Animal Migration: Remarkable Journeys in the Wild

HOARE, AUTHOR OF ANIMAL BOOKS FOR KIDS AND ADULTS (AND CO-AUTHOR OF THE ENCYCLOPEDIC BIRD), HAS COMPILED DATA AND IMAGES FOR ALL TYPES OF MIGRATING ANIMALS, LOOKING AT THE CIRCUMSTANCES AND REASONS BEHIND SOME 60 SPECIES' SEASONAL JOURNEYS. THE FIRST SECTION DISCUSSES MIGRATION'S CAUSES AND METHODS: LAND ANIMALS ARE DRIVEN BY CLIMATE, WATER SOURCES AND GRAZING CONDITIONS; MARINE MAMMALS AND FISH ARE GUIDED BY SEASONAL PLANKTON BLOOMS (WHICH ALSO MIGRATE, DIURNALLY, BETWEEN SHALLOW AND DEEP WATER). FROM THERE, THREE SECTIONS LOOK AT MIGRATION VIA LAND, WATER AND AIR; INDIVIDUAL SPECIES AND ECOSYSTEMS PROFILED INCLUDE POLAR BEARS, BISON, THE RED CRAB, THE WALRUS, THE BAR-TAILED GODWIT AND THE MONARCH BUTTERFLY, AS WELL AS THE AFRICAN VELDT AND ASIAN STEPPE. ALTHOUGH CHAPTERS ARE SHORT, EACH INCLUDES A SIGNIFICANT AMOUNT OF INFORMATION, INCLUDING A TABLE OF VITAL STATS THAT INCLUDES WHERE AND WHEN TO OBSERVE THE ANIMALS EN ROUTE (THE BEST PLACE TO SPOT THE SPRING MIGRATION OF THE EUROPEON WHITE STORK, FOR EXAMPLE, IS TURKEY'S STRAIT OF BOSPORUS). HABITAT DESTRUCTION, GLOBAL CLIMATE CHANGE AND A WORLDWIDE HUMAN POPULATION BOOM THREATEN THE SURVIVAL OF MANY SPECIES AND ENTIRE BIOMES, AND THIS BOOK PRESENTS A CLOSE LOOK AT WHAT WE HAVE TO LOSE. 200 COLOR ILLUSTRATIONS.