Marcial was everything that Carsten had desired: handsome, young, serious, helpful and kind. A real Spanish "little Elf" His only drawback? The ravenous platypus living with him, the Georgian mobster decided to turn Marcial into his new boyfriend; and Pelayo, his meddlesome childhood friend.For the hyper-rational middle aged programmer nothing makes sense any longer as he finds himself plunged into a world where reality and fantasy merge and sanity is scarce.

Scientifically informed and funny, a firsthand account of Australia’s wonderfully unique mammals—and how our perceptions impact their future. Think of a platypus: They lay eggs (that hatch into so-called platypups), produce milk without nipples and venom without fangs, and can detect electricity. Or a wombat: Their teeth never stop growing, they poop cubes, and they defend themselves with reinforced rears. And what about antechinuses—tiny marsupial carnivores whose males don’t see their first birthday, as their frenzied sex lives take so much energy that their immune systems fail? Platypuses, possums, wombats, echidnas, devils, kangaroos, quolls, dibblers, dunnarts, kowaris: Australia has some truly astonishing mammals, with incredible, unfamiliar features. But how does the world regard these creatures? And what does that mean for their conservation? In Platypus Matters, naturalist Jack Ashby shares his love for these often-misunderstood animals. Informed by his own experiences meeting living marsupials and egg-laying mammals during fieldwork in Tasmania and mainland Australia, as well as his work with thousands of zoological specimens collected for museums over the last two-hundred-plus years, Ashby’s tale not only explains historical mysteries and debunks myths (especially about the platypus), but also reveals the toll these myths can take. Ashby makes clear that calling these animals “weird” or “primitive”—or incorrectly implying that Australia is an “evolutionary backwater,” a perception that can be traced back to the country’s colonial history—has undermined conservation: Australia now has the worst mammal extinction rate of any place on Earth. Important, timely, and written with humor and wisdom by a scientist and self-described platypus nerd, this celebration of Australian wildlife will open eyes and change minds about how we contemplate and interact with the natural world—everywhere.

Vols. for -1980 include Annual directory issue.

This engaging, five-act script allows students to perform roles at differentiated reading levels to accommodate all students. Act out the adventures of some animal friends who are being fed by humans at Lake Tahoe. The animals soon discover that a human diet is not good for them, and learn to meet their own needs. Students will learn life science topics as they perform roles to increase fluency, comprehension, and social studies content literacy. With a glossary, poem, and song, this resource will help students develop their vocabulary, create a stage presence, speak with meaning, and learn how to interact cooperatively with peers.