Moths That Drink Elephants' Tears

Moths That Drink Elephants' Tears and other zoological curiosities is a compendium of eclectic facts and insights that offer a unique insight into the bizarre nature of the animal world.

There is a mystery species of giant ape roaming the African jungle, animals divorce each other as readily as people, and male racehorses tend to be right handed, or legged. Monkeys will pay to look at images of other sexually attractive primates, rats can learn the difference between Dutch and Japanese, and elephants have over 30 different ways to talk to each other, while cows get high on a drug called crazyweed, dracula ants suck the blood of their young, and seagulls affected by pollution regularly fall over.

Drawn from the primary scientific literature, authoritatively sourced and referenced, this miscellany guide contains revelations that will be unknown even to many professional natural historians. Matt has drawn on his experience as a leading science journalist, breaking science and technology stories that are picked up by the world’s media, to compile a book with wide popular appeal.

And if you don’t admit to that, you will at least admit to a sense of being hopelessly drawn toward the next entry, as your eyes move to discover what is the only invertebrate capable of getting an erection.

Moths that drink elephants’ tears has been published in paperback as "Why do moths drink elephants’ tears”, in the US as “Fish that fake orgasms” and in France as “How to tickle a chimpanzee."

Book Author

Matt-walker Matt Walker is a published author, editor and writer of groundbreaking science and natural history stories. Born in 1973, Matt first tried to tell his parents the difference between a leopard and cheetah at the age of two. His interest in the natural world continued at the University of Leeds and Imperial College, London, where he gained a first class Bachelor’s degree in Zoology and a Masters degree in Science Communication. Matt joined New Scientist in 1999 as a reporter, winning the PTC national award for best young journalist working at a specialist consumer magazine, before mov...
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Book Reviews

  • Sunday Age
    "Journalist Matt Walker works for New Scientist magazine, and thus knows how to make science entertaining."
  • New Scientist
    "…a nicely structured journey through the most recent discoveries in animal biology and should excite novices as well as revive the interest of the most jaded researchers."
  • Sunday Times
    "...is the sort of book you might find in David Attenborough's downstairs lavatory. It specialises in facts you never knew you wished to know about animals."
  • Spectator
    "Just about everything Walker knows about the entire animal creation is gross, disgusting or gotesque-and often pretty funny."
  • The Times
    "After the surprise success of New Scientist's Does Anything Eat Wasps?, this Christmas has brought a plethora of scientific miscellanies. One ofthe best is by the magazine's news editor, Matt Walker. If you are interested in transvestite garter snakes, the speed-eating habits of the star-nosed mole, or how geckos behave in zero gravity, you will enjoy Moths That Drink Elephants' Tears."