In Review

04 December 2008 02:39 BST

Why Pandas Do Handstands - and Other Curious Truths About Animals by Augustus Brown

Published by Bantam Press, out November 2nd, hardback, 393 pages, £9.99

In a nutshell…

Fascinating. Bite-sized brilliance. Strangely spellbinding. Funny.

What's it all about?

An endless collection of "Did you know?" type factoids and other bits of information that can be used to amaze whoever's listening.

The publication is like Animal Planet and the Discovery Channel in the form of a book and in the absence of images, almost serves as a very user-friendly encyclopaedia about animal behaviour.

It covers all aspects of animalistic life, including their interesting sex lives, table manners, fashion sense and war tactics.

Who's it by?

Augustus Brown first became entranced by interesting animal behaviour when he was growing up on a farm in Wales. His fascination grew as he was confronted by highly hypnotisable poultry and cows that could sense oncoming rain.

This led to Brown reading up about zoological and biological explanations for why animals get up to the strange things they do. He penned his discoveries in various publications.

As an example…

"A fly that buries itself inside the tiger moth caterpillar brainwashes the insect into changing its tastes and eating a different plant. Unfortunately, the plant produces chemicals that are toxic and kills the parasite."

"Buffalo sex takes five seconds. Stick insect sex, on the other hand, can go on for several months."

Likelihood of becoming a Hollywood blockbuster

You're likely to come across a screen version of some of the amazing animal facts in a documentary on National Geographic, but it is unlikely that this gift book would be made into a film.

What the others say

"Weird, wonderful and witty. And best of all, it's all true. If you, like me, enjoy showing off how much more you know about arcane subjects than anyone else, this is a must have." – Jonathan Ross

So is it any good?

This book is a fascinating collection of facts that will captivate readers' imaginations. One doesn't even have to be an animal lover to appreciate the vast range of animal capabilities and eccentricities.

It is obvious that the light-hearted and witty tales are backed by a passion for what happens when humans aren't looking, as well as with thorough research.

On every page the reader will find something to make them take a step back and consider the world around them in a different light. Some of the factoids are so mind-boggling that it might even spur the reader on to do some research of their own. (For example, who knew that lions and tigers really mate and produce offspring? And did you know that if the father of such a cub is a tiger, it is known as a tigon, but if the dad is a lion, the baby is in fact a liger? True story.)

An absorbing read that could make for some intriguing dinner table discussions as well as making you seem incredibly knowledgeable and well-read when explaining the reason behind panda's handstands. Although it's probably not something you would want to discuss while having dinner.

8/10

Karen Moller