Secret Lives of Animals

Updated June 7, 2026
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Raising hare : a memoir
Dalton, Chloe
Paper Book
THE INSTANT SUNDAY TIMES AND NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER WINNER OF THE WAINWRIGHT PRIZE FOR NATURE WRITING WINNER OF THE BOOKS ARE MY BAG READERS AWARD SHORTLISTED FOR THE WOMEN'S PRIZE FOR NON-FICTION, HATCHARDS AND BIOGRAPHERS' CLUB FIRST...
The backyard bird chronicles
Tan, Amy
Paper Book
'What an enchanting and illuminating book! How lucky for us that Amy Tan has turned her genius, her deep empathy and insight, her keen eye for what is telling, to birds. Every page of these chronicles radiates warm curiosity, wonder, and delight' Jennifer Ackerman, The Genius of Birds<...
The soul of an octopus : a surprising exploration into the wonder of consciousness
Montgomery, Sy
Paper Book
In 2011 Sy Montgomery wrote a feature for Orion magazine entitled 'Deep Intellect' about her friendship with a sensitive, sweet-natured octopus named Athena and the grief she felt at her death. It went viral, indicating the widespread fascination with these mysterious, almost alien-like...
An immense world : how animal senses reveal the hidden realms around us
Yong, Ed
Paper Book
**SUNDAY TIMES and NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER** This is our world, as you've never seen it before. The Earth teems with sights and textures, sounds and vibrations, smells and tastes, electric and magnetic fields. But every animal is enclosed...
World of wonders : in praise of fireflies, whale sharks, and other astonishments
Nezhukumatathil, Aimee
Paper Book
A sparkling collection of essays about the natural world, illustrated throughout - a magnificent bestiary, and an unforgettable book of sustenance, resilience and joy.
The elephant whisperer : my life with the herd in the African wild
Anthony, Lawrence.
Paper Book
A heart-warming true story of one man's quest to save a rogue herd of elephants, forging an unforgettable bond between humans and the majestic animals of Africa. When South African conservationist Lawrence Anthony was asked to accept a herd of 'rogue' elephants on his Thula...
Eager : the surprising, secret life of beavers and why they matter
Goldfarb, Ben (Environmental journalist)
Ebook
WINNER of the 2019 PEN/E.O. Wilson Literary Science Writing Award Author of the New York Times 2023 "Notable Book" Crossings Washington Post "50 Notable Works of Nonfiction" Science News "Favorite Science...
What an owl knows : the new science of the world's most enigmatic birds
Ackerman, Jennifer
Paper Book
'And if anyone knows anything about anything... it's Owl who knows something about something.' Winnie-the-Pooh, A. A. Milne From prehistoric cave paintings to the prints and etchings of Picasso, owls have captivated and inspired us for millennia. Whether they appear as ancient...
Bitch : on the female of the species
Cooke, Lucy
Paper Book
'A dazzling, funny and elegantly angry demolition of our preconceptions about female behaviour and sex in the animal kingdom ... Bitch is a blast. I read it, my jaw sagging in astonishment, jotting down favourite parts to send to friends and reading out snippets gleefully....
Fox and I : an uncommon friendship
Raven, Catherine
Paper Book
Running with Sherman : the donkey with the heart of a hero
McDougall, Christopher
Paper Book
From the author of the international bestseller Born To RunWhen barefoot running guru Christopher McDougall takes in a neglected donkey, his aim is to get Sherman back to reasonable health. But Sherman is ill-tempered, obstinate and uncooperative - and it's clear his poor treatment has made him...
The inner life of animals : love, grief, and compassion : surprising observations of a hidden world
Wohlleben, Peter
Paper Book
Can horses feel shame? Do deer grieve? Why do roosters deceive hens? We tend to assume that we are the only living things able to experience feelings but have you ever wondered what's going on in an animal's head? From the leafy forest floor to the inside of a bee hive, The...
American wolf : a true story of survival and obsession in the West
Blakeslee, Nate
Paper Book
A New Statesman Book of the Year The wolf stands at the forefront of the debate about our impact on the natural world. In one of the most celebrated successes of modern conservation, it has been reintroduced to Yellowstone National Park. What unfolds is a riveting multi-generational...
Otherlands : a journey through Earth's extinct worlds
Halliday, Thomas (Paleobiologist)
Paper Book
This is the past as we've never seen it before. Otherlands is an epic, exhilarating journey into deep time, showing us the Earth as it used to exist, and the worlds that were here before ours. Travelling back in time to the dawn of complex life, and across all seven continents,...
On animals
Orlean, Susan
Paper Book
A delightful and entertaining collection of a lifetime of musings, meditations and in-depth profiles about animals, by the bestselling author of The Orchid Thief and The Library Book.
Cat sense : how the new feline science can make you a better friend to your pet
Bradshaw, John
Paper Book
From John Bradshaw, one of the world's leading experts on animal behaviour, and the author of the Sunday Times Bestseller, In Defence of Dogs, Cat Sense shows us the true, surprising nature of cats Cats are the most popular pet in the world. They outnumber the dog,...
The bird way : a new look at how birds talk, work, play, parent, and think
Ackerman, Jennifer
Paper Book
A SUNDAY TIMES NATURE BOOK OF THE YEAR It's flight and egg and feathers and song. It's the demure plumage of a mountain thornbill and the extravagant tail feathers of an Indian paradise flycatcher, the solo song of a superb lyrebird and the perfectly timed duets of...
The truth about animals : stoned sloths, lovelorn hippos, and other tales from the wild side of wildlife
Cooke, Lucy
Paper Book
'Endlessly fascinating.' - Bill Bryson 'Eye-opening, informative and very funny!' - Chris Packham 'Well-informed and downright funny' - Richard Dawkins Featured on BBC Radio's 4's The Infinite Monkey Cage and on BBC Radio 6 with...
Flight paths : how a passionate and quirky group of pioneering scientists solved the mystery of bird migration
Heisman, Rebecca
Paper Book
How and why birds navigate the skies, travelling from continent to continent - flying thousands of miles across the earth each autumn and spring - has continually fascinated the human imagination, but only recently have we been able to fully understand these amazing journeys. How did...
Owls of the eastern ice : a quest to find and save the world's largest owl
Slaght, Jonathan C.
Paper Book
The forests near to where Russia, China and North Korea meet in a tangle of barbed wire are the only place on earth where brown bears, leopards and tigers co-exist. They are also home to one of nature's rarest birds, the Blakiston's fish owl. A chance encounter with this huge, strange bird was to...
Are we smart enough to know how smart animals are?
Waal, F. B. M. de
Paper Book
From world-renowned biologist and primatologist Frans de Waal, a groundbreaking work which challenges everything we think we know about animal intelligence.
Sentient : how animals illuminate the wonder of our human senses
Higgins, Jackie
Paper Book
In Sentient, Jackie Higgins assembles a menagerie of zoological creatures - from land, air, sea and all four corners of the globe - to understand what it means to be human. 'Spellbinding . . . More than any other book, [Sentient] has made me think differently about...
A world on the wing : the global odyssey of migratory birds
Weidensaul, Scott
Paper Book
'A vaulting triumph of a book' Isabella Tree, author of Wilding Bird migration remains perhaps the most singularly compelling natural phenomenon in the world. Nothing else combines its global sweep with its inherent ability to engender wonder and excitement. The past two decades have seen an...
Honeybee democracy
Seeley, Thomas D.
Paper Book
How honeybees make collective decisions--and what we can learn from this amazing democratic process Honeybees make decisions collectively--and democratically. Every year, faced with the life-or-death problem of choosing and traveling to a new home, honeybees stake everything...
Fathoms : the world in the whale
Giggs, Rebecca
Paper Book
Endless forms : the secret world of wasps
Sumner, Seirian
Paper Book
'A funny and beautifully written welcome to the enigmatic, weird and wonderful world of wasps' DAVE GOULSON, author of SILENT EARTH There may be no insect with a worse reputation than the wasp, and none guarding so many undiscovered wonders. Where bees and ants...
The zoologist's guide to the galaxy : what animals on earth reveal about aliens--and ourselves
Kershenbaum, Arik
Paper Book
We are unprepared for the greatest discovery of modern science. Scientists are confident that there is alien life across the universe yet we have not moved beyond our perception of 'aliens' as Hollywood stereotypes. The time has come to abandon our fixation on alien monsters and place our...
How to speak whale : a voyage into the future of animal communication
Mustill, Tom
Paper Book
'Fascinating' Greta Thunberg 'Extraordinary' Merlin Sheldrake 'A must-read' New Scientist 'Enthralling' George Monbiot 'Brilliant' Philip Hoare As a biologist and nature filmmaker, Tom Mustill had always liked whales. But when one landed on his kayak,...
What it's like to be a dog : and other adventures in animal neuroscience
Berns, Gregory
Paper Book
What does your dog really think about you? To find out, Gregory Berns became the first neuroscientist to persuade dogs to lie in an MRI machine wide awake. Now we know more about our best friends than ever before - how varying capacities for self-control and different value systems set...
Why animals talk : the new science of animal communication
Kershenbaum, Arik
Paper Book
'Wonderful . . . Endlessly interesting and beautifully written' DAILY TELEGRAPH 'Steady-headed and fun' SUNDAY TIMES 'Read this book and, I promise, you'll never listen to animals in the same way again' JESSICA PIERCE, author of Who's a Good Dog?<...
Dog sense : how the new science of dog behavior can make you a better friend to your pet
Bradshaw, John
Paper Book
'Every dog lover, dog owner or prospective dog buyer should read this book' John Bradshaw, one of the world's leading dog experts, brings us a compelling insight into what dogs would ask us for, if only they knew how. The dog has been mankind's faithful companion for tens of...
Birdgirl : looking to the skies in search of a better future
Craig, Mya-Rose
Paper Book
Discover a powerful, evocative and urgent new young voice in nature writing *WINNER OF THE SOMERSET MAUGHAM AWARD 2023* 'Birdwatching has never felt like a hobby, or a pastime I can pick up and put down, but a thread running through the pattern of my life.'...
Follow the flock : how sheep shaped human civilization
Coulthard, Sally
Paper Book
'This book deserves a place in your bookcase next to Harari's Sapiens. It's every bit as fascinating and is surely destined to be just as successful' Julian Norton From the plains of ancient Mesopotamia to the vast sheep farms of modern-day Australia, sheep have been central to...
The Ravenmaster : my life with the ravens at the Tower of London
Skaife, Christopher
Paper Book
'Packed with insight and anecdote, his story brings the Tower ravens to vivid life, each bird with a personality of its own. I've been fortunate enough to tour the Tower and meet the ravens a few times in years past; after reading this book, I cannot wait to go back' George R. R. Martin ...

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