Did you know that snowshoe hares can run up to 17km/hr, or that Ruby-throated hummingbird eggs are as small as peas? Have you wondered how animals such as “moose” got their names, or which of the many wonderful animals we share the seas and forests with are really endangered species?

You will find these and a wealth of other facts about Nova Scotia’s surprising range of wildlife –from amoebas to moose, from hummingbirds to whales- in Julie Towers book of Wildlife of Nova Scotia.

This handy reference addresses popular questions and little known facts about more than seventy species of wildlife, including where they live, what they eat, (and eats them), their life cycle habits, and behavior. Detailed illustrations will help you identify each species while tables with facts about offspring and breeding seasons provide a glimpse of their migration and reproduction patterns. A glossary of unfamiliar terms and a bibliography for further reading also provided.

Nova Scotia is still rich in wildlife, despite the encroachment of humans and industries. The more we know about the animals that live around us, the more we will be able to enrich each others lives.

Julie Towers is a wildlife biologist with the Department of Natural Resources.

Julie Towers' profile page