Contrary to common belief, not everything is "hardwired"--or instinctual--in the animal kingdom. Many skills a wild animal needs to thrive, to grow, to be what nature intended, must be developed through play, painstaking teaching, and often treacherous trial and error. The coming-of-age processes of the myriad creatures of plain, forest, ocean, and jungle are truly fascinating natural events. In this book, McCarthy offers readers an in-depth look...

Joy Adamson describes the remarkable relationship she and her husband had with Elsa, a lion cub they cared for during the late 1950s in Kenya, and Elsa's return to the wild as a lioness; includes the many photographs from the original publication.