THE LARGEST CREATURE ever to inhabit the earth is the blue whale. Mightier than the dinosaur, it still ranges the waters off North America. Smallest known mammal is the shrew, inches long and weighing less than a penny. Between these extremes, creatures of infinite diversity roam the mountains and plains, deserts and marshes of our continent. Their story is told in these 400 pages.
Vivid narratives by leading naturalists, dramatic paintings, and action photographs bring the exciting world of mammals into sharp focus. Lively biographies of 138 species personify each animal in fact and anecdote, revealing life and habits.
You will come to know the frolicking porpoise, perhaps the smartest mammal next to man, and that "living fossil" the armadillo, survivor of weird animal kingdoms long vanished from the earth. You will learn striking facts: a mole may stow away his weight in insects every day, a shrew in three hours; a 150-ton baleen whale feeds on crustaceans no bigger than your thumb; one pair of Norway rats could theoretically multiply to 350 million in three years; the pronghorn can sprint 50 miles per hour; a ground squirrel's digging led to discovery of the Comstock Lode!
Here you will find the animals that have intrigued you since childhood-friends like Br'er Fox, Peter Rabbit, and old Mr. Possum, kin to the kangaroo but as American as corn pone. You'll hunt that rascal raccoon with houn' dogs in the moonlight; push with explorers into virgin wilderness; ride with Indians into thundering buffalo herds; fight hand to claw with the fabulous, ferocious grizzly. Here is a book for all the family-nature lover, school child, hunter, conservationist - an authoritative reference at home, an indispensable companion on vacation trips. Learn how to identify animal tracks; follow the history of North American mammals down through the ages.
Of the 409 illustrations in this beautiful volume, 258 are in full color. If published commercially, its price would be prohibitive, but since the initial cost of many of the paintings and engravings has already been absorbed by the National Geographic, great savings are passed on to you. Every chapter of the text, however, has been newly written or freshly edited, and 200 plates have been made just for this book.
– From the dust jacket
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