How the Zebra Got Its Stripes

by Lïo Grasset

Overview

Why do giraffes have such long necks? Why are zebras striped? And why does the clitoris of the female hyena exactly resemble and in most respects function like the male's penis? Deploying the latest scientific research and his own extensive observations in Africa, Léo Grasset offers answers to these questions and many more in a book of post-Darwinian Just So stories. Complex natural phenomena are explained in simple and at times comic terms, as Grasset turns evolutionary biology to the burning questions of the animal kingdom, from why elephants prefer dictators and buffaloes democracies, to whether the lion really is king.The human is, of course, just another animal, and the author's exploration of two million years of human evolution shows how it not only informs our current habits and behavior, but reveals that we are hybrids of several different species.Prepare to be fascinated, shocked and delighted, as well as reliably advised — by the end, you will know to never hug the beautiful, cuddly honey badger, and what explains its almost psychotic nastiness.This is serious science at its entertaining best.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781681777559
Publisher:	Pegasus Books
Publication date:	06/12/2018
Edition description:	Reprint
Pages:	256
Product dimensions:	5.10(w) x 7.90(h) x 0.50(d)

About the Author

Léo Grasset is a brilliant young French punk scientist par excellence, founder of Dirty Biology and author of the blog Dans les testicules de Darwin, devoted to biology, testosterone, and rock 'n' roll (danslestesticulesdedarwin.blogspot.uk). He has an excellent web presence (17,000 followers on Twitter) and is one of France's leading up-and-coming evolutionary biologists.

Table of Contents

Part I Evolution in its Guises 1

1 The Female Hyena's Penis 3

2 The Giraffe's Long Neck 11

3 The Random Flight of the Gazelle 17

4 How the Zebra Got its Stripes 27

Part II The Mysteries of Animal Behaviour 35

5 The Air-Conditioning of the Termite Mound 37

6 The Impala's Mexican Waves 43

7 Elephant Dictatorship vs Buffalo Democracy 51

8 The Antelope Art of Sexual Manipulation 61

Part III Extraordinary Creatures 63

9 Dung Beetle Navigation 65

10 Seismic Signalling in the Elephants' Sound-World 69

11 Honey Badger - Weapon of Mass Destruction 78

12 The Truth about the Lion King 83

Part IV The Human Factor 89

13 How to Turn a Lion into a Cub-Killer 91

14 Catastrophic Change 99

15 Human Evolution and its Impact 105

Epilogue: The Zebras and Me 117

Further investigations 125

Acknowledgements 145

Index 146

Editorial Reviews

Charming ‘just so’ stories. Now and again Grasset finds order and coherence in the natural world. But Grasset is also sharply aware of those points where the cause-and-effect logic of scientific description cannot show the whole picture. He has even more fun describing the occasions when, frankly, nature goes nuts.

New Scientist

The individual chapters offer tantalizing tidbits of often heady information, which should pique the interest of readers looking for something meatier than typical pop science.

Booklist

Charming ‘just so’ stories. Now and again Grasset finds order and coherence in the natural world. But Grasset is also sharply aware of those points where the cause-and-effect logic of scientific description cannot show the whole picture. He has even more fun describing the occasions when, frankly, nature goes nuts.

New Scientist

"The individual chapters offer tantalizing tidbits of often heady information, which should pique the interest of readers looking for something meatier than typical pop science."

Booklist

"Informed and engaging."

The Economic Times (India)