I saw this book at Powell's during my last Portland, OR trip and had to get it. I will say that I usually listen to books as I read them and the narrator had such a nerdy, slow sounding voice it was a bit hard to get through. Anyways, I still got through the book and enjoyed learning about these unique animal species. Some of the animals that were spotlighted in the book were the star-nosed moles, electric eels, tentacled snakes, shrews, and emerald jewel wasps. I had no idea that star-nosed moles are among the fastest eaters in the animal kingdom. They actually were awarded the fastest eaters among mammals (I think) from the Guiness World Book of Records. I also found it so interesting how worm grunting actually mimics the scurrying of the star-nosed mole. It was originally thought that the grunting mimics rain and that the worms surfaced to avoid drowning. Oh! The tentacled snake bit was pretty interesting too. It's amazing how animals have adapted based on the reactions of their prey. The fact that the snake produces a feint in its neck region to cause the fish to naturally project the opposite way (towards the mouth) is amazing. If anything could convert me to Christianity, it would be animal science. The different evolutionary paths that various life forms take is truly magnificent. I've actually worked with electric eels in the past (one is particular named Shrek) and I had flashback to how bad it hurt to get shocked by one. They really do sort of leap out of the water to get their body on you to deliver that shock. I remember almost falling off the ladder when I was shocked and putting on rubber boots to get in the tank. As for the emerald jewel wasp, I was kind of surprised that there are a number of predatory wasp species. My mind immediately thought of the tarantula hawk wasp found in AZ. I caught and pinned one for my entomology class back in collage and they also zombify other creatures for the sake of their young. I won't go into all the mechanics of it but the chemical reactions that occur in the prey's body after the toxin is delivered is really wild. It's also only the females that deliver this toxin and the only ones that have "stinging" capabilities! I'm really glad I picked up this book and it is neat that there are QR codes that go to YouTube videos correlating certain content. It was a surprisingly interactive read!
