizabeth Barrett Browning, and shows how human exploitation of pigeons and their habitats has led to the extinction of several species, including the dodo and the passenger pigeon, and endangers many more.

A distinct symbol of the desert and the Middle East, the camel was once unkindly described as ‘half snake, half folding bedstead’. But in the eyes of many the camel is a creature of great beauty. This is most evident in the Arab world, where the camel has played a central role in the historical development of Arabic society. Beauty pageants are still held for camels in some Arabic countries, and an elaborate vocabulary and extensive literature have been devoted to them. In Camel, Robert Irwin explores why the camel has fascinated so many cultures, including those in places where camels are not indigenous. He traces the history of the camel from its origins millions of years ago to the present day, discussing such matters of contemporary concern as the plight of camel herders in the Sudan’s war-torn Darfur region, the alarming increase in the population of feral camels in Australia, and the endangered status of the wild Bactrian in Mongolia and China. Throughout history, the camel has been appreciated worldwide for its practicality, resilience and legendary abilities of survival. It has been featured in the works of Leonardo da Vinci, Poussin, Tiepolo, Flaubert, Kipling and Rose Macaulay, among others. From East to West, Irwin’s Camel is the first survey of its kind to examine the animal’s role in society and history throughout the world. Not just for camel aficionados, this highly illustrated book is sure to entertain and inform anyone interested in this fascinating and exotic animal.

Leaping effortlessly from the bright stream into the human mind, the trout captivates like no other fish. An ancient fascination than can be traced back to Stone Age cave dwellers, the trout surfaces in our diet, religion, folklore, history, science, literature and, of course, fishermen’s tales.So why does the trout beguile us so? Taking myriad forms, the fish has a vitality and physical beauty many find irresistible, and it also brings to mind pure waters and wild places. These are the undercurrents to James Owen’s biography of the trout, which also showcases the animal as sacred fish, table fish, farmed fish, a fish of scientific investigation, of colonial conquest and middle-class aspiration and as a symbol in Western countries of our conflicted relationship with nature.In telling its story the author follows the trout around the world; starting in Europe and North America, he then embarks for exotic new territories with a voyage that took the creature from England to Australia in the nineteenth century. Along the way, the author encounters a cast of characters as diverse as the trout itself, from obscure British saints and flyfishing nuns, to visionary inventors, jazz singers and counterculture novelists – all united by this magical animal. Trout will delight and surprise anglers who have ever cast a fly to it, or anyone who has ever stopped to look in the water from a bridge, hoping for a tantalizing glimpse of this very special fish.

Feared, reviled and revered, the wolf has always evoked powerful emotions in humans. It has been admired as a powerful hunter; feared for the threat it is imagined to pose to humans; reviled for its depredations on domestic livestock and revered as a potent symbol of the wild.Wolf explores the ways in which indigenous hunting societies respected the wolf as a fellow hunter and how, with the domestication of animals, the wolf became regarded as an enemy because of attacks on livestock. Such attacks led to the wolf’s reputation as a creature of evil in many human cultures. Alone or in packs, farmers hated wolves. In children’s and other popular literature, they became the intruder from the wild preying on the innocent. So powerful is the image of the wolf in the human imagination that it became the creature that evil humans can transform into – the dreaded werewolf.Garry Marvin shows how the ways in which wolves are imagined has had far-reaching implications for how actual wolves are treated. Fear of this enigmatic creature eventually led to an attempt to eradicate it as a species. However, with the development of scientific understanding of wolves and their place in ecological systems and the growth of popular environmentalism, the wolf has been re-thought and re-imagined. Still hated by some, the wolf now has new supporters who regard it as a charismatic creature of the newly valued wild and wilderness.The book investigates the latest scientific understanding of the wolf, as well as its place in literature, history and folklore, and synthesises a huge range of material to offer insights into our changing attitudes to wolves.

Known as much for their pink curly tails and pudgy snouts as their lowbrow choices of diet and habitat, pigs are prevalent in modern culture – from the Three Little Pigs to Miss Piggy to Babe.Humans and pigs have lived alongside each other since early pigs were domesticated 9,000 years ago, and we are facing a future in which pigs and humans will be even more closely intertwined as a result of biomedical breakthroughs and rising global pork consumption. In Pig, Brett Mizelle provides a richly illustrated and compelling look at the long, complicated relationship between humans and these highly intelligent, sociable animals, focusing on the contradictions between our idealized view of pigs and the truth of the ways in which pigs have been selectively bred to fulfil human desire for their meat and to make hundreds of consumer products. This book explores human kinship with pigs in the worlds of art, literature and entertainment, but also the history of the development of modern industrial pork production. Pig shows how humans have shaped the pig; and how the pig has shaped us in its turn.

Ants are legion: at present there are 11,006 species of ant known; they live everywhere in the world except the polar icecaps; and the combined weight of the ant population has been estimated to make up half the mass of all insects alive today. When we encounter them outdoors, ants fascinate us; discovered in our kitchen cupboards, they elicit horror and disgust. Charlotte Sleigh’s Ant elucidates the cultural reasons behind our varied reactions to these extraordinary insects, and considers the variety of responses that humans have expressed at different times and in different places to their intricate, miniature societies. Ants have figured as fantasy miniature armies, as models of good behaviour, as infiltrating communists and as creatures on the borderline between the realms of the organic and the machine: in 1977 British Telecom hired ant experts to help solve problems with their massive information network. This is the first book to examine ants in these and many other such guises, and in so doing opens up broader issues about the history of science and humans' relations with the natural world. It will be of interest to anyone who likes natural history or cultural studies, or who has ever rushed out and bought a can of Raid™.

Hyenas are almost universally regarded as vile, scheming creatures, skulking in the alleyways of the animal kingdom. Scorned as little more than scavenging carrion-eaters, vandals and thieves, they have long been associated with the malevolent and macabre. This book offers an alternative view of these mistreated and misunderstood animals and proves that the hyena is in fact complex, intelligent and highly sociable. Hyena takes us on a tour of the hyena throughout history, detailing the magic, myth and ritual associated with this remarkable animal. Although shrouded in taboo, the hyena has been the source of and inspiration for talismanic objects since the ancient Greek and Roman civilizations. Many cultures use parts of the hyena – from its excrement and blood to its genitalia and hair – to make charms and totems that variously avert evil, promise virility and promote fertility. This book also considers portrayals of hyenas in modern popular culture, including The Lion King and The Life of Pi, in which they are often stereotyped as villains, cowardly henchmen or clowns, and their more impressive qualities ignored. Rightly returning hyenas to their proper place in the animal pantheon, this richly illustrated book will be enjoyed by any animal lover with an interest in the unusual and offbeat.

From Pegasus to Black Beauty, horses have held a unique place in human society and imagination. Elaine Walker tackles the long and multifaceted history of a creature valued for both beauty and usefulness.Spanning the world from the wild steppes of Mongolia to the American plains, Horse chronicles the rich and complex natural history of the animal, from wild feral horses to the domesticated species that once played a central role in daily life as a means of transportation, an instrument of war, and a source of labour. Elaine Walker charts how the long-standing connection between people and horses is reflected in cultures around the world and the implications for both human and animal of such close interaction. She also traces the centrality of the horse in art, entertainment and literature, from the rich global traditions of horse-racing and equestrianism to literary classics such as Follyfoot. Ultimately, Walker contends, the continuing role of the horse in the modern world reveals telling changes in human society.

Dogs are perhaps our most popular pets, and certainly one of the best-loved of all animals. They are not only humanity’s best friend, they are also its oldest: burial sites dating back 12,000 years indicate that dogs moved alongside prehistoric peoples before, during and after both species settled the world. The story of the canine has been fundamentally entwined with that of humanity since the earliest times, and this ancient and fascinating story is told in Susan McHugh’s Dog.This book unravels the debate about whether dogs are descended from wolves, and moves on to deal with canines in mythology, religion and health, dog cults in ancient and medieval civilizations as disparate as Alaska, Greece, Peru and Persia, and traces correspondences between the histories of dogs in the Far East, Europe, Africa and the Americas. Dog also examines the relatively recent phenomenon of dog breeding and the invention of species, as well as the canine’s role in science fact and fiction; from Laika, the first astronaut, and Pavlov’s famous conditioned dogs, through to science fiction novels and cult films such as A Boy and his Dog.Susan McHugh shows how dogs today contribute to human lives in a huge number of ways, not only as pets and guide dogs but also as sources of food in Asia, entertainment workers, and scientific and religious objects. Dog reveals how we have shaped these animals over the millennia, and in turn, how dogs have shaped us.

Everything about a giraffe – its extraordinary long neck, distinctive camouflage, graceful movement and friendly nature – is instantly recognizable. Consequently the giraffe has fascinated man throughout its history, with its quiet and lofty stance representing in the human psyche virtue, peace and harmony. But while giraffe once roamed the Great Plains of Africa in huge herds, their numbers have greatly diminished and they are now entirely dependent on humanity for their survival.In Giraffe, Edgar Williams explores not only the unique biology of the tallest animals on earth but also their impact on human history – including in ancient Egypt, where giraffes were kept as exotic pets; the Middle Ages, when giraffes were considered mythical beasts as improbable and mysterious as the dragon; and the Victorian era, in which giraffe hunting was considered an exhilarating sport.The first book to provide a comprehensive, twenty-first-century view of the giraffe in art, literature, film and popular culture, Giraffe also explores in depth the animal’s natural history and the debates surrounding its evolution. This engaging book will appeal to anyone who admires this elegant creature.

The squat, noisy duck occupies a prominent role in the human cultural imagination, as evidenced by everything from the rubber duck of childhood baths to the flying ducks on living room walls. With Duck, Victoria de Rijke explores the universality of this quacking bird through the course of human culture and history.From the Eider duck to the Brazilian teal to the familiar mallard, duck species are richly diverse, and de Rijke offers a comprehensive overview of their evolutionary history. She explores the numerous roles that the duck plays in literature, art, and religion – including the Hebrew belief that ducks represent immortality, and the Finnish myth that the universe was hatched from a duck’s egg. This book also highlights the significant role humour has always played in human imaginings of duck life, such as the Topographia Hibernia, a twelfth-century tome contending that ducks originated as growths on tree trunks washed up on a beach. But we also learn about the bird’s role in everyday life as well, from food dishes to jokes to beloved animated characters such as Daffy Duck and Donald Duck. Duck is an entertaining account of a bird whose distinctive silhouette is known the world over.

Aristotle characterized the elephant as 'the beast which passeth all others in wit and mind', and the animal has long figured in cultural artefacts, even on continents it has never inhabited. The elephant’s countless manifestations in human history have made it one of the most charismatic animals, and Elephant provides a richly illustrated, engaging look at that legacy.The image of the elephant can be found throughout world religions and cultures as a symbol of intelligence, strength and loyalty. Wylie draws on a rich array of cultural examples to document that symbolic power, ranging from religious iconography for the Hindu god of wisdom, Ganesh, to beloved children’s works such as Dumbo, Babar the Elephant and Horton Hears a Who!. Elephant also considers the recurrent role of the animal in myths, paintings and sculptures.Turning to the elephant's biological history, Wylie describes the three remaining species – the African Bush elephant, the African Forest elephant and the Asian elephant – and the controversial international efforts for elephant conservation. With ivory poaching and human encroachment into the animal’s natural habitats, Wylie argues that we face a uniquely poignant conservation crisis in which elephants and humans both consume limited natural resources unsustainably.A compelling new entry in the Animal series, Elephant will be a necessary addition to every animal lover's bookshelf.

Majestic, noble, brave – lions, with their tawny coats and luminous eyes, have inspired countless stories, traditions and beliefs. Whether we are seduced by their beauty or drawn to danger, we want to be near them. No other animal has had such an enduring symbolic resonance; lions have been painted on wood and canvas, chiselled in stone, cast in metal and featured on the pages of medieval manuscripts. In this lavishly illustrated book, Deirdre Jackson draws on the latest scientific research, folklore, travel literature, lion tamers' memoirs and little-known sources to guide readers on a memorable cultural safari.Roaring lions sound invincible, but like other large, wide-ranging predators they are in danger of disappearing. Poised at the top of the ecological pyramid, these adaptable and gregarious animals have always been far less plentiful than those on which they prey. The vulnerable African lion is now confined to the sub-Sahara, and its Asian cousin is critically endangered. Lion, one of the few books to consider both, traces our relationship with the animals through the centuries and paints a fresh picture of these charismatic creatures.

Foxes live throughout the world in widely different habitats from forest to desert to the Arctic. What is surprising, though, is that scientists admit that very little is actually known about the lives and habits of foxes. The reason, which this book explores in depth, is that foxes are almost universally despised as being wicked. From the time of Aristotle, naturalists have succumbed to the general bias against foxes, either openly asserting that foxes are barely worthy of consideration or worrying about the health threat they pose. While this low regard is understandable, since foxes steal chickens and have a strong odour, they are strikingly beautiful animals possessed of a startling intelligence.Throughout Europe and Asia, folk tales and myths have built up around the fox, depicting it variously as unrepentant thief and seducer, shapeshifter and deceiver, as an outlaw whose primary purpose is to disrupt human social order. The fear and loathing people feel (paradoxically mixed with fascination) toward foxes are reflected in the many fox-terms that have entered different languages. In Japan, for example, various plants are identified with fox-names to indicate how they are supposedly used by foxes in an alternate universe. The contradictory attitudes toward foxes are exemplified in America and Europe by their classification as vermin at the same time as they are preserved and propagated by foxhunters and fur trappers, and depicted as loveable furry creatures in the movies.

What do you know about the knobbly armoured, scarlet creature staring back at you from your fancy dinner plate? Since there are species of lobsters without claws, then what exactly is a lobster? To answer these questions Richard J. King, a former fishmonger and commercial lobsterman, has chronicled the creature's long and complex history.Lobster takes us on a journey through the history, biology, cuisine and culture of lobsters, and their economic and environmental status worldwide. King describes how the lobster is an international commodity, and how the American lobster fishery is arguably one of the last healthy wild fisheries left on Earth. The author describes the evolution of technologies to capture these creatures, and addresses the ethics of boiling them alive. He also explores the salacious lobster palaces of the 1920s, as well as the animal's thousand-year status as an aphrodisiac, and how it has inspired numerous artists, writers and thinkers including Aristotle, Dickens, Thoreau, Dalí and Woody Allen.Lobster is an essential read for anyone with an appetite for the world's best-known and most delicious crustacean. In this carefully researched and highly readable account for both the scholar and the more casual reader, King travels from Hawaii to Maine, and from Scotland to Western Australia, to describe the human connection with the lobster, from ocean bottom to buttery plate.

No creature has been subject to such extremes of reverence and exploitation as the chicken. Hens have been venerated as cosmic creators and roosters as solar divinities. Many cultures have found the mysteries of birth, healing, death and resurrection encapsulated in the hen's egg. Yet today, most of us have nothing to do with chickens as living beings, although billions are consumed around the world every year.In Chicken Annie Potts introduces us to the vivid and astonishing world of Gallus gallus. The book traces the evolution of jungle fowl and the domestication of chickens by humans. It describes the ways in which chickens experience the world, form families and friendships, communicate with each other, play, bond and grieve. Chicken explores cultural practices like egg-rolling, the cockfight, alectromancy, wishbone-pulling and the chicken-swinging ritual of Kapparot; discovers depictions of chickenhood in ancient and modern art, literature and film; and also showcases bizarre supernatural chickens from around the world including the Basilisk, Kikimora and Pollio Maligno. Chicken concludes with a detailed analysis of the place of chickens in the world today, and a tribute to those who educate and advocate on behalf of these birds.Numerous beautiful illustrations show the many faces (and feathers and combs and tails) of Gallus, from wild roosters in the jungles of Southeast Asia to quirky Naked-Necks and majestic Malays. There are chickens painted by Chagall and Magritte, chickens made of hair-rollers, and chickens shaped like mountains. The reader of Chicken will encounter a multitude of intriguing facts and ideas, including why the largest predator ever to walk the earth is considered the ancestor of the modern chicken, how mother hens communicate with their chicks while they're still in the egg, why Charlie Chaplin's masterpiece required him to play a chicken, whether it's safe to take eggs on a sea-voyage, and how 'chicken therapy' can rejuvenate us all.This book will fascinate those already familiar with and devoted to the Gallus species, and it will open up a whole new gallinaceous world for admirers of the intelligent and passionate chicken.

From the tip of a crow's beak to the end of its tail is a single curve, which changes rhythmically as the crow turns its head or bends toward the ground. Foraging on their long, powerful legs, crows appear to glide over the earth; they take flight almost without effort, flapping their wings easily, ascending into the air like spirits.Nevertheless, the whiskers around their beaks and an apparent smile make crows, in a scruffy sort of way, endearingly 'human'. In a vast range of cultures from the Chinese to the Hopi Indians, crows are bearers of prophecy. Because of their courtship dances and monogamous unions, the Greeks invoked crows at weddings as symbols of conjugal love. Crows are among the most ubiquitous of birds, yet, without being in the least exotic, they remain mysterious.This book is a survey of crows, ravens, magpies and their relatives in myth, literature and life. It ranges from the raven sent out by Noah to the corvid deities of the Eskimo, to Taoist legends, Victorian novels and contemporary films. It will be of interest to all people who have ever been intrigued, puzzled, annoyed or charmed by these wonderfully intelligent birds.

On Disneyland's 'Jungle Cruise', three men are forever chased up a palm tree by a rhinoceros whose sharp horn moves endlessly just out of reach of the lowest man's bottom. Having lived with the memory of this ride since childhood, the author was struck when she came across a reference to this 'natives up a tree' scene in an 1838 natural history description. Such images have demonized rhinos for generations; this book examines how such a solitary animal came to earn such a bad reputation.Rhinoceros' wildness has roots in the ancient, prehistoric and mythic. Many sightings of the rhinoceros were thought to prove the existence of the mythical unicorn, which was said to be impossible to capture alive. Later the rhino was captured, and a few were brought to Europe throughout the Renaissance to the 18th century to be displayed as wonders of nature. In America the first rhinoceros arrived in 1830 and was hailed as the most savage of animals, and thereafter it became the most desired hunting trophy. No wonder that these animals are now an endangered species when we also consider that rhino horn is much sought after as an ingredient in Asian medicine.Rhinoceros explores sources ranging from film and literature, to natural history description and exhibition, and asks whether the savagery of the rhino is a reality or a legacy of its mythic past. Well illustrated and persuasively argued, Rhinoceros will appeal to all enthusiasts eager to learn about the culture, history and nature of this animal, as well as specialists, from art historians to conservation biologists.

Every year, wild salmon travel hundreds of miles upstream. They fight fierce river currents, leap over rocks and small waterfalls, and die by the thousands of starvation, disease and exposure to cold. Even if they surmount these obstacles the fish risk becoming dinner for hungry predators like bears, birds and humans. Guided by a keen sense of smell, the survivors travel to their original hatching grounds, where they breed, spawn and die in a short space of time.Inspired by the remarkable homing instinct of one of the natural world’s greatest wonders, we have selected the salmon as a symbol of fortitude, fecundity, self-sacrifice, loyalty to place and unwavering pursuit of destiny. Yet the salmon has become a deeply paradoxical and controversial creature. Celebrated for centuries as the noblest of fish, it is now just as likely to be deplored as the ignoble product of the aquatic equivalent of battery farming.Salmon examines the natural history of the fish and looks at it from the perspectives of those who have studied it, eaten it, pursued it, fought over it, pondered its meaning and absorbed it into culture and art. This innovative biography of a species encompasses the salmon’s evolutionary, ecological and human stories, ranging from Nova Scotia to Norway and from Korea to California, and stretching from prehistory to the future. Anyone who has ever eaten or tried to catch one will want to read the book that is the first to serve up the ‘compleat’ salmon.

As everybody knows, oysters are the ultimate aphrodisiac. Casanova is said to have eaten 50 raw oysters every morning with his mistress of the moment, in a bathtub designed for two. Whether oysters truly have exciting properties is open to debate, but like all seafoods, they contain high amounts of phosphorus and iodine, which are believed to be conducive to stamina. Author and food expert M.F.K. Fisher wrote: ‘There are many reasons why an oyster is supposed to have this desirable quality . . . Most of them are physiological, and have to do with an oyster’s odour, its consistency, and probably its strangeness.’As well as an aphrodisiac, the oyster has since the earliest times been an inspiration to philosophers, artists, poets, chefs, gourmets, epicures and jewellers. It has been pursued by poachers and thieves, and defended by oyster-police and parliaments.In Oyster, literary historian and radio broadcaster Rebecca Stott tells the extraordinary story of the oyster and its pearl, revealing how this curious creature has been used and depicted in human culture and what it has variously meant to those who have either loved or loathed it: the Romans carried much-sought-after British oysters across the Alps on the backs of donkeys to be eaten as delicacies at banquets in Rome, whilst by contrast Woody Allen once famously said ‘I will not eat oysters. I want my food dead – not sick, not wounded – dead’.Using many unusual images and anecdotes, Oyster will appeal to oyster lovers and haters everywhere, and for those too who have an interest in the way animals such as the oyster have woven themselves into the fabric of our culture.

The rat has been described as the shadow of the human. From ancient times it spread via the routes of commerce and conquest to eventually inhabit almost every part of the world. Its impact on history has been enormous in terms of the damage done through plague and disease, the destruction of agricultural produce, and the infestations of cities. At the same time the rat has provided science with a huge resource for experimentation. This highly adaptable, fertile and intelligent creature is almost universally loathed, but there are cultures in which it is revered, even deified.This book traces the history of the human relationship with rats from the first archaeological finds to the genetically engineered rats of the present day, describing its role in the arts and sciences, religion and myth, psychoanalysis and medicine. The author includes wide-ranging examples of the rat’s appearance: in literature – The Pied Piper; Beatrix Potter stories, The Wind in the Willows; in culture – Victorian rat-and-dog baiting pits, its popularity as a pet, even the subject of a ’70s pop song; folklore – it was a good luck symbol in ancient Rome, symbol of cunning in Chinese mythology; and psychoanalysis – Freud’s Rat Man, for example.The book also seeks to answer two problems raised by the complexity of human attitudes to the rat. The first concerns how it was that the rat came to be seen not just as verminous, but also as being particularly despised for being so – more so, in fact, than other parasitic animals. The second concerns the manner in which human attitudes to the rat can be so contradictory, when admiration for its abilities are set against this idea of hatred. The rat can be found at the heart of human preoccupations with hygiene, sexuality and appetite, and exists as a perverse totem for the worst excesses of human behaviour. In Rat, Jonathan Burt provides a fascinating account of this animal in history, myth and culture.

From the metamorphosing fairytale Frog Prince and The Tale of Jeremy Fisher, to dissections in science class, to television’s Kermit, frogs are ever-present in our childhoods. Just what is it about this slimy creature that captures our imagination? While much attention has been paid to the scientific qualities of the frog, little has been said about the large role played by this slippery amphibian in art, literature and popular culture. Charlotte Sleigh’s witty, readable Frog provides an entertaining and sometimes shocking account of this much-loved, and much-misunderstood animal. Sleigh provides answers to many questions, including why frogs have been so prominent in fairy tales, and also scientific experiments throughout the years, and just what place the frog holds in religion. The many faces of the frog are also explored, such as the devilish and comic; the sophisticated and chauvinist; the revolting and delicious. The author weaves the natural history of the frog together with their mythology in a way that has not been done before. Featuring many fine images of frogs from nature and culture, Frog will appeal to a wide audience – from those who keep these remarkable amphibians in their homes, to those who recall stories from their childhood with affection, to those who regard them as a tasty dinner.

Innocent. Invader. Lover. Thief. Sparrows are everywhere, in many guises. They are cherished pets, subject of elegies by Catullus and John Skelton, listed as ‘pretty things’ in Sei Shonagon’s Pillow Book. They’re grimy, urban vermin with shocking manners, so reviled that during the 1950s Mao placed them on the list of ‘Four Pests’ and ordered the Chinese people to kill them all. In many countries they are appallingly successful non-natives, attacking indigenous birds and ravaging ecosystems. Able to live in the Arctic and the desert, from Beijing to San Francisco, the house sparrow is the most widespread wild bird in the world. In Sparrow, award-winning science and natural history writer Kim Todd explores the complex history, biology and literary tradition of this bird that embodies the word ‘common’. In literature, the New Testament claimed that not a sparrow falls without God noting it; the idea of the precious sparrow developed from Hamlet to twentieth-century gospel hymns; the bold, defiant sparrow appears in many folk and fairy tales. The author explores Old World sparrows, like the house sparrow, which can nest in a garage or in an airport, and New World sparrows, which often stake their claim to remote islands or meadows in the high Sierra. Todd looks at the nineteenth-century ‘Sparrow War’ in the USA – a battle over the sparrow’s introduction – which set the stage for decades of discussions of invasive species. She examines the ways in which sparrows have taught us about evolution, and the recent decline of house sparrows in cities globally. This disappearance of a bird that seemed hardwired for success remains an ornithological mystery. With lush illustrations, ranging from early woodcuts and illustrated manuscripts to contemporary wildlife photography, this is the first book-length exploration of the natural and cultural history of this cheeky and ubiquitous bird.

Few creatures live in such close and intimate contact with human beings as flies. As ‘the constant, immemorial witnesses to the human comedy’, flies accompany human beings wherever they go, even beyond (or at least into) the grave. Almost one tenth of all the species known to science are flies.For centuries, flies have been seen as mankind’s enemy, blamed for plagues, subject to public excommunication in the Middle Ages and campaigns of extermination during the early years of the twentieth century. As ‘Lord of the Flies’, Beelzebub is the embodiment of evil. For many centuries, flies were thought to be produced by spontaneous generation, and thus not to be legitimate parts of God’s creation. From St John Chrysostomos through to David Cronenberg, flies – and, more especially, their maggots – have represented the horror of the formless. And yet human beings have also found it easy to identify with the weakness and vulnerability of their intimate enemies – and even occasionally to admire their pursuit of pleasure.Fly explores the slow redemption of the fly, as the intricate miracle of its design and function gradually became appreciated. The secrets of the fly’s uniquely versatile powers of flight are only just beginning to be understood and harnessed. The twentieth century that began with worldwide campaigns for the extermination of the fly ended with the humble fruit fly at the centre of the revolution brought about by genetics.Connor delights in tracking his lowly subject through myth, literature, poetry, painting, film, and biology. Humans live in close and intimate quarters with flies, but Fly is the first book to give these common creatures their due.

Tortoise is the first cultural history of these long-lived and intriguing creatures, which have existed for more than 200 million years. The book covers tortoises worldwide, in evolution, myth and reality, ranging across palaeontology, natural history, myth, folklore, art forms, literature, veterinary medicine and trade regulations.The tortoise has been seen as an Atlas-like creature supporting the world, as the origin of music and as a philosophical paradox. Peter Young examines the tortoise in all these guises, as well as a military tactical formation, its exploitation by mariners and others for food, as ornament (in tortoiseshell), as a motif in art, and in space research. He looks at the movement away from exploitation to conservation and even the uses of the tortoise in advertising. As well as examples of species, illustrations from around the world include monuments, sculptures, coins, stamps, objets d’art, drawings, cartoons, advertisements and X-rays.The book will appeal not only to tortoise lovers but also to readers of cultural histories around the world.

Whales are the largest animals ever to have lived on the earth: the longest recorded was over 33 metres long, the heaviest more than 171,000 kgs; a large Blue Whale’s tongue alone can weigh more than an elephant. Whales can stay underwater for more than an hour, some speculate that they can live for up to 200 years, and they are among the most intelligent animals known to humanity.Whale recounts the evolutionary and ecological background, as well as the cultural history, of these extraordinary mammals, long persecuted and now celebrated throughout the world. From the tales of Jonah and Brendan the Navigator to Moby Dick and recent discoveries of cetacean songs and culture, Joe Roman looks at the role of the whale in human history, mythology, art, literature, commerce and science. Illustrated with Stone Age carvings, medieval broadsheets and colour underwater photographs, Whale shows how our perception of these animals has changed over the centuries: a hundred years ago, a stranded whale was usually greeted with flensing knives; now people bring boats and harnesses to return a wayward creature to the sea.Written by an author with vast experience of the subject, Whale will appeal to all those interested in whales and the conservation of the oceans, as well as anyone studying cultural history and the natural sciences.

For most of us, snails do not elicit feelings of warmth or affection. Apart from our repugnance at its appearance, our relationship with the snail has been influenced by the harm it has inflicted over the years on our garden seedlings. With Snail, Peter Williams wishes to change our perspectives on this little but much maligned creature.Beginning with an overview of our relationship with snails, slugs and sea-snails, Williams goes on to examine snail evolution; snail behaviour and habitat; snails as food, medicine and the source of useful chemicals and dyes; snail shells as collectible objects; and snails in literature, art and popular culture. The book concludes with a plea for a reconsideration of the snail as a dignified, ancient creature that deserves our respect, rather than one to be thoughtlessly squashed underfoot after a shower of rain.Containing many surprising and beautiful illustrations, and a collection of recipes for those brave enough to try them, Snail will help readers get beyond the shell and slime to discover the fascinating creature inside.

Of more than 8,000 bird species, the swan is surely one of the most easily recognised. Airborne, the swan is a majestic sight: with its long, slender neck outstretched, it glides gracefully with slow, strong wing-beats. Its large webbed feet and short legs, which make it awkward on land, propel it serenely and effortlessly through water. Swan is a comprehensive natural and cultural history of this most dignified of birds.Peter Young relates the natural history of the swan: its elegant exterior concealing a lightweight frame; details of extinct species and the differences between the 8 surviving species; its power and endurance; its formation flying, which conserves energy and allows long-haul flights to be made at speed; its habitat and feeding habits. He also explores the extensive cultural history of the swan, from its frequent portrayal in painting, sculpture, porcelain and furniture; to its use in heraldry; the Greek myth of Leda and the Swan; Hans Christian Andersen’s The Ugly Duckling; and Swan Lake. The book goes on to examine the uses and abuses of swans; questions of conservation; of the swan as food; and its widespread use in logos and brand-names.Informed yet accessible, wide-ranging yet detailed, Swan will appeal to the wide audience interested in this graceful and beautiful bird.

The snake’s primordial system, functioning for well over one hundred million years, is a marvel of genetic engineering. The snake smells with its tongue, hears with its flesh,and propels itself by a locomotion of rippling muscles. It sheds its skin, has a detachable tail, and mimics death if afraid. It copulates for days with one snake or fifty at once, and can even clone itself.With all these qualities it is easy to see why no other creature has inspired such contradictory emotions or diverse symbolism. Snakes are celebrated in names, tattoos, emblems, tales, mementos, and for their medical benefits in cultures throughout the world. Yet at the same time they are so universally feared that they endure intense persecution and, unlike other hunted animals, rarely enjoy protected rights. Virtually as long as humans have walked the earth, snakes have been worshipped, reviled, prized, totemized, tortured and collected, and invested with meanings ranging from resurrection, wisdom and divine female omniscience to world destruction, duplicity and male castration.Snake explores the animal’s natural history, and the widespread snake symbolism, from Eve’s serpent in the Bible, to Kaa in The Jungle Book; from the Chinese zodiac to Indian snake charmers and the Hollywood film Anaconda. Including many illustrations and a wide range of material, from snake cooking and the use of venom in medicine, to the history of snake symbolism in art, architecture and clothing, this book will interest snake enthusiasts and specialists, as well as all those who love, admire or fear this remarkable and durable animal.

Vultures circling in the sky above, or simply sitting and watching, are almost universally associated with death. But, while it is undoubtedly true that vultures have taken to a life of scavenging with particular enthusiasm, there is far more to this diverse and fascinating family of birds than a simple association with putrefaction and the macabre.Vulture offers an enlightening new natural and cultural history of this much-misunderstood bird. There are big vultures and little vultures; vultures that are despised and others that are deeply loved; and there are vultures that eat predominantly bone, and others that have gone (mostly) vegetarian. In human communities vultures have occupied predictable roles like disposing of the dead and officiating over human sacrifices, but they have just as often been viewed as courageous and noble creatures, as indispensible in the containment of waste and disease, as world creators and divine mothers.Thom van Dooren explores these many histories, from some of the earliest-known Neolithic sites in which vultures are thought to have consumed the dead to the renaming of the California Condor and contemporary efforts to reintroduce the bearded vulture into the Alps.Highlighting the rich diversity of vultures and the many ways in which people have understood and lived with them, Vulture invites a new appreciation and wonder for these incredible birds.

The cockroach could not have scuttled along, almost unchanged, for two hundred and fifty million years – some two hundred and forty-nine before man evolved – unless it was doing something right. It would be fascinating as well as instructive to have access to the cockroach's own record of its life on earth, to know its point of view on evolution and species domination over the millennia. Such chronicles would perhaps radically alter our perceptions of the dinosaur's span and importance – and that of our own development and significance. We might learn that throughout all these aeons, the dominant life form has been, if not the cockroach itself, then certainly the insect. Attempts to chronicle the cockroach's intellectual and emotional life have been made only within the last century when a scientist titled his essay on the cockroach 'The Intellectual and Emotional World of the Cockroach', and artists as radically different as Franz Kafka and Don Marquis created equally memorable cockroach protagonists. At least since Classical Greece, authors have brought cockroach characters into the foreground to speak for the weak and downtrodden, the outsiders, those forced to survive on the underside of dominant human cultures. Cockroaches have become the subjects of songs (La Cucaracha), have competed in 'roachraces' and have even ended up in recipes. In this accessible, sympathetic and often humorous book, Marion Copeland examines the natural history, symbolism and cultural significance of this poorly understood and much-maligned insect.

People in most countries are familiar with the blue peacock. It is one of the very few bird species that will tolerate a person standing within a few feet of it, and appears to appreciate an audience when it unfurls its magnificent train into a 6–7-foot arc of glittering iridescent feathers. The train feathers with their eye-spots have been prized possessions for centuries. The first record of a peacock in the Middle East, taken there from its homeland in the Indus Valley, was when King Solomon imported them c. 950 BC. The story of the peacock spread westwards and its impact on different countries is both surprising and fascinating. Peacocks became the subject of fairy stories, legends, fables, myths and superstitions. Images of peacocks have appeared in mosaics, frescoes, paintings from illuminated manuscripts through to modern graphics, and in the nineteenth century they represented opulence, luxury and vibrant beauty in the artefacts created by the Arts and Crafts, the Aesthetic and the Art Nouveau movements’ craftsmen in glass, ceramics, metalwork, jewellery and other materials. The feathers of peacocks have been used in head-dresses, hats and helmets, to fletch arrows and to tie artificial flies for fishermen. This is the first book to bring together all the facets of the peacock including natural and social history, its role in religions and mythology in the East and West, and its place in the history of art and artefacts.

The spider has a rich symbolic presence in the human imagination. Seen as representing death, due to its poisoned fangs and pitiless, predatory nature, the spider can also represent both creativity and creation: it weaves an intricate web and females carry a sac containing thousands of eggs. Spiders of course are also feared and reviled because of their appearance and skittery, spasmodic movements. In this comprehensive study, Katarzyna and Sergiusz Michalski investigate the cultural significance of the spider, as well as presenting the natural history of this fascinating, ancient creature. Spider analyses the arachnid’s appearance in the literature of Dostoyevsky and Hugo, and the many depictions of the spider in art, paying particular attention to the sculptures of Louise Bourgeois. Horror stories, science fiction, folklore and children’s tales are reviewed, as well as the affliction of arachnophobia, and the procedures used in curing the condition. The psychological association of the spider with dominant women or mothers is explored, as is the role of the spider metaphor in Freudian and Jungian psychoanalysis. This in-depth account closes with an analysis of the way in which the sinister nature of the spider lends itself to unfavourable portrayal in film. A thorough, wide-ranging account of the natural and cultural history of the spider, this book will appeal to anybody who admires, or fears, this complex, delicate yet powerful creature.

It is difficult to think of any animal more closely associated with a particular nation than the kangaroo; this book places this strange yet beloved creature in the context of Australian and global history, revealing that the relationship between mankind and macropod is darker and more complex than it might seem, and fraught with contradictions. In Kangaroo, John Simons examines the use and abuse of this animal, a favourite at zoos across the world, and its place in culture. From indigenous Australian societies to the first contacts with Europeans, and from their export for exhibition in the Western world to its adoption as Australia’s ‘national’ animal: the kangaroo evolved at the intersection of very different cultures. And while it has come to represent Australia like no other animal, the kangaroo is still greatly misunderstood there and is at the centre of controversies regarding the eating of its meat and the culling of its populations. The creature’s true diversity has frequently been reduced to a handful of stereotypes – misrepresentations that now threaten the future of the species. Written in a lively and approachable style, this fascinating pouch-sized look at these engaging creatures will appeal to all kangaroo lovers as well as those concerned with Australian animal welfare and conservation.

Monkey explores our relationship throughout history with this most playful and familiar of creatures. As humans, we tend to see monkeys as trivial or comic creatures; indeed our dictionaries define ‘monkeying’ as tampering, interfering and playing mischievous, foolish tricks. Yet it is the very playfulness inherent in our ancient monkey ancestors that underlies our success as a species. Over millions of years, we evolved from those scampering, chattering, intelligent, treetop-living creatures. Their inborn urge to explore became the bedrock of our sophisticated innovations; their love of activity became our industrious pursuit of knowledge. We owe a great debt to our monkey ancestors. Baboons were revered in the Egypt of the Pharaohs; monkey deities feature prominently in the ancient religions of China and Japan; and in India some still afford sacred status to the langur monkey. Since Darwin our relationship with the monkey has changed, and in some sense become uneasier; our identification with their ‘primitive’ and sometimes destructive behaviours amplified by our knowledge of our own origins. In Monkey Desmond Morris unpicks human attitudes to our mischievous cousins, and sets out to draw a true picture of these fascinating creatures and their continuing popularity in culture.

Cat traces the relationship between humans and the cat from its original domestication in ancient Egypt c. 2000 BC, where it enjoyed high status, through its centuries as a mere utilitarian rodent catcher, its gradual acceptance as a charming and amiable pet, and its present status as a companion on a par with the dog. Cats spread from Egypt, reaching Britain by the fourth century BC and Japan by about the seventh. They were immediately appreciated in Japan, but in the West they were regarded as harmless and necessary at best, and, at worst, as convenient targets for abuse. Finally, in late-seventeenth-century France, an aristocratic coterie began to make much of their pet cats. In the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, people of all classes came to appreciate cats as companions, and now there are more pet cats than pet dogs in both the UK and the USA. Long before people valued cats as companions, however, they recognized something special about them. Cats' ease of negotiation in the dark, their silent movements, their self-detachment even as they live in our homes, their refusal to defer to humans, seem to indicate strange, even supernatural powers. At first these attributes seemed sinister, but for later cat lovers they add to the animals' fascination. They have inspired writers from Poe to Lewis Carroll to imaginative creations. But cats can also be the embodiment of a happy home and good friends, whether they sustain a lonely old woman like Hall's Fräulein Schwartz or chat pleasantly with an old man in Murakami's Kafka on the Shore. The peculiar fascination of the cat, indeed, is the diversity of images it projects – sweet and ferocious, affectionate and independent, elegant and earthy, cosily domestic and eerie. This book will appeal to the enormous number of people who like and are interested in cats. Unlike many other cat books, it offers substantial and accurate information about the history of cats and their presentation in literature and art.

Apes – to look at them is to see ourselves in a mirror. Our close genetic relatives fascinate and unnerve us with their similar behaviour and social personalities. In Ape, John Sorenson delves into our contradictory relationship with the ape, which often reveals as much about us as humans as it does about the apes themselves. From bonobos and chimpanzees to gibbons, gorillas and orangutans, Ape examines the many ways these remarkable animals are often made to serve as models for humans. Anthropologists use their behaviour to help explain human nature; scientists use them as subjects of biomedical research; and behavioural researchers experiment with the ways apes emulate us. Sorenson explores the challenges to the division between apes and humans, describing ape language experiments and efforts to cross-foster apes by raising them as human children, as well as the ethical questions and challenges presented by animal experimentation and exploitation and by the Great Ape Project, which seeks to extend human rights to these animals. Ape also examines representations of apes in popular culture, discussing films, advertising and zoos, and considers how apes have been portrayed as caricatures of humans, demonic monsters and clowns. It also looks at the precarious future of apes, many of whom are on the brink of extinction, focusing on the bushmeat crisis in Africa, the loss of habitats and the illegal pet trade, and includes a discussion of the sanctuaries that may offer some hope for their survival. With many appealing illustrations, Ape is an enlightening read that will challenge our perceptions of both our closest animal relations and ourselves.

Lots of insects suck blood, but one species above all others has a reputation for this, out of all proportion to its size: the mosquito. Due to the diseases they carry and inject, mosquitoes are responsible for more human deaths than any other animal. The most deadly of these diseases is malaria, which although eradicated from much of the northern hemisphere, continues to pose a mortal threat in developing countries. Two billion people a year are exposed to malarial infection, of which over 350 million succumb and nearly 700,000 die, the majority in sub-Saharan Africa. In Mosquito, Richard Jones recounts the history of mosquitoes’ relationship with mankind, and their transformation from a trivial gnat into a serious disease-carrying menace. Drawing on scientific fact, historical evidence, and literary evocation, the book provides a colourful portrait of this tiny insect and the notorious diseases it carries. Mosquito offers a compelling warning against the contemporary complacency surrounding malaria and other diseases in western society, whilst also exploring the sinister reputation of the insect in general. Written in an accessible style for a broad readership, the title will appeal to all those with an interest in tropical medicine and disease, as well as anyone pestered in the night by the annoying, familiar whine of this diminutive air-borne adversary.

The bee is not a domestic animal, yet our relationship with this creature is one of the longest-standing between humanity and any other species. Since the earliest times the unique manufacturing and architectural abilities of the bee and its remarkable social organization have been regarded as miraculous. Because of this ancient relationship, bees always carry profound cultural meanings which can tell us much about who we are. Bees are also the subject of an enormous body of legend throughout the temperate world; no less extraordinary is the natural history of the bee, and the ways in which its biological and social organization have been adapted and encouraged by mankind in search of honey. Claire Preston’s Bee follows the natural and cultural history of our relationship with the bee and the development of these legends, from ancient political descriptions of the bee to Renaissance debates about monarchy, and the accompanying scientific discoveries about insects, to the modern conversion of the virtuous, civil bee into the dangerous swarm of the Hollywood horror flick, and finally to the melancholy recognition that the scientific study of bee behavior gives us a warning to beware our own awful technologies of destruction. Written in a lively, engaging style, and containing many fascinating bee facts, anecdotes, fables, and images, Bee is also a wide-ranging, highly-illustrated meditation on the natural and cultural history of this familiar and much-admired insect. It will appeal to a wide audience: those who work with bees and in honey production; those who appreciate this industrious creature and its intricate, miniature society; and those too who have an interest in the way animals such as the bee have woven themselves into the fabric of our culture.

A friend and a fiend, the leech is one of nature’s most tenacious yet mysterious animals. Armed with razor-sharp teeth and capable of drinking many times their own volume in blood, these formidable worms are an unlikely candidate to turn to as a cure for sickness. Yet that is the role leeches have played in both Western and Eastern medicine throughout history. Today they continue to be used in post-operative care, helping to heal the body after reconstructive surgery. Leech explores how these surprising animals have helped us to overcome illness, forecast the weather, and better understand how our brains and bodies work. However, for every leech that brings hope, there has been a sinister twin. From Bram Stoker’s Dracula, through twentieth-century film, to twenty-first-century video games, leeches have come to represent the worst in human nature. In Leech, Robert G. W. Kirk and Neil Pemberton reveal how these fascinating creatures have been one of humanity’s most enduring and peculiar companions.

Few animals are as closely associated with humans as bears. From the Greek legend of Callisto to Winnie-the-Pooh, bears have throughout history been a rich source of imagery, myth, story and legend. Bear begins 25 million years ago with 'dawn bear', the small dog-sized ancestor of all bears. Tracing the evolution of the bear family, the author discusses extinct types, such as the cave bear and the giant short-faced bear, as well as describing in detail the eight species that exist today. Several of these species are now facing extinction, and the book considers the impact of current human behaviour on bears and their environments. Bear explores the bear–human relationship and how human perceptions of bears have changed over time. Drawing from cultures around the world, it discusses the various legends and myths, including the ceremonies and taboos that surround hunting, killing and eating bears. It also looks at representations of bears in contemporary culture: as the subjects of stories, songs, cartoons and films; as exhibits in pits, circuses and zoos; and also as toys. The book concludes by considering the precarious future of the bear, threatened as it is by loss of habitats, disease, pollution, global warming and poaching for the medicinal trade. Bear will appeal to all those interested in the past, present and future of these extraordinary creatures.

Although it might seem the most mundane of fish when pulled from the mud of creeks, ponds, rivers or the sea, the eel’s life cycle is one of the most remarkable on the planet. Freshwater eels are born, according to current scientific theory, in remote ocean depths, and journey thousands of miles to fresh water where they spend their lives, before returning to the ocean to mate and die. A favourite food for humans since antiquity, feeding London’s poor during the Middle Ages, and saving the Mayflower pilgrims from starvation on North America’s shore, these days the Japanese alone account for an eel consumption worth over a billion pounds a year. Richard Schweid chronicles these creatures in all their aspects: their natural history to their market value; their occurence in art and literature; and their present threatened status. The eel is considered by many to be currently on the road to extinction, and despite repeated attempts to farm them, and the expenditure of huge amounts of time and money, eels have steadfastly refused to reproduce successfully in captivity, apparently requiring the vastness of the open ocean to begin their long drift toward maturity. Containing many little-known facts about this rather surprising fish, this book will appeal to anyone who enjoys well-written natural history, or who wants to learn more about an animal that deserves much more attention than it has received to date.

From giving rides to children at the British seaside to pulling a plough in the poorest of countries, donkeys have served humans faithfully since the time of their domestication more than 10,000 years ago. Despite the critical role that they have played throughout human history, however, donkeys have often received little respect. Donkey follows the story of this incredibly hard-working animal. Jill Bough reveals the animal's historic significance in Ancient Egypt where they were once highly regarded and even worshipped. However, this elevated status did not endure in Ancient Greece and Rome, where donkeys were denigrated, ridiculed and abused. Since this time, donkeys have continued to be associated with the poorest and most marginalized in human societies. Throughout the world, donkeys have been used for innumerable tasks: the main ones being as pack animals during times of peace and war, and to breed mules. Even today, donkeys are considered to be one of the best draught animals in third world countries, where they continue to make a vital contribution. Jill Bough goes beyond the practical uses of the animal by exploring a variety of social, cultural and religious meanings that the donkey has embodied, especially its symbolic representations in Western literature and art. The story of the donkey makes an important addition to the complex and contradictory history of human and non-human animal relationships. With accounts that are both fascinating and touching, this book will be ideal for anyone with an admiration of the donkey or who is interested by animals in history.

From the milk we drink at breakfast to the leather shoes we wear, or the steaks or burgers we eat at dinner, our daily lives are bound up with the cow. This has been so for millennia, beginning with the domestication of the aurochs – wild cattle – around 6000 BC. In Cow Hannah Velten unravels the complex story of the cow, bull and ox, and the ever-changing social relationship between humans and cattle. Her engaging account ranges from the oxen-plowed fields of the ancient Near East to India’s temples, and from Spain’s bull-rings to America’s rodeos and cattle drives. Early civilizations regarded cattle as their chief wealth, for in addition to supplying brute strength for the plow, they provided meat, milk, cheese, butter, leather, horn and other valuable commodities. Cults and mythologies developed that deified cows and bulls in cultures as various as those of early Egypt, Greece and India. But today, while Hinduism continues to venerate the cow as one of the most sacred members of the animal kingdom, in the West, where beef is a prized diet staple, cattle are seen as little more than a commodity involving a production process. By exploring their purpose, meaning and fate in mythology, folklore, farming, bloodsports and art, Hannah Velten restores to these oft-overlooked creatures something of the respect they deserve.

Colourfully described by early natural historians as the ‘fastest, hairiest, most lascivious, and most melancholy’ of mammals, the hare is no less remarkable for its actual behaviour and capacities than for the intriguing ways in which it has been imagined and exploited throughout history. Hare examines how this animal has been described, symbolized and visually depicted, as well as utilized for its fur, flesh and exceptional speed. Tracking the hare from ancient Egypt, where a hieroglyph of the animal signified existence itself, to the serial hare works of artist Joseph Beuys, who once notoriously declared that ‘I am not a human being, I am a hare’, Hare finds its subject in many surprising places and forms: from Crucifixion scenes, Buddhist lore and Algonquin creation myths, to witch trials, treatises on logic, contempor­ary poetry and an art installation in a Dutch brothel. It is the principal subject of the first ever hunting treatise, ‘king of all venery’, for Renaissance theorists of the hunt; and it appears in the first known description of a still-life painting, in the first signed and dated picture of a single animal, and in early medicine, where it was credited with having the most curative properties of any ‘beaste’. The first monograph on the subject for 35 years, and richly illustrated, Hare combines the most recent natural history with an eclectic account of the animal’s symbolic values. Hare will be of interest to art historians and literary critics; to those for and opposed to hunting; and to both the general and the lagophile reader alike.

Never smile at a crocodile / No, you can’t get friendly with a crocodile / Don’t be taken in by his friendly grin / He’s imagining how well you’d fit beneath his skin Crocodiles have never been, and never will be, allies of human-kind. In innumerable songs, stories, legends and myths, the crocodile is a symbol of pitiless predation and insatiable appetite; the word most often used to describe crocodiles and their habitats is ‘infested’. In Crocodile, Dan Wylie tracks the 23 recognized crocodilian species across every continent bar Antarctica. He explores the crocodile in myths, artworks, and literatures around the world, from Egypt and India, through Africa and Australia, to the Mayans and the Malaysians. Wylie demonstrates that although crocodiles – more accurately, crocodilians, which include the alligators, caimans, and gharials – are most commonly associated with ferocity, repugnance, and deceit, they have surprisingly often been respected and revered in human history. All but wiped out in the middle of the twentieth century by hunters and skin-traders, crocodilians are now making something of a comeback, though some species still verge on extinction. As apex predators, they are today an increasingly important indicator of ecosystem health: Crocodile suggests that this magnificent animal is more than due for positive reassessment. Not only did crocodilians survive the extinction of the dinosaurs 65 million years ago – they may yet outlive humanity. This book is a tribute of respect for the ultimate survivor.