Nature calls

Book review of Every Creature Has a Story: What Science Reveals about Animal Behaviour

Ants that have discovered the fountain of youth, transsexual bearded dragons, sticklebacks that can hold their urine for the duration of their breeding season and humpback whales that display altruistic behaviour — at first glance, wildlife writer, film-maker and conservationist Janaki Lenin’s Every Creature has a Story is a delightful dive into the magical diversity of the animal kingdom. A compendium of 50 essays published in Ms Lenin’s column in The Wire,  the book offers intriguing snapshots of weird animals and their weirder behaviour. Consisting of all-too-short chapters, the reader is left engaged, enthralled but often asking for more. Every