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Winter World: The Ingenuity of Animal Survival (2003)

by Bernd Heinrich

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8461625,787 (4.14)31
The animal kingdom relies on staggering evolutionary innovations to survive winter. Unlike their human counterparts, who alter the environment to accommodate physical limitations, most animals are adapted to an amazing range of conditions. In Winter World: The Ingenuity of Animal Survival, biologist, illustrator, and award-winning author Bernd Heinrich explores his local woods, where he delights in the seemingly infinite feats of animal inventiveness he discovers there.Because winter drastically affects the most elemental component of all life-water-radical changes in a creature's physiology and behavior must take place to match the demands of the environment. Some creatures survive by developing antifreeze; others must remain in constant motion to maintain their high body temperatures. Even if animals can avoid freezing to death, they must still manage to find food in a time of scarcity or store if from a time of plenty.Infused by the author's inexhaustible enchantment with nature, Winter World awakens the wonders and mysteries by which nature sustains herself through winter's harsh, cruel exigencies.… (more)
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» See also 31 mentions

Showing 1-5 of 16 (next | show all)
3.5. Fascinating study by a leading authority. ( )
  ben_r47 | Feb 22, 2024 |
Well-written and containing lots of interesting content. But somehow I just don't see myself ever re-reading it. But I'll almost certainly pick up some of Heinrich's other stuff. ( )
  Treebeard_404 | Jan 23, 2024 |
Turns out that my interest in this topic was more article-length than book-length. I enjoyed what I did read, and got some interesting conversations out of the material I encountered, but eventually my enthusiasm waned and it was time to move on.
  blueskygreentrees | Jul 30, 2023 |
Wonderful book full of a love of nature and also a passion for careful science. So many stories about how creatures in northern New England deal with winter, with careful observations about their strategies for surviving long winters. Hibernation turns out to be complex and it comes in many varieties. Packed with details and sweet little drawings. ( )
  steve02476 | Jan 3, 2023 |
meh - talks too much about himself ( )
  farrhon | Aug 31, 2021 |
Showing 1-5 of 16 (next | show all)
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When I was a teenage boy in western Maine, I read the books of Jack London, books about a world of rugged people and hardy animals at home in the frozen woods of the north.
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(Click to show. Warning: May contain spoilers.)
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The animal kingdom relies on staggering evolutionary innovations to survive winter. Unlike their human counterparts, who alter the environment to accommodate physical limitations, most animals are adapted to an amazing range of conditions. In Winter World: The Ingenuity of Animal Survival, biologist, illustrator, and award-winning author Bernd Heinrich explores his local woods, where he delights in the seemingly infinite feats of animal inventiveness he discovers there.Because winter drastically affects the most elemental component of all life-water-radical changes in a creature's physiology and behavior must take place to match the demands of the environment. Some creatures survive by developing antifreeze; others must remain in constant motion to maintain their high body temperatures. Even if animals can avoid freezing to death, they must still manage to find food in a time of scarcity or store if from a time of plenty.Infused by the author's inexhaustible enchantment with nature, Winter World awakens the wonders and mysteries by which nature sustains herself through winter's harsh, cruel exigencies.

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