The Unexpected Truth About Animals: Stoned Sloths, Lovelorn Hippos and Other Wild Tales
English
By (author): Lucy Cooke
Shortlisted for the 2018 Royal Society Investment Science Book Prize
'Endlessly fascinating.' - Bill Bryson 'Eye-opening, informative and very funny!' - Chris Packham
'Well-informed and downright funny' - Richard Dawkins
History is full of strange animal stories invented by the brightest and most influential, from Aristotle to Disney. But when it comes to understanding animals, weve got a long way to go.
Whether were watching a viral video of romping baby pandas or looking at a picture of penguins holding hands, we often project our own values innocence, abstinence, hard work onto animals. So youve probably never considered that moose get drunk and that penguins are notorious cheats.
In The Unexpected Truth About Animals Zoologist Lucy unravels many such myths that eels are born from sand, that swallows hibernate under water, and that bears gave birth to formless lumps that are licked into shape by their mothers to show that the stories we create reveal as much about us as they do about the animals.
Astonishing, illuminating and laugh-out-loud funny.