From fireflies and hummingbirds to alligators and sharks, this collection of 50 brief essays combines witty prose and vivid illustrations to reveal the secret lives and oddball behaviours of North American creatures both familiar and little known. In Grizzled, science journalist Jason Bittel taps into current research about the behaviour of key North American mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians, fish, and invertebrates, from insects to urchins. Along the way, he answers questions you didn’t know to ask, such as: How do monarch butterflies emerge from sentient goo? Why did beavers have to parachute into their newest habitats? What’s inside a yellowjacket meatball? How many jellyfish can a sea turtle eat? Can deer really grow antlers on their legs? Grizzled offers a surprising, endearing, and altogether eye-opening tour of the animal kingdom—one you won’t soon forget.

JASON BITTEL is a science journalist known for his lighthearted forays into the wonders of the animal kingdom. A National Geographic Society Explorer and Knight Science Journalism Project Fellow at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Bittel has published work in National Geographic magazine, the Washington Post, and the New York Times, among other places. The author of four children’s books on nature and wildlife, Bittel lives with his wife and children in Pittsburgh, PA.