Sy Montgomery

MARAVILLAS SUBMARINAS¿Y si descubrieras que una de las criaturas más extrañas del océano es también una de las más inteligentes del planeta? En este cautivador libro, la escritora y amante de los animales Sy Montgomery nos invita a sumergirnos en el fascinante universo de los pulpos, y nos revela los ultimos descubrimientos cientificos que explican su asombrosa inteligencia y su curioso comportamiento social. Desde las profundidades mas oscuras hasta los arrecifes mas vibrantes, aprende como estos animales estan revolucionando nuestra comprension de la naturaleza.Incluye 16 fichas de especies clave ilustradas con magnificas fotografias.Una aventura oceanica para conocer a una de las criaturas mas bellas y enigmaticas del planeta.Este libro presenta historias y datos fascinantes que revelan que los pulpos son criaturas inteligentes dotadas de habilidades asombrosas. TEMPLE GRANDIN, autora de El cerebro autista y El lenguaje de los animales

Un viaje alucinante a la mente y el cuerpo de los pulpos, una exploración sobre todo lo que los hace diferentes y, a la vez, similares a los seres humanos.Los pulpos tienen una amplia variedad de personalidades y son inteligentes de muchas formas: son capaces de abrir cajas para sacar la comida; lanzar chorros de agua para jugar con pelotas; y escapar de sus cuidadores usando una red como trampolin para saltar el acuario y correr por el suelo con sus ocho patas. Tienen un pico como los loros, veneno como las serpientes y una lengua cubierta de dientes. ¿Que saben? ¿Que tipo de pensamientos tienen? Los cientificos han probado la inteligencia de perros, pajaros y chimpances, y ahora se enfrentan a la inteligencia de los pulpos, viendoles resolver problemas y descifrando el significado de sus cambios de color.Montgomery no solo nos cuenta en este libro como nuestro conocimiento acerca de los pulpos esta cambiando, sino tambien una historia de amor: la suya (y por extension la del lector, sin duda) con los cefalopodos. A ratos divertido y conmovedor, divertido y profundo, El alma de los pulpos pone sobre la mesa por primera vez todo lo que los pulpos pueden enseñarnos sobre nosotros mismos.

A profoundly moving exploration of the intelligence and personality of one of the world s most mysterious beguiling creatures

Meet the ladies: a flock of smart, affectionate, highly individualistic chickens who visit their favorite neighbors, devise different ways to hide from foxes, and mob the author like shes a rock star. In these pages youll also meet Maya and Zuni, two orphaned baby hummingbirds who hatched from eggs the size of navy beans, and who are little more than air bubbles fringed with feathers. Their lives hang precariously in the balancebut with human help, they may one day conquer the sky. Snowball is a cockatoo whose dance video went viral on YouTube and whos now teaching schoolchildren how to dance. Youll meet Harriss hawks named Fire and Smoke. And youll come to know and love a host of other avian characters who will change your mind forever about who birds really are. Each of these birds shows a different and utterly surprising aspect of what makes a bird a birdand these are the lessons of Birdology: that birds are far stranger, more wondrous, and at the same time more like us than we might have dared to imagine. In Birdology, beloved author of The Good Good Pig Sy Montgomery explores the essence of the otherworldly creatures we see every day. By way of her adventures with seven birdswild, tame, exotic, and commonshe weaves new scientific insights and narrative to reveal seven kernels of bird wisdom. The first lesson of Birdology is that, no matter how common they are, Birds Are Individuals, as each of Montgomerys distinctive Ladies clearly shows. In the leech-infested rain forest of Queensland, youll come face to face with a cassowarya 150-pound, man-tall, flightless bird with a helmet of bone on its head and a slashing razor-like toenail with which it (occasionally) eviscerates peopleproof that Birds Are Dinosaurs. Youll learn from hawks that Birds Are Fierce; from pigeons, how Birds Find Their Way Home; from parrots, what it means that Birds Can Talk; and from 50,000 crows who moved into a small citys downtown, that Birds Are Everywhere. They are the winged aliens who surround us. Birdology explains just how very "other" birds are: Their hearts look like those of crocodiles. They are covered with modified scales, which are called feathers. Their bones are hollow. Their bodies are permeated with extensive air sacs. They have no hands. They give birth to eggs. Yet despite birds and humans disparate evolutionary paths, we share emotional and intellectual abilities that allow us to communicate and even form deep bonds. When we begin to comprehend who birds really are, we deepen our capacity to approach, understand, and love these otherworldly creatures. And this, ultimately, is the priceless lesson of Birdology: it communicates a heartfelt fascination and awe for birds and restores our connection to these complex, mysterious fellow creatures.

MARAVILLAS SUBMARINAS¿Y si descubrieras que una de las criaturas más extrañas del océano es también una de las más inteligentes del planeta? En este cautivador libro, la escritora y amante de los animales Sy Montgomery nos invita a sumergirnos en el fascinante universo de los pulpos, y nos revela los ultimos descubrimientos cientificos que explican su asombrosa inteligencia y su curioso comportamiento social. Desde las profundidades mas oscuras hasta los arrecifes mas vibrantes, aprende como estos animales estan revolucionando nuestra comprension de la naturaleza.Incluye 16 fichas de especies clave ilustradas con magnificas fotografias.Una aventura oceanica para conocer a una de las criaturas mas bellas y enigmaticas del planeta.Este libro presenta historias y datos fascinantes que revelan que los pulpos son criaturas inteligentes dotadas de habilidades asombrosas. TEMPLE GRANDIN, autora de El cerebro autista y El lenguaje de los animales

Boston Globe nature columnist discusses the lovelorn messages sent by singing insects on autumn evenings, the messages contained in spiderwebs, the effects of winter snow on the way sound travels, the way all life depends on the unusual structure of water, and much more. Most fun is the authors description of ways to interact with other creatures (e.g., teaching wild birds to eat out of your hand).

What could be better than watching the natural world out your window or on your television? Going out and experiencing it firsthand. In these fifty essays, acclaimed nature and science writer Sy Montgomery takes her readers on a season-by-season tour of the wilderness that is often as close as the backyard. Sy invites almost dares readers to follow her and form hands-on relationships with the plants, animals, birds, and even the insects that share space with people. These essays, most of which originally appeared in Sys Boston Globe column Nature Journal, are by turns enlightening, entertaining, sometimes amusing, and always absorbing and informative. Filled with natural history and lore, the essays urge readers to appreciate what they find around them.

From the author of The Soul of an Octopus and bestselling memoir The Good Good Pig, a book that earned Sy Montgomery her status as one of the most celebrated wildlife writers of our time, Spell of the Tiger brings readers to the Sundarbans, a vast tangle of mangrove swamp and tidal delta that lies between India and Bangladesh. It is the only spot on earth where tigers routinely eat peopleswimming silently behind small boats at night to drag away fishermen, snatching honey collectors and woodcutters from the forest. But, unlike in other parts of Asia where tigers are rapidly being hunted to extinction, tigers in the Sundarbans are revered. With the skill of a naturalist and the spirit of a mystic, Montgomery reveals the delicate balance of Sundarbans life, explores the mix of worship and fear that offers tigers unique protection there, and unlocks some surprising answers about why people at risk of becoming prey might consider their predator a god.

A New York Times bestseller from the author of The Good Good Pig, this fascinating...informative (The Daily Beast) book dives into the intelligence, behavior, and emotional world of the octopusone of the oceans most complex and captivating creaturesand the extraordinary bonds it forms with humans.Finalist for the National Book Award for Nonfiction * New York Times Bestseller * A Huffington Post Notable Nonfiction Book of the Year * One of the Best Books of the Month on Goodreads * Library Journal Best Sci-Tech Book of the Year * An American Library Association Notable Book of the YearSy Montgomerys The Soul of an Octopus does for the creature what Helen Macdonalds H Is for Hawk did for raptors. New Statesman, UKOne of the best science books of the year. Science Friday, NPRIn pursuit of the wild, solitary, predatory octopus, popular naturalist Sy Montgomery has practiced true immersion journalism. From New England aquarium tanks to the reefs of French Polynesia and the Gulf of Mexico, she has befriended octopuses with strikingly different personalitiesgentle Athena, assertive Octavia, curious Kali, and joyful Karma. Each creature shows her cleverness in myriad ways: escaping enclosures like an orangutan; jetting water to bounce balls; and endlessly tricking companions with multiple sleights of hand to get food.Scientists have only recently accepted the intelligence of dogs, birds, and chimpanzees but now are watching octopuses solve problems and are trying to decipher the meaning of the animals color-changing techniques. With her joyful passion for these intelligent and fascinating creatures (Library Journal Editors Spring Pick), Montgomery chronicles the growing appreciation of this mollusk as she tells a unique love story. By turns funny, entertaining, touching, and profound, The Soul of an Octopus reveals what octopuses can teach us about the meeting of two very different minds.

Un animal fantastiqueet une lecture fantastique.Donna Leon Sauvage, prédatrice, monstrueuse : la pieuvre alimente dans l’imaginaire collectif les peurs et les légendes les plus tenaces. De l’a

Welcome to a forest filled with water. In the wet season, the swollen Amazon becomes a looking glass into another world, where pink dolphins swim like something from a dream. In Peru they are called bufeo coloradothe ruddy dolphin. Their color ranges from white to gray to a vivid pink. These astonishing mammals, actually river-dwelling whales, easily navigate their way through the complex, hazardous world of the Amazon rain forest. Encantado invites readers on the adventure of a lifetime as we travel into one of the worlds most lush and beautiful jungles in search of these magical creatures. Our guides include scientists and researchers as well as the local people, who have lived with the encantadosthe enchanted onesliterally at their doorsteps for centuries. Our main guides are the dolphins themselves. They lead us into myth. They take us back in time to a prehistoric era. They alone can show us the depth of the Amazons beauty, diversity, and magicand help us to keep our planet rich and whole.What mysteries await in the Amazons flooded forests?Pink River Dolphin Facts: Meet the bufeo colorado, the legendary river-dwelling whale that can blush from gray to a vivid pink and navigates the jungle like no other creature. Science and Myth: Travel with scientists on a real-life expedition, then listen to local shamans share ancient stories of the encantadosthe enchanted ones. A Flooded Forest Adventure: Canoe through the treetops of a forest filled with water, encountering everything from giant spiders and piranhas to monkeys and caimans. Paleontology for Kids: Journey back in time with a paleontologist to discover prehistoric creatures and see how the Amazon is a window into a lost world.

A New York Times bestseller!National Book Award finalist Sy Montgomery reflects on the personalities and quirks of 13 animalsher friendswho have profoundly affected her in this stunning, poetic, and life-affirming memoir featuring illustrations by Rebecca Green.Understanding someone who belongs to another species can be transformative. No one knows this better than author, naturalist, and adventurer Sy Montgomery. To research her books, Sy has traveled the world and encountered some of the planets rarest and most beautiful animals. From tarantulas to tigers, Sys life continually intersects with and is informed by the creatures she meets.This restorative memoir reflects on the personalities and quirks of thirteen animalsSys friendsand the truths revealed by their grace. It also explores vast themes: the otherness and sameness of people and animals; the various ways we learn to love and become empathetic; how we find our passion; how we create our families; coping with loss and despair; gratitude; forgiveness; and most of all, how to be a good creature in the world. Perfect gift for the holiday season. Engaging back matter showcases personal black-and-white photos of Sy and the animals she so lovingly depicts. Dont miss Sy Montgomerys other books including Of Time and Turtles, The Soul of an Octopus, and The Hawks Way.

Considered the lungs of the world, the Amazon provides a full fifth of the worlds oxygen, and every year unsustainable human practices destroy 2.7 million acres. What can be done to help? Thats where Project Piaba comes in. Join the award-winning author Sy Montgomery and the photographer Keith Ellenbogen as they traverse the river and rainforest to discover how tiny fish, called piabas, can help preserve the Amazon, its animals, and the rich legacy of its people. Amazon Adventure is an eye-openingand ultimately hopefulexploration of how humanitys practices are affecting and shaping not only the Amazon, but our entire environment.

A 2007 Sibert Honor Book It looks like a bear, but isnt one. It climbs trees as easily as a monkey but isnt a monkey, either. It has a belly pocket like a kangaroo, but whats a kangaroo doing up a tree? Meet the amazing Matschies tree kangaroo, who makes its home in the ancient trees of Papua New Guineas cloud forest. And meet the amazing scientists who track these elusive animals.What does it take to save one of the worlds rarest animals?A Real-Life Adventure: Hike through muddy, leech-filled jungles and climb to 10,000 feet with a team of scientists on a mission. Animal Science in Action: Learn how the team uses high-tech radio collars and tracking gear to study the mysterious tree kangaroo without harming it. Partners in Conservation: Meet the local people of Papua New Guinea, whose partnership and knowledge are essential to protecting the forest and its creatures. Stunning Wildlife Photography: Get an up-close look at one of the worlds most elusive mammals through breathtaking, full-color photos on every page.

2011 Sibert Medal Winner On remote Codfish Island off the southern coast of New Zealand live the last ninety-one kakapo parrots on earth. These trusting, flightless, and beautiful birdsthe largest and most unusual parrots on earthhave suffered devastating population loss.Now, on an island refuge with the last of the species, New Zealands National Kakapo Recovery Team is working to restore the kakapo population. With the help of fourteen humans who share a single hut and a passion for saving these odd ground-dwelling birds, the kakapo are making a comeback in New Zealand.Follow intrepid animal lovers Sy Montgomery and Nic Bishop on a ten-day excursion to witness the exciting events in the life of the kakapo.

Since the year 1900, cheetah footprints quickly dwindled in African dirt as the species plummeted from more than 100,000 to fewer than 10,000. At the Cheetah Conservation Funds (CCF) African headquarters in Namibia, Laurie Marker and her team save these stunning, swift, and slender creatures from extinction. Since the organizations start in 1990, theyve rescued more than 900 cheetahs, most of whom have been returned to the wild. But this arduous challenge continues. For most African livestock farmers, cheetahs are the last thing they want to see on their properties. In the 1980s, as many as 19 cheetahs per farmer died each year. Cheetahs were considered vermin--but, in learning more about this magnificent species, we know this is far from true. Today, CCF acts as a liaison between the farmers and the cheetahs, in order to promote cohabitation in an ecosystem that cannot thrive without the existence of the precious and predatory cheetah. On a wild ride through the African wilderness--sometimes sniffing out scents left in the dirt--Sy Montgomery and Nic Bishop join CCF in studying the cheetahs ecological, genetic, and behavioral patterns in order to chase down the fastest animal on land and save the species--before it is too late.

Winner of the Green Earth Book AwardSibert Medalist, National Book Award Honoree, and New York Times bestselling author Sy Montgomery turns her formidable talents to the story of California condors and the scientists who have fought against their extinction in this installment in the award-winning Scientists in the Field series.In April of 1987 the last wild California condor was captured and taken to live in captivity like the other twenty-six remaining birds of its kind. Many thought that the days were over of of this remarkable, distinguished bird that had roamed the skies of North and Central American for thousands of years.Sy Montgomery employs her skill for on-the-ground reporting, shrewd observation, and stunning narrative prose to detail the efforts of scientists, volunteers, and everyday citizens to get California condors back in the wild. In particular, Montgomery profiles employees at the Santa Barbara Zoo who have worked tirelessly to raise abandoned chicks, nurse sick birds back to health, and conduct research that can support legislation to ban what is probably the largest threat to the existence of the wild condor: lead bullets. In turns affectionate and frustrated, hopeful and heartbreaking, Montgomerys powerful prose does justice to these ancient, sociable, and elegant creatures.Complete with world-class, full-color photography and helpful sidebars that provide details such as the history of the birds fight back from extinction, the dangers of lead poisoning, and the relationship of condors to the Chumash nation, Condor Comeback is an inspiring story of groundbreaking science, perseverance, and cooperation.

A splendid and luminous celebration of one of natures most perfect and mysterious creaturesthe hawkfrom the New York Times bestselling author of the astoundingly beautiful (NPR) The Soul of an Octopus.When Sy Montgomery went to spend a day at falconer Nancy Cowans farm, home to a dozen magnificent birds of prey, it was the start of a deep love affair. Nancy allowed her to work with Jazz, a feisty, four-year-old, female Harriss hawk with a wingspan of more than four feet. Not a pet, Jazz was a fierce predator with talons that could pierce skin and bone and yet, she was willing to work with a human to hunt. From the first moment Jazz swept down from a tree and landed on Sys leather gloved fist, Sy fell under the hawks magnetic spell.Over the next few years, Sy spent more time with these magnificent creatures, getting to know their extraordinary abilities and instincts. They are deeply emotional animals, quick to show anger and frustration, and can hold a grudge for years. But they are also loyal and intensely aware of their surroundings. In this mesmerizing account, featuring sixteen pages of gorgeous color photographs, Sy passionately and vividly reveals the wonderous world of hawks and what they can teach us about nature, life, and love.

By the acclaimed author of The Soul of an Octopus and the bestselling memoir The Good Good Pig.When Sy Montgomery ventured into the Amazon to unlock the mysteries of the littleknown pink dolphins, she found ancient whales that plied the Amazon River at dawn and dusk, swam through treetops in flooded forests, and performed underwater ballets with their flexible bodies. But she soon found out that to know the botos, as the dolphins are locally called, you must also know the people who live among them.And so in Journey of the Pink Dolphins, Montgomerypart naturalist, part poet, part Indiana Joneswinds her way through watery tributaries and riverside villages, searching for botos and hearing the tales of locals who believe these ethereal dolphins are shape-shifterscreatures that emerge from the water as splendidly dressed men or women only to enchant their human onlookers, capture their souls, and then carry them away to the Encante, an underwater world. Montgomery takes readers on four separate journeys, exploring the river-dwelling dolphins natural history, chronicling their conservation pressures, unraveling their prehistoric roots, and visiting with shamans who delve into the Encante.

Sy Montgomery--acclaimed author of The Soul of an Octopus and bestselling memoir The Good Good Pig--has shared with readers her amazing encounters with intelligent octopi, great apes, man-eating tigers, and pink river dolphins, but here her muse is an animal whose name and appearance evoke another world altogether. Southeast Asias golden moon bear, with its luminous coat, lionlike mane, and Mickey Mouse ears, was unknown to science--until Montgomery and her colleagues got on the trail at the dawn of the new millennium.Search for the Golden Moon Bear recounts Montgomerys quest--fraught with danger and mayhem--to reconstruct an evolutionary record and piece together a living portrait of her littleknown subject. This beautiful animal is not just a scientific eureka! It is also a powerful symbol of conservation. Search for the Golden Moon Bear is a field report from the frontiers of science and the ends of the earth, seamlessly weaving together folklore, natural history, and contemporary research into fantastic travelogue.