In photographs of unsurpassed intimacy and detail and in an expert commentary this book presents a rounded picture of almost every basic aspect of wild animal behavior. ... It penetrates the private world of all kinds of animals, from the largest mammals to minute invertebrates. And it ranges through their entire life cycle, revealing in extrordinarily candid views the miracles of birth and adaptation, the rituals of courtship and mating, and the family instinct revealed in nest-building and care of the young. It lays bare the endless struggle for survival, including the ferocity of the hunters and the terrors of the hunted, and it explores the social organization of animals, ranging from a troop of elephants to the occupants of a termitary. -- from book jacket flap.