Why do cows have four stomachs? Where – and how – do plants survive in conditions of extreme aridity? How do animals plan complex hunting strategies? How many elephants are too many? This compelling book explores and finds answers to some of nature’s most intriguing mysteries, from evolution to death, predation to communication, feeding to reproduction, adversity to that most contentious of issues – animal consciousness. Drawing on the southern African landscape for his research and examples, the author reveals the workings, both in detail and on a grand scale, of life in the natural world.Playful line drawings illustrate the clear text, to make a bumper read for the burgeoning popular science market.