The natural history of otters /

This is a great book! It is well written, beautifully illustrated with color plates, black-and-white photos, and useful figures, and, thus, a welcome addition to available books dealing with the natural history of a wide variety of nature's elusive, but intriguing, mammals. Furthermore, it is reasonably priced and will be available to a diverse audience. In addition to covering what is known about the world's different otters, comparative information is presented where possible. Some of the topics that are covered in this volume include taxonomy, geographical distribution, physical characteristics, different categories of social behavior (including play, grooming, feeding behavior, and adaptations), otters' predators, competition with other species, social organization and communication, and the life history of various species. Also, there is a chapter dealing with otter relationships with humans. This is one of the best natural history books to appear in recent years and will be of interest to scientists and lay persons alike. An essential acquisition for any academic library.-M. Bekoff, University of Colorado