The animal kingdom operates by ancient rules, and the deer in our woods and backyards can teach us many of them—but only if we take the time to notice. In the fall of 2007 in southern New Hampshire, the acorn crop failed and the animals who depended on it faced starvation. Elizabeth Marshall Thomas began leaving food in small piles around her farmhouse. Soon she had over thirty deer coming to her fields, and her naturalist's eye was riveted. How did they know when to come, all together, and why did they sometimes cooperate, sometimes compete? Throughout the next twelve months she observed the local deer families as they fought through a rough winter; bred fawns in the spring; fended off coyotes, a bobcat, a bear, and plenty of hunters; and made it to the next fall when the acorn crop was back to normal. As she hiked through her woods, spotting tree rubbings, deer beds, and deer yards, she discovered a vast hidden world. Deer families are run by their mothers. Local families arrange into a hierarchy. They adopt orphans; they occasionally reject a child; they use complex warnings to signal danger; they mark their territories; they master local microclimates to choose their beds; they send countless coded messages that we can read, if only we know what to look for. Just as she did in her beloved books The Hidden Life of Dogs and Tribe of Tiger, Thomas describes a network of rules that have allowed earth's species to coexist for millions of years. Most of us have lost touch with these rules, yet they are a deep part of us, from our ancient evolutionary past. The Hidden Life of Deer is a narrative masterpiece and a naturalist's delight.

“A fascinating glimpse into the canine world, possibly deeper and more accurate than any we have had until now” (The New York Times Book Review). Long before the Dog Whisperer, anthropologist Elizabeth Marshall Thomas revealed to readers the nature of pack dynamics, leading to a completely new understanding of dogs, their personalities, and their desires. Based on thirty years of living with and observing dogs, The Hidden Life of Dogs asks one question: What do dogs want? To find out, we must meet the pack. First there is Misha, a husky Thomas followed on her daily rounds of more than 130 square miles. Then there is Maria, who adored Misha, bore his puppies, and clearly mourned when he moved away; the brave pug Bingo and his little wife, Violet; the dingo Viva; and other colorful characters. In observing them, Thomas learned that what dogs want most of all is other dogs. Informative and captivating, The Hidden Life of Dogs will give every canine owner and canine lover great insight into dog behavior. “A wonderful book . . . Too bad dogs can’t read. They’d be fascinated. Dog people will be too.” —USA Today

An iconoclast and best-selling author of both nonfiction and fiction, Elizabeth Marshall Thomas has spent a lifetime observing, thinking, and writing about the cultures of animals such as lions, wolves, dogs, deer, and humans. In this compulsively readable book, she provides a plainspoken, big-picture look at the commonality of life on our planet, from the littlest microbes to the largest lizards. Inspired by the idea of symbiosis in evolution—that all living things evolve in a series of cooperative relationships—Thomas takes readers on a journey through the progression of life. Along the way she shares the universal likenesses, experiences, and environments of “Gaia’s creatures,” from amoebas in plant soil to the pets we love, from proud primates to Homo sapiens hunter-gatherers on the African savanna. Fervently rejecting “anthropodenial,” the notion that nonhuman life does not share characteristics with humans, Thomas instead shows that paramecia can learn, plants can communicate, humans aren’t really as special as we think we are—and that it doesn’t take a scientist to marvel at the smallest inhabitants of the natural world and their connections to all living things. A unique voice on anthropology and animal behavior, Thomas challenges scientific convention and the jargon that prevents us all from understanding all living things better. This joyfully written book is a fascinating look at the challenges and behaviors shared by creatures from bacteria to larvae to parasitic fungi, a potted hyacinth to the author herself, and all those in between.

A photographic tribute to the authors' work as wolf caregivers and advocates documents their efforts with the Sawtooth Pack in Idaho and features a passionate argument for reintroducing and protecting wild wolves.

Sunday Times Bestseller‘A paradigm-smashing chronicle of joyous entanglement’ Charles Foster Waterstones Non-Fiction Book of the Month (September) Are trees social beings? How do trees live? Do they feel pain or have awareness of their surroundings?

Wildlife author and photographer of more than thirty books (including The Encyclopedia of Deer, The Deer Hunter’s Illustrated Dictionary, and Whitetails), Leonard Lee Rue III provides the most comprehensive reference on whitetail deer ever published. This book will appeal to anyone remotely interested in whitetails and other deer: nature buffs, deer lovers, deer haters, gardeners, farmers, photographers, biologists, mammalogists, highway troopers, and––not least––deer hunters, who will find a wealth of material that will improve their understanding and appreciation of their quarry. In spite of the manuscript's astounding thoroughness, Rue keeps the text short and clear to allow room for hundreds of his extraordinary photos, illustrating virtually every aspect of whitetail behavior, physiology, and more. Outdoors author Neil Soderstrom “[has] never encountered a manuscript as interesting and comprehensive on whitetails or any other species. Most information in this book is entirely new….This is a very good read, its factual material gracefully presented and richly enlivened by [Rue’s] personal observations and good humor.” Even if your bookshelf is already full of titles about whitetails, this new addition has breaking research that is necessary for anyone interested in whitetail deer.

Dennis H. Keller, the author, has spent a good part of his life studying and hunting free-range whitetail deer in Pennsylvania. He also increased his knowledge of whitetail deer hunting through extensive research and attending seminars by experts in the field. Since there is a high density of hunters in Pennsylvania, it is more difficult to harvest a mature whitetail deer on a consistent basis. Increasing one's knowledge and hunting skill is of great importance no matter what state you hunt in. This book contains a wealth of information for hunters of all ages. To be a successful hunter, you need to have some knowledge and understanding of this magnificent animal. After all, it is the most sought-after wild game animal in the United States. There are no personal stories contained in this book. Its main purpose is to give the reader a lot of information so he or she can be a more successful whitetail deer hunter. This book is comprehensive and covers most aspects related to hunting and harvesting a mature whitetail deer. Some of the topics include preseason scouting techniques, tree stand preparation, telling the difference between a buck and a doe track, hunting strategies, October lull, the rut, trail camera setups, deer diseases, establishing food plots, scent control, hunter safety, various meat preparations, antler scoring, etc. You will benefit from reading this book. Your confidence will increase, and if you follow the keys to killing a nice buck listed in this book, success is almost guaranteed. Good luck hunting!