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The Resource How the zebra got its stripes : Darwinian stories told through evolutionary biology, Léo Grasset ; [translation by Barbara Mellor]

How the zebra got its stripes : Darwinian stories told through evolutionary biology, Léo Grasset ; [translation by Barbara Mellor]

Creator
Author
Translator
Contributor
Summary
"A bright young scientist explains the intricacies of the animal kingdom through the lens of evolutionary biology. Why do giraffes have such long necks? Why are zebras striped? Why does a gazelle evade a hungry cheetah by leaping and bounding along a random path? Deploying the latest scientific research and his own extensive observations in Africa, Léo Grasset offers answers to these questions and many more in a book of post-Darwinian Just So Stories (the classic tales by Rudyard Kipling that offered fanciful accounts of how the features of assorted fauna came to be). Complex natural phenomena are explained in simple and at times comic terms, as Grasset turns evolutionary biology to the burning questions of the animal kingdom, from why elephants prefer dictators and buffaloes democracies, to whether the lion really is king. The human is, of course, just another animal, and the author's exploration of two million years of human evolution illustrates how it not only informs our current habits and behavior, but also reveals that we are hybrids of several different species. Prepare to be fascinated, shocked, and delighted--as well as reliably advised. By the end, you will know, for example, to never hug the beautiful, cuddly honey badger, and what explains its almost psychotic nastiness. This is serious science at its entertaining best."--Jacket
Language
  • eng
  • fre
  • eng
Work
Publication
Edition
First Pegasus Books hardcover edition
Extent
154 pages, 8 unnumbered pages of plates
Note
  • Translation of: Le coup de la girafe : des savants dans la savane
  • Originally published in French: Paris : Éd. du Seuil, 2015
Contents
  • Part I: Evolution in its guises. The female hyena's penis ; The giraffe's long neck ; The random flight of the gazelle ; How the zebra got its stripes
  • Part II: The mysteries of animal behaviour. The air-conditioning of the termite mound ; The impala's Mexican waves ; Elephant dictatorship vs buffalo democracy ; The antelope art of sexual manipulation
  • Part III: Extraordinary creatures. Dung beetle navigation ; Seismic signalling in the elephants' sound-world ; Honey badger : weapon of mass destruction ; The truth about The lion king
  • Part IV: The human factor. How to turn a lion into a cub-killer ; Catastrophic change ; Human evolution and its impact
  • Epilogue: The zebras and me
Isbn
9781681774145
Instance
Label
How the zebra got its stripes : Darwinian stories told through evolutionary biology
Title
How the zebra got its stripes
Title remainder
Darwinian stories told through evolutionary biology
Statement of responsibility
Léo Grasset ; [translation by Barbara Mellor]
Creator
Contributor
Author
Translator
Subject
Genre
Language
  • eng
  • fre
  • eng
Summary
"A bright young scientist explains the intricacies of the animal kingdom through the lens of evolutionary biology. Why do giraffes have such long necks? Why are zebras striped? Why does a gazelle evade a hungry cheetah by leaping and bounding along a random path? Deploying the latest scientific research and his own extensive observations in Africa, Léo Grasset offers answers to these questions and many more in a book of post-Darwinian Just So Stories (the classic tales by Rudyard Kipling that offered fanciful accounts of how the features of assorted fauna came to be). Complex natural phenomena are explained in simple and at times comic terms, as Grasset turns evolutionary biology to the burning questions of the animal kingdom, from why elephants prefer dictators and buffaloes democracies, to whether the lion really is king. The human is, of course, just another animal, and the author's exploration of two million years of human evolution illustrates how it not only informs our current habits and behavior, but also reveals that we are hybrids of several different species. Prepare to be fascinated, shocked, and delighted--as well as reliably advised. By the end, you will know, for example, to never hug the beautiful, cuddly honey badger, and what explains its almost psychotic nastiness. This is serious science at its entertaining best."--Jacket
Member of
Is translation of
Cataloging source
YDX
http://library.link/vocab/creatorName
Grasset, Léo
Dewey number
591.748096
Illustrations
  • illustrations
  • maps
  • plates
Index
index present
Language note
Translated from the French
LC call number
  • QL336
  • QL336
LC item number
  • .G6713 2017
  • .G7313 2017
Literary form
non fiction
Nature of contents
bibliography
http://library.link/vocab/relatedWorkOrContributorName
Mellor, Barbara
http://library.link/vocab/subjectName
  • Savanna animals
  • Animals
  • Savanna animals
  • Evolution (Biology)
  • Adaptation (Biology)
  • Behavior evolution
  • Human evolution
  • Human-animal relationships
  • Nature
  • Savanna animals
  • Africa
  • SCIENCE / Life Sciences / Biology
  • SCIENCE / Life Sciences / Evolution
  • SCIENCE / Life Sciences / Zoology
  • SCIENCE / Life Sciences / Biology
  • SCIENCE / Life Sciences / Evolution
  • SCIENCE / Life Sciences / Zoology / General
  • Animals
  • Nature
Label
How the zebra got its stripes : Darwinian stories told through evolutionary biology, Léo Grasset ; [translation by Barbara Mellor]
Instantiates
Publication
Copyright
Note
  • Translation of: Le coup de la girafe : des savants dans la savane
  • Originally published in French: Paris : Éd. du Seuil, 2015
Bibliography note
Includes bibliographical references (pages 125-143) and index
Carrier category
volume
Carrier category code
  • nc
Carrier MARC source
rdacarrier
Content category
  • text
  • still image
Content type code
  • txt
  • sti
Content type MARC source
  • rdacontent
  • rdacontent
Contents
Part I: Evolution in its guises. The female hyena's penis ; The giraffe's long neck ; The random flight of the gazelle ; How the zebra got its stripes -- Part II: The mysteries of animal behaviour. The air-conditioning of the termite mound ; The impala's Mexican waves ; Elephant dictatorship vs buffalo democracy ; The antelope art of sexual manipulation -- Part III: Extraordinary creatures. Dung beetle navigation ; Seismic signalling in the elephants' sound-world ; Honey badger : weapon of mass destruction ; The truth about The lion king -- Part IV: The human factor. How to turn a lion into a cub-killer ; Catastrophic change ; Human evolution and its impact -- Epilogue: The zebras and me
Control code
ocn959872376
Dimensions
22 cm
Edition
First Pegasus Books hardcover edition
Extent
154 pages, 8 unnumbered pages of plates
Isbn
9781681774145
Media category
unmediated
Media MARC source
rdamedia
Media type code
  • n
Other physical details
illustrations (some color), maps
System control number
  • (Sirsi) i9781681774145
  • (OCoLC)959872376
Label
How the zebra got its stripes : Darwinian stories told through evolutionary biology, Léo Grasset ; [translation by Barbara Mellor]
Publication
Copyright
Note
  • Translation of: Le coup de la girafe : des savants dans la savane
  • Originally published in French: Paris : Éd. du Seuil, 2015
Bibliography note
Includes bibliographical references (pages 125-143) and index
Carrier category
volume
Carrier category code
  • nc
Carrier MARC source
rdacarrier
Content category
  • text
  • still image
Content type code
  • txt
  • sti
Content type MARC source
  • rdacontent
  • rdacontent
Contents
Part I: Evolution in its guises. The female hyena's penis ; The giraffe's long neck ; The random flight of the gazelle ; How the zebra got its stripes -- Part II: The mysteries of animal behaviour. The air-conditioning of the termite mound ; The impala's Mexican waves ; Elephant dictatorship vs buffalo democracy ; The antelope art of sexual manipulation -- Part III: Extraordinary creatures. Dung beetle navigation ; Seismic signalling in the elephants' sound-world ; Honey badger : weapon of mass destruction ; The truth about The lion king -- Part IV: The human factor. How to turn a lion into a cub-killer ; Catastrophic change ; Human evolution and its impact -- Epilogue: The zebras and me
Control code
ocn959872376
Dimensions
22 cm
Edition
First Pegasus Books hardcover edition
Extent
154 pages, 8 unnumbered pages of plates
Isbn
9781681774145
Media category
unmediated
Media MARC source
rdamedia
Media type code
  • n
Other physical details
illustrations (some color), maps
System control number
  • (Sirsi) i9781681774145
  • (OCoLC)959872376

Subject

Genre

Member of

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