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Wild science! 10 eye-opening books about animals and nature

By Kobo Blog • August 23, 2021

The natural world and the animals who live within it are endlessly fascinating. There's so much to still be explored and discovered in nature and wildlife. The books on this list are only a sample of the incredible world that exists just outside our doors.

These books look at humanity and what we can learn about ourselves through our connection (or sometimes disconnection) to nature and wildlife. From the tiniest snail to the most ferocious predator, every creature and part of nature can teach us something not only about the natural world but also about ourselves.

The Emotional Lives of Animals by Marc Bekoff

Award-winning scientist Marc Bekoff has spent years studying social communication of different animal species. This book looks at the emotional lives of many species through extraordinarily touching stories and groundbreaking scientific research.

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Where Song Began: Australia's Birds and How They Changed the World by Tim Low

Tim Low takes you back in time and explores the role of Australia’s unique birds in both ecology and global evolution as a result of millions of years of isolation on this island continent. The remoteness has made Aussie birds more intelligent, aggressive and loud than those found on other continents. Living in complex environments and exerting powerful influence on forests, Australian birds are spreading their wings to other parts of the world.

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The Sound of a Wild Snail Eating by Elisabeth Tova Bailey

In this poignant memoir, author Elisabeth Tova Bailey is forced to slow down after she’s stricken by a mysterious illness. Bedridden, Bailey finds herself fascinated by a small snail who lives on her nightstand. What follows is a close examination of this small and underrated creature that leads to a deeper understanding of the author’s own place in the world. If you’re curious about nature and how it can help us better understand ourselves - this is the book for you.

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Our Wild Calling by Richard Louv

Our Wild Calling is journalist Richard Louv’s case for protecting wildlife, not out of fear, but out of love. Through research and numerous interviews with theologians, wildlife experts, indigenous healers, and many others, Louv explains the connection between humanity and wildlife. This book reminds us that humans are animals too, and that we’re all connected.

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Predators I Have Known by Alan Dean Foster

If you’re looking for a book about nature and animals that will give you a huge rush of adrenaline, check out science-fiction writer Alan Dean Foster’s memoir. Over the last 40 years, the author has travelled the world and come face-to-face with some of nature’s most fearsome creatures. From Bengal tigers in India to the great white sharks here in Australia, this thrilling look at the dangerous side of nature has it all.

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How to Be a Good Creature by Sy Montgomery

Sy Montgomery is a naturalist who has travelled the world and encountered some of the most beautiful and rare animals on the planet. In this memoir, she reflects on 13 different animals, their personalities and their quirks. With each animal, Montgomery explores the synergies between them and humans, and how the human race is also a fascinating species to study in itself.

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The Deep by Professor Alex Rogers

Globally renowned expert in marine biology and oceanology Professor Alex Rogers has spent his life studying the deep ocean, in particular the impact of human activity on the ecosystems of the oceans. Complete with beautiful photography of the darker parts of the ocean and its strange creatures, The Deep discusses both Roger’s personal view as well as humanity’s relationship with the ocean.

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Treading Lightly by Karl-Erik Sveiby & Tex Skuthorpe

Australia's First Nations people have an inextricable connection to the land and the country’s unique nature. They taught themselves thousands of years ago how to live sustainably, respect the land and the wildlife that lives alongside them. In a world struggling with the effects of climate change, Treading Lightly examines what modern Australian society can learn from our Indigenous community and implement into our lifestyles today.

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A Book of Bees by Sue Hubbell

Author Sue Hubbell tends to more than 300 beehives on her small farm. This book is a look into life as a beekeeper, and it’s an ode to the simple service of nature. A Book of Bees is a rare mixture of genres. It’s a memoir, a beekeeping manual, and a nature journal rolled into one.

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On Extinction by Melanie Challenger

What have we done to make ourselves so estranged from nature? And how has humanity so destructively contributed to a dramatic rise in animal extinction? These are the questions award-winning author, poet, and scholar Melanie Challenger seeks to answer in her book On Extinction. Drawing on research and her own personal accounts, Challenger sets out to retrace humanity’s steps to find out how we got to this point, as well as a path to redemption.

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For readers outside Australia, check out the list here!

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