Beauty of the Beasts: Rethinking Nature's Least Loved Animals

Wasps. Snakes. Cockroaches. Sharks. We fear them, loathe them and often kill them without question. But what if everything we think we know about these animals is wrong?

In an age of catastrophic biodiversity loss, Beauty of the Beasts is a celebration of nature's underdogs and a call to arms for greater coexistence with the natural world. Drawing on the latest research, Jo Wimpenny explores what shapes our beliefs about other animals, challenging our perceptions of 'good' species and setting the record straight about those we call 'pests' and 'villains'. Looking past these labels allows us to see that many of these animals are ecologically vital and live strikingly complex inner lives.

It may be tempting to imagine a more pleasant world without the animals that scare or repulse us, but such a purge would have devastating consequences. From wasps that provide free pest control and snakes whose venom may cure cancer to the deep social bonds of crocodiles and vultures, this book invites you to rethink our most misunderstood beasts.

Jo Wimpenny is a zoologist and writer with a research background in animal behaviour and the history of science. She studied Zoology at the University of Bristol, and went on to research problem-solving in crows and tool use for her DPhil at Oxford University. After postdoctoral research on the history of ornithology at Sheffield, she authored Aesop's Animals: The Science Behind the Fables and co-authored Ten Thousand Birds: Ornithology Since Darwin, which won the 2015 PROSE award for History of Science, Medicine and Technology.

Jo writes for BBC Wildlife and has previously presented at the BA Festival of Science, Science Oxford, the Royal Society Summer Science Fair and Glasgow Science Fair.