Nancy F Castaldo

In this book, the acclaimed author of Sniffer Dogs details the successful efforts of scientists to bring threatened animals back from the brink of extinction. How could capturing the last wild California condors help save them? Why are some states planning to cull populations of the gray wolf, despite this species only recently making it off the endangered list? How did a decision made during the Civil War to use alligator skin for cheap boots nearly...

North America boasts a surprising number of rainforests, including El Yunque National Forest in Puerto Rico, Olympic National Forest in Washington State, Chugach and Tongass National Forests in Alaska, and the forests in Hawaii, which are home to an enormous variety of plants and animals. Rainforests: An Activity Guide takes kids through the common layers of the rainforest, from the forest floor to above the enclosed canopy. Their journey continues...

This activity guide introduces children to the wild and often misunderstood environment of the desert and the people and cultures that thrive in and around them. Information is included on all types of deserts hot and dry, coastal, semiarid, and polar. Kids learn what defines a desert and the creative ways plants and animals have adapted to survive in harsh desert environments. Also discussed are urban sprawl and its effects on desert habitats and...

In Beastly Brains, Nancy Castaldo delves into the minds of animals and explores animal empathy, communication, tool use, and social societies through interviews and historical anecdotes. Researchers from Charles Darwin to Jane Goodall have spent years analyzing the minds of animals, and today's science is revolutionizing old theories and uncovering surprising similarities to our own minds. Humans are not alone in our ability to think about ourselves,...

"On Isle Royale, a unique national park more than fifty miles from the Michigan shore and about fifteen miles from Minnesota, a thrilling drama is unfolding between wolves and moose, the island's ultimate predator and prey. For over sixty years, in what has been known as the longest study of predator and prey in the world, scientists have studied the wolves and moose of Isle Royale and the island's ecology to observe and investigate wildlife populations....