"Differentiated reader that answers questions about animal athletes--including which animals are the best divers, the highest jumpers, and more--with two levels of readability: emergent reader and fluent reader."--Provided by publisher.

Did you know that a cheetah can accelerate faster than a sports car or that an impala can jump over three times its height? This fascinating book highlights examples of animals with incredible athletic abilities and skills that make them the record-breakers of the animal kingdom.

Introduces ten animals who are the fastest, strongest, and most athletic creatures in the world, including an animal who could compete in synchronized swimming if there were Animal Olympics, and the animal who would win gold in the marathon.

Animals perform many athletic tasks to an amazing degree of accomplishment: not only spectacular feats of running and jumping but also routine actions that ensure survival such as feeding, vocalization, diving, flying, and many more. The study of performance capacity (defined as the ability of an animal to conduct a key task) is of great interest to both ecologists and evolutionary biologists. At an ecological level, how well individuals perform often dictatesopportunities for reproduction, occupation of preferred territories, or capturing prey. Therefore, variation in performance capacities can be a key determinant of variation in fitness within animalpopulations. At an evolutionary level, variation in function often follows closely from variation in form, and therefore enables animals to invade novel habitats, or to overtake other species. This novel book examines how and why animal athletes have evolved. It uses examples from across the animal kingdom and integrates them in the broader context of ecology and evolution, thereby identifying common themes that transcend taxonomic divisions. Animal Athletes is anaccessible textbook of particular relevance to undergraduates, graduate students, researchers, and professionals in the fields of evolutionary biology, ecology, vertebrate morphology, and functionalmorphology.

Who would win the Olympic gold medals if all the competitors were animals? Each book in the series covers a different type of Olympic sport, while each chapter looks at a different event. Primarily intended as high-interest reads, the books contain information relating to biology, and allow readers countless opportunities to compare and contrast. In addition, medal tables at the back of the books tally medals won by the different animal classifications, including mammals, reptiles and birds. This book looks at Athletics, pitting camel against ostrich in the marathon and salmon against froghopper in the high jump.

Provides photographs and text for a variety of wild animals, including the cheetah, emperor penguin, orangutan, and chameleon.

The power, speed, flight, beauty and tenderness of animals fascinate us. We cherish them, but our appreciation pales in comparison with the love and admiration of their Creator. In The Greatest Animal Lover we explore the following questions: How much does God love animals? How can we know? How does His love for animals help us understand our fascination with them?