Winter World cover art

Winter World

The Ingenuity of Animal Survival

 Preview

Get 30 days of Premium Plus free

£8.99/month after 30-day free trial. Cancel monthly.
Try for £0.00
More purchase options
Buy Now for £12.99

Buy Now for £12.99

About this listen

 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.

©2003 Bernd Heinrich (P)2009 Tantor Animals Biological Sciences Ecology Nature & Ecology Outdoors & Nature Science Survival Winter
All stars
Most relevant
I enjoyed listening to this fascinating analysis of how animals can survive incredibly low temperatures that seem to defy the laws of both physiology and physics! So many interesting facts that I’m sure to listen to it again.

The wonder of adaptation

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.