The interactions between apex predators and their prey are some of the most awesome and meaningful in nature – displays of strength, endurance, and a deep coevolutionary history. And there is perhaps no apex predator more impressive and important in...

The comparative physiology of seemingly disparate organisms often serves as a surprising pathway to biological enlightenment. How appropriate, then, that Robert Elsner sheds new light on the remarkable physiology of diving seals through comparison wi...

The second installment in a planned three-volume series, this book provides the first substantive review of South American rodents published in over fifty years. Increases in the reach of field research and the variety of field survey methods, the in...

There are more than 1,300 species of bats – or almost a quarter of the world's mammal species. But before you shrink in fear from these furry "creatures of the night" consider the bat's fundamental role in our ecosystem. A single brown bat can eat se...

From the ancient Egyptian cat goddess, Bastet, to the prophet Muhammad's favorite cat, Muezza, and our contemporary obsession with online cat videos, felines have long held a place of honor in their human counterparts' homes and cultures. But the dom...

From the moment when we first open our homes – and our hearts – to a new pet, we know that one day we will have to watch this beloved animal age and die. The pain of that eventual separation is the cruel corollary to the love we share with them, and...

From the time of our earliest childhood encounters with animals, we casually ascribe familiar emotions to them. But scientists have long cautioned against such anthropomorphizing, arguing that it limits our ability to truly comprehend the lives of ot...

One of the largest islands in the world, Madagascar is home to an astonishing array of endemic vertebrate biodiversity. While recent decades have seen numerous publications on the subject – ranging from technical papers to species descriptions and fi...

As species extinction, environmental protection, animal rights, and workplace safety issues come to the fore, zoos and aquariums need keepers who have the technical expertise and scientific knowledge to keep animals healthy, educate the public, and c...

How did rodent outbreaks in Germany help to end World War I? What caused the destructive outbreak of rodents in Oregon and California in the late 1950s, the large population outbreak of lemmings in Scandinavia in 2010, and the great abundance of fiel...