G.A.R. Memorial Library (West Newbury)

The truth about animals, stoned sloths, lovelorn hippos, and other tales from the wild side of wildlife, Lucy Cooke

eng

Includes bibliographical references (pages 275-322) and index

illustrations

index present

non fiction

The truth about animals

bibliography

1030147790

Lucy Cooke

stoned sloths, lovelorn hippos, and other tales from the wild side of wildlife

"Humans may have flown to the Moon and found the Higgs boson, but when it comes to understanding animals, We still have a long way to go. From medieval bestiaries to March of the Penguins or the latest viral video of romping panda cubs, our species relentlessly makes up stories about the virtues and vices of the creatures around us. Chaste pandas are reluctant to mate. Loyal penguins would never abandon their partners. And sloths are just, well, lazy. In reality, pandas don't just have sex; they could make Christian Grey blush. Penguins won't just cheat on a mate; they pay for sex, too. And, despite their names, sloths might just be the most successful animals on the planet. In The Truth About Animals, Lucy Cooke takes us on a global adventure to find out how the animal world really works, and why we humans keep getting it wrong. She fearlessly smears herself in hippo sweat and drinks a blended frog, all in the name of answering questions you never knew you had: What does Aristotle's obsession with eels have to do with twenty-first-century drug mafia? Do female hyenas really give birth through a penis? And why was the New England Puritan Cotton Mather certain that storks could fly into space? Funny, thought-provoking, and at times downright bizarre, The Truth About Animals reveals to us all that is weird, wild, and completely unexpected in the animal kingdom."--Dust jacket

Eel -- Beaver -- Sloth -- Hyena -- Vulture -- Bat -- Frog -- Stork -- Hippopotamus -- Moose -- Panda -- Penguin -- Chimpanzee