Why Pandas Do Handstands... - Hardcover

Brown, Augustus

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0593056930 ISBN 13: 9780593056936

Publisher: Bantam Press, 2006

Synopsis

South American rats settle arguments by boxing. Tuna fish sunbathe and herring communicate with each other by breaking wind. Llamas hum to each other, elephants impersonate traffic sounds and whales sing ballads. Some kangaroos grow on trees. Strange new, scientifically-proven facts about the animal kingdom emerge seemingly every day. Here, gathered together in one book, are hundreds of the funniest, most fascinating and plain bizarre things we have discovered about the non-human world. All animal life is here: from the only dog that can develop gout to the wren whose song sounds just like Beethoven, from the cattle that generate electricity to the worm that has the power to brainwash. It is a book full of surprises. Who would have thought giraffes can't trot, reindeer 'fly' after taking magic mushrooms or that elk turn nasty when drunk? Who would have known that shark embryos attack, that caterpillars tap dance or that - out of our earshot - male mice are serenading their girlfriends with high-pitched love songs? And who on earth would have guessed that male pandas court potential partners by performing handstands?

About this title

About the Author

Augustus Brown's fascination with the strange side of animal life began on the Welsh farm where he grew up surrounded by cows that could sense rain, highly-combustible sheep and chickens that could easily be hypnotised. As a journalist and author, he has since written and contributed to numerous books, many on animal behaviour. In researching this book, he drew on scientific archives, books and studies, scores of zoological and biological websites and consulted leading experts in the animal science world. The most surprising thing he learned was that many animals frequently get drunk. The least surprising thing he learned was they get into trouble when they do so. Augustus Brown lives in London with his wife and two children, overlooking a park filled with creatures whose innocent appearance no longer fools him.

From the Back Cover

Did you know that...

Female fish go for men with bling. Birds like mates who keep their nests tidy and smell of tangerines. Male lizards do push-ups to impress the girls.

And...

Dolphins can bray like donkeys. Frogs can growl like gorillas. Bears, wombats, dogs and snakes snore.

Or...

Flies sumo-wrestle. Squirrels kick sand in rattlesnakes' faces. Bees roast their victims alive.

Open this book and all will be revealed!

From the Inside Flap

South American rats settle arguments by boxing. Tuna fish sunbathe and herring communicate with each other by breaking wind. Llamas hum to each other, elephants impersonate traffic sounds and whales sing ballads.

Strange new, scientifically proven facts about the animal kingdom emerge seemingly every day. Here, gathered together in one book, are hundreds of the funniest, most fascinating and plain bizarre things we have discovered about the non-human world.

All animal life is here: from the only dog that can develop gout to the wren whose song sounds just like Beethoven. It is a book full of surprises. Who would have thought giraffes can't trot, reindeer 'fly' after taking magic mushrooms or that elk turn nasty when drunk? Who would have known that shark embryos attack, that caterpillars tap dance or that - out of our earshot - male mice are serenading their girlfriends with high-pitched love songs?

And who on earth would have guessed that male pandas court potential partners by performing handstands?

Edition details

• Publisher: Bantam Press
• Publication date: 2006
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0593056930
• ISBN 13: 9780593056936
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 416