Native Birds of New Zealand by David Hallett

$24.99 NZD

$49.99 (50% off)

Category: New Zealand Pictorial

Native Birds of New Zealand is a photographic book of New Zealand native birds that will appeal to the casual bird-watcher as well as the ornithologist. Many books in the past have been aimed at the serious ornithologist, with illustrations designed to show distinct feather patterns but not to create an image that is also pleasing to the eye. The photographs in this book have been taken by David Hallett, one of New Zealand's leading wildlife photographers, who captures the beauty of New Zealand's native birds in their natural environment, from the subtropical north to the Sub-Antarctic Islands, and from the oceans to the alpine meadows of the Southern Alps. The text is kept short and avoids the in-depth academic material found in some of the very good reference books on the market. It does include all the interesting facts that set our native birds apart, presented in a short, concise format that makes the book ideal for browsing. With the advent of digital photography, many more birders are now equipping themselves with cameras as well as binoculars when they go into the field, creating an increasing awareness of wildlife photography. This trend, combined with the affection New Zealanders have for their native birds, makes Native Birds of New Zealand a book that will have widespread appeal. ...Show more

Wild Horses of the World by Kelly Wilson

$60.00 NZD

Category: Pets & Animals

Wild horses have been an important part of wildlife on Earth for centuries, yet many herds now face serious threats - and very few people can claim to have seen them galloping free across the plains, or scaling mountain passes. Kelly Wilson has. For this book, she spent years researching the world's wil dest herds, travelling the globe and living among them. From the remote forests of Canada and snowcapped mountains of America, to the unforgiving deserts of Australia and windswept beaches of New Zealand, Kelly has captured a raw and honest portrayal of these animals - their rugged beauty, their unique way of life, and the harsh, yet picturesque landscapes they call home. Live the adventure alongside her, as Kelly looks into the secret lives of wild horses, how their populations are managed, and the many hardships they must overcome in their fight for survival.   ...Show more

Healthy Bee Sick Bee by Phil Lester

$30.00 NZD

Category: Pets & Animals

Phil Lester's first book, The Vulgar Wasp, was about one of the world's most hated insects. His second is about just the opposite – the honey bee, arguably one of our best-loved six-legged creatures. People have revered honey bees for centuries. Today we celebrate them with toys, postage stamps and camp aigns to raise awareness; we dress up in large bee suits to protest the use of pesticides; we've even sent bees into space and watched as they adjusted to microgravity. Bees are one of the world's most efficient pollinators. Their work is vital to the success of many food crops, and hence to the world's economy. So we need to take seriously any threats to their health – including parasites, pathogens, predators and pesticides – and, guided by evidence at every turn, find a way to minimise harm and keep bees thriving. As Healthy Bee, Sick Bee shows, this is no small task. In this book, entomologist Phil Lester explores the wonderfully complex and sometimes brutally efficient life history of honey bees, and the problems they face in New Zealand and around the globe. What causes a beehive to collapse? Are pesticides as big a problem as they appear? What can we do to improve the health of our honey bees? With intelligence, insight and entomologist jokes, Healthy Bee, Sick Bee tells the story of this much-loved little insect and offers new ways of thinking about how to ensure they will stick around in the future. ...Show more

Zen Dogs by Alex Cearns

$24.99 NZD

$29.99 (16% off)

Category: Pets & Animals | Reading Level: General Adult

Award-winning animal photographer Alex Cearns celebrates the peace, calm, and joy dogs bring to our lives with this unique full-color collection capturing eighty dogs in their most relaxed and contented moments. When Alex Cearns caught Suzi the Sharpei on film with eyes closed and an endearing smile on her furry face, the renowned Australian professional pet and wildlife photographer called the picture of serenity "Zen Dog." Captivated by the image's tranquil beauty, Cearns then turned her lens on other canines experiencing their own carefree and meditative "Zen" moments--a series of photos that would go viral across the web and take the top prize in a major international competition. Expanding on Cearns's original web series, Zen Dogs includes eighty stunning color photographs of a variety of breeds--golden retrievers, beagles, French bulldogs, dachshunds, poodles, huskies, pit bulls, and German shepherds. Here are some familiar faces from the online series, joined by dozens of dogs never seen before--all whose engaging personalities shine through. Sprinkled throughout the photos are words of wisdom from the Buddha, Gandhi, and other meditative masters, inspiring messages that, with the photos, warm the heart and soothe the spirit. A gorgeous compendium for every dog lover, animal enthusiast, and everyone looking to add some peace and joy to their day, Zen Dogs reminds us of the power dogs have to enrich our lives--to make us happier, healthier, calmer, and more loving. ...Show more

The Gospel of the Eels by Patrik Svensson

$37.99 NZD

Category: Pets & Animals

'I can't recall us ever talking about anything other than eels and how to best catch them, down there by the stream. Actually, I can't remember us speaking at all. Maybe because we never did.' The European eel, Anguilla anguilla, is one of the strangest creatures nature ever created. Remarkably little is known about the eel, even today. What we do know is that it's born as a tiny willow-leaf shaped larva in the Sargasso Sea, travels on the ocean currents toward the coasts of Europe - a journey of about four thousand miles that takes at least two years. Upon arrival, it transforms itself into a glass eel and then into a yellow eel before it wanders up into fresh water. It lives a solitary life, hiding from light and science both, for ten, twenty, fifty years, before migrating back to the sea in the autumn, morphing into a silver eel and swimming all the way back to the Sargasso Sea, where it breeds and dies. And yet . . . There is still so much we don't know about eels. No human has ever seen eels reproduce; no one can give a complete account of the eel's metamorphoses or say why they are born and die in the Sargasso Sea; no human has even seen a mature eel in the Sargasso Sea. Ever. And now the eel is disappearing, and we don't know exactly why. What we do know is that eels and their mysterious lives captivate us. This is the basis for Patrik Svensson's quite unique natural science memoir; his ongoing fascination with this secretive fish, but also the equally perplexing and often murky relationship he shared with his father, whose only passion in life was fishing for this obscure creature. Through the exploration of eels in literature (Günter Grass and Graham Swift feature, amongst others) in the history of science (we learn about Aristotle's and Sigmund Freud's complicated relationships with eels) as well as modern marine biology (Rachel Carson and others) we get to know this peculiar animal, and in this exploration, also learn about the human condition, life and death, through natural science and nature writing at its very best. As Patrik Svensson concludes: 'by writing about eels, I have in some ways found my way home again.' ...Show more

Extraordinary Old Dogs: Uplifting True Tales of Remarkable Seniors by Laura Greaves

$40.00 NZD

Category: Pets & Animals

Puppies are wonderful, but there is something truly special about an old dog. It's the grey muzzle and salt-and-pepper eyebrows; the face that says 'been there, sniffed that.' It's the plodding gait; the long naps in the sunshine; the undiminished wonderment at the beauty of the world. And more than any thing, of course, it's the lifetime of love, laughter and licks. Most dog lovers wish their four-legged friends could live forever, and yet senior canines are surrendered to shelters and rescue groups in heartbreakingly high numbers. For some people, it seems ageing is an inconvenience rather than an achievement to be celebrated. But every day, all over the world, elderly dogs are doing incredible things. From saving lives and breaking records to leading online movements and surviving against the odds, stately seniors are wringing every ounce of joy and adventure from their lives. In Extraordinary Old Dogs, meet the geriatric tail-waggers proving there's plenty of life in the old dog yet.   ...Show more

Mini Pawtraits by Ken Drake

$16.99 NZD

$24.99 (32% off)

Category: Pets & Animals

Pawtraits is a stunning photographic collection capturing man's best friends at their most adorable, playful, mischievous and downright lovable selves. Each Pawtrait is an artwork in itself - a beautiful, personal 'tail' of the love between a dog and their human - captured in Zoo Studio's signature styl e. Since 2006, Zoo Studio photographer Ken Drake has photo-graphed over 9,000 pets - this book is a selection of his favourite photos. "It is our passion, our soul, our life - every pet deserves to be celebrated and have their story told " says Ken, who has won over 120 professional photography awards and has won outright some of the biggest inter-national photography competitions in the world. Animal lovers & photographic art connoisseurs alike will fall in love with this book. A portion of the sales of Pawtraits will be donated to the animal welfare charity RSPCA. ...Show more

Old Dog's Wisdom by Fiona Tomlinson

$29.99 NZD

Category: Pets & Animals

Pets have always featured prominentlyin professional photographernFionaTomlinson's family. It wasn't until thecanine love of Fiona's life became unwellat the grand age of 14, that she discoveredshe didn't have any special images ofher faithful companion. 'I had plenty ofsnapshots but nothing that captur ed hergorgeous expressions and the magnificentbeauty that she was.' This startedFiona on her journey to photographmagnificent 'old' dogs.This is a collectionof some of the beautiful dogs she has metand captured on film. ...Show more

Spirit: A Book of Happiness for Horse Lovers by Anouska Jones (Editor)

$14.99 NZD

Category: Pets & Animals | Series: Animal Happiness Ser.

Horses are the epitome of grace, power, and freedom. They also have an ability to touch our souls and connect with our hearts in a way that few other animals can. From a little girl's first pony to a gnarled cowboy's last quarter horse, they can offer us some of our deepest friendships and inspire us to be the best version of ourselves. Spirit: A book of happiness for horse lovers is a compendium of enduring quotes that capture the essence of our affection for these magnificent animals. Some are by famous people (Winston Churchill, Nathaniel Hawthorne, William Faulkner, Dale Carnegie, Ralph Waldo Emerson), others not; some are philosophical, others light-hearted - all are memorable. This best-selling collection of memorable quotes and beautiful photography is now available in paperback. ...Show more

History of the World in 100 Animals by Simon Barnes

$55.00 NZD

Category: Pets & Animals

A powerful and fascinating insight into the 100 animals - from the blue whale to the mosquito - that have had the biggest influence on humanity through the ages.  We are not alone. We are not alone on the planet. We are not alone in the countryside. We are not alone in cities. We are not alone in our h omes. We are humans and we love the idea of our uniqueness. But the fact is that we humans are as much members of the animal kingdom as the cats and dogs we surround ourselves with, the cows and the fish we eat, and the bees who pollinate so many of our food-plants.  In The History of the World in 100 Animals, award-winning author Simon Barnes selects the 100 animals who have had the greatest impact on humanity and on whom humanity has had the greatest effect. He shows how we have domesticated animals for food and for transport, and how animals powered agriculture, making civilisation possible. A species of flea came close to destroying human civilisation in Europe, while the slaughter of a species of bovines was used to create one civilisation and destroy another. He explains how pigeons made possible the biggest single breakthrough in the history of human thought. In short, he charts the close relationship between humans and animals, finding examples from around the planet that bring the story of life on earth vividly to life, with great insight and understanding. The heresy of human uniqueness has led us across the millennia along the path of destruction. This book, beautifully illustrated throughout, helps us to understand our place in the world better, so that we might do a better job of looking after it. That might save the polar bears, the modern emblem of impending loss and destruction. It might even save ourselves.   ...Show more

The Fantail (A5 Version) by Anne Webb ; Neil Page

$22.99 NZD

Category: Pets & Animals

A pictorial study of New Zealand's most friendly and loved native bird  This stunning book, produced as a fundraiser for Native Bird Recovery Richmond, showcases the Fantail in all its glory. Includes 70 pages of full colour world class photographs and fascinating Fantail facts.    This more compact ver sion of the book is A5 in size - an ideal gift. ...Show more

Liquid Gold - Bees and the Pursuit of Midlife Honey by Roger Morgan-Grenville

$32.99 NZD

Category: Pets & Animals

'A great book. Painstakingly researched, but humorous, sensitive and full of wisdom.' Chris Stewart, author of Driving Over Lemons 'Beekeeping builds from lark to revelation in this carefully observed story of midlife friendship. Filled with humour and surprising insight, Liquid Gold is as richly reward ing as its namesake. Highly recommended.' - Thor Hanson, author of Buzz: The Nature and Necessity of Bees    After a chance meeting in the pub, Roger Morgan-Grenville and his friend Duncan decide to take up beekeeping. Their enthusiasm matched only by their ignorance, they are pitched into an arcane world of unexpected challenges.    Coping with many setbacks along the way, they manage to create a colony of beehives, finishing two years later with more honey than anyone knows what to do with. By standing back from their normal lives and working with the cycle of the seasons, they emerge with a new-found understanding of nature and a respect for the honeybee and the threats it faces.    Wryly humorous and surprisingly moving, Liquid Goldis the story of a friendship between two unlikely men at very different stages of their lives. It is also an uplifting account of the author's own midlife journey: coming to terms with an empty nest, getting older, looking for something new. ...Show more