Curious Encounters with the Natural World: From Grumpy Spiders to Hidden Tigers
ISBN: 9780252099670
Platform/Publisher: JSTOR / University of Illinois Press
Digital rights: Users: unlimited; Printing: chapter; Download: chapter
Subjects: Natural history -- Miscellanea; Curiosities and wonders;

Michael R. Jeffords and Susan L. Post have circled the globe--and explored their neighborhood--collecting images of the natural world. This book opens their personal cabinet of curiosities to tell the stories of the pair's most unusual encounters. From the "necking" battles of mate-hungry giraffes to the breathtaking beauty of millions of monarch butterflies at rest, Jeffords and Post share 200 stunning photographs and their own insightful essays to guide readers on a spectacular journey. Their training as entomologists offers unique perspectives on surprise stag beetle swarms and spider hunting habits. Their photographic eye, honed by decades of observation, finds expression in once-in-a-lifetime images. The result is an eyewitness collection of startling and unusual phenomena that illuminates the diverse life inhabiting our planet.


Michael R. Jeffords is the retired education/outreach director for the Illinois Natural History Survey (INHS) and was staff photographer for The Illinois Steward magazine. Susan L. Post is a retired INHS field biologist and staff writer for The Illinois Steward magazine, and author of Hiking Illinois . They are coauthors of Exploring Nature in Illinois and Illinois Wilds .
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