Black and White in the Wild

Description:

This book is a photographic celebration and investigation into the anomaly that is black and white colouration in wild animals.

In this beautiful book the author explores the nature of black and white in mammals, birds, reptiles and invertebrates as well as the remarkable albino and black forms of animals. This is the first ever book on the subject. The many photographs in the book are a result of 35 years of pursuing nature in far off places and observing animals close-up.

The scientific community is still undecided on what evolutionary trick has caused some animals to develop rigid black and white colour patterns (as in pied birds) and random patterns in others (such as zebra). Our understanding of genetic mutations such as albinism and melanism is better understood but there has never yet been a book that looks at the many animals that display black and white colouration and why they do so.

This book aims to fill that gap, and while it doesn’t pretend to have the absolute answers, puts suggestions forward in an engaging and digestible style that will appeal to both the lay reader and the academic.