Book Description

Contrary to common belief, not everything is "hardwired"--Or instinctual--in the animal kingdom. Many skills a wild animal needs to thrive, to grow, to be what nature intended, must be developed through play, painstaking teaching, and often treacherous trial and error. The coming-of-age processes of the myriad creatures of plain, forest, ocean, and jungle are truly fascinating natural events. In this book, McCarthy offers readers an in-depth look into the ways baby animals learn not only about themselves, but about their world and ours--and how to survive in both. Based on extensive scientific research done in the lab, in controlled "natural" settings, as well as in the wild, her findings provide new insights into the lives and development of Earth's nonhuman inhabitants--not only tigers, but lions, bears, bats, rats, birds, dolphins, whales, apes, elephants, and dozens of other species.--From publisher description.