Owls Aren't Wise & Bats Aren't Blind: A Naturalist Debunks Our Favorite Fallacies About Wildlife (Mobipocket) ebook download Warner Shedd

Owls Aren't Wise & Bats Aren't Blind: A Naturalist Debunks Our Favorite Fallacies About Wildlife

Did you know that "flying" squirrels are incapable of true flight? Were you aware that opossums don't "play dead," as in the common folk saying "playing possum"? In this fascinating and gorgeously illustrated new book, wildlife expert and enthusiast Warner Shedd, former executive for the National Wildlife Federation, uncovers the scientific realities obscured by our numerous long-held misconceptions of wild animals. Setting the most tenacious of these age-old superstitions against evidence that he and other biologists and naturalists have gleaned from careful observation and investigation, Shedd refutes such popular myths as beavers can fell trees in a desired direction, gray squirrels remember where they bury nuts, wolves howl at the moon, and cougars are an endangered species.

In addition to dispelling misinformation, Owls Aren't Wise & Bats Aren't Blind presents some fascinating facts about the animals that many of us encounter in our own backyards or walking across the road as we drive in our cars. For instance, did you know that a porcupine is actually a large rodent, and that its protective quills are really specialized hairs numbering about 30,000 per animal? That means that a typical porcupine has about 140 quills per square inch!

Shedd also uses humorous anecdotes to show us how funny (and educational) it can be when animals themselves defy our mistaken beliefs about them. Casting new light on the old tenet that ravens can be taught to mimic the human voice, Warner Shedd tells of a scientist who spent six years teaching a raven to cry "nevermore," after the haunting raven in the famous Edgar Allan Poe poem. Shedd further explains that recent research indicates that ravens only mimic if they have the desire to do so.

Owls Aren't Wise & Bats Aren't Blind covers more than thirty North American species--some as familiar as the common toad, others as elusive as the lynx. And Shedd captivates the reader as only an experienced naturalist could, with detailed, accurate information on such varied wildlife as muskrats, herons, brown bears, crows, armadillos, and coyotes--to name only a few.

Owls Aren't Wise & Bats Aren't Blind grew out of Warner Shedd's desire to share biologically sound information and counter erroneous folklore about wild animals. By arming his readers with knowledge, Shedd hopes to promote a more informed and respectful view of many North American wildlife species and ultimately encourage the scientific management and conservation of all our native wildlife.

From the Hardcover edition.

Share your thoughts on the Owls Aren't Wise & Bats Aren't Blind: A Naturalist Debunks Our Favorite Fallacies About Wildlife ebook with other internet viewers!

Title of ebook: Owls Aren't Wise & Bats Aren't Blind: A Naturalist Debunks Our Favorite Fallacies About Wildlife
ISBN: 9780307421418
parent-ISBN: 9780609807972
Publisher: Three Rivers Press
Internet download file size: 2416 kb
Released online for download: 12-18-2007

Format

Encrypted

Sku

ISBN

File size

Security

Printing

Copying

Read aloud

Devices

Mobipocket

Yes

9780307421418

2416 KB

n/a

Not allowed

Sys Requirements

Download reader

Other Science & Nature eBooks Categories

Science & Nature General (1417)

Astronomy (106)

Astrophysics & Space Science (45)

Biology (159)

Biotechnology (48)

Chemistry (531)

Earth Sciences (668)

Environmental Science (167)

History (214)

Life Sciences (609)

Mathematical Physics (48)

Nature (644)

Conservation (77)

Philosophy & Social Aspects (83)

Physics (120)

Waves & Wave Mechanics (71)

Top eBooks in Nature

Close to Shore
by Capuzzo, Michael

Combining rich historical detail and a harrowing, pulse-pounding narrative, Close to Shore brilliantly re-creates the summer of 1916...more

Best price: $13.12

Animals in Translation: Using the Mysteries of Autism to Decode Animal Behavior
by Grandin, Temple

Temple Grandin's Animals in Translation speaks in the clear voice of a woman who emerged from the other side of autism, bringing with her an ...more

Best price: $12.90

Birdsong
by Stap, Don

Like his first book, A Parrot Without a Name, Birdsong is a compelling narrative that blends personality, adventure and science, and follows two of the worlds ...more

Best price: $21.07

Bambi vs. Godzilla
by Mamet, David

In Bambi vs. Godzilla, David Mamet, the award-winning playwright and screenwriter, gives us an exhilaratingly subversive inside look at Hollywood from ...more

Best price: $12.24

Butterflies of the North Olympic Peninsula:A Field Guide - Egg, Caterpillar, Chrysalis and Adult
by Knowles, Kristi Murray

This compact book will make a great addition to the local hiker's backpack, or anyone enjoying the natural beauty of the area and wanting to learn more about it...more

Best price: $9.65