Review by Choice Review
Carnivores have long been the subjects of myths and misperceptions. In this book, Bradshaw, founder and director of the Kerulos Center and the Tortoise and the Hare Sanctuary, advocates for a new approach to understanding these animals that combines perspectives from neuropsychology and natural history. Bradshaw advocates for a new way of looking at these charismatic species with an eye toward encouraging scientists and non-scientists to consider their cognitive and emotional lives. She also examines the role that humans may play in the well-being of these species by examining the psychological effects of habitat destruction and long-term captivity on individual members of the species. The bulk of the text consists of chapters treating several individual predator species in detail and includes coverage of mammals (grizzly bears, orcas, coyotes, and pumas), fish (white sharks), and reptiles (rattlesnakes and crocodiles). The book is well-researched, ably discussing both personal observations from field biologists, as well as research on aspects of cognition and emotion. Readers will find descriptions of coming eye-to-eye with white sharks and up-close-and-personal encounters with grizzly bears and other large carnivores particularly compelling. Summing Up: Recommended. Upper-division undergraduates and above; researchers and faculty. --Suzanne C. Baker, James Madison University
Copyright American Library Association, used with permission.
Review by Booklist Review
Psychologist-ecologist Bradshaw, who discovered the first instance of PTSD in a nonhuman animal (Elephants on the Edge, 2009), here tackles the minds and emotions of carnivores. Predators have always been viewed through a human lens that equates them with rapacious rivals, unpredictable killing machines that function devoid of emotion. But as Bradshaw examines seven predatory species, she draws from the disciplines of neuroscience and psychology, which, combined with the animals' natural history, reveal surprising aspects of each carnivore. We learn that great white sharks are actually cautious predators and have become even more so after heavy fishing pressure in the wake of Jaws. Grizzly bears are excellent mothers who spend up to three years raising their cubs. Crocodiles and their alligator kin demonstrate emotional intelligence; they delay the immediate gratification of feeding while they determine if it's safe, a sign of self-regulation. Bradshaw also examines orcas, rattlesnakes, pumas, and coyotes in this fascinating blend of well-informed anecdote, neuroscience, ecology, and gleanings from the scientific literature. Carnivores wield powerful weapons but use them with restraint.--Bent, Nancy Copyright 2017 Booklist
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
