Detector Dogs, Dynamite Dolphins, and More Animals with Super Sensory Powers (Extraordinary Animals)

Meet incredible animals with all kinds of highly developed senses and learn about the jobs they do in this book full of amazing facts, cool science, and activities.

Fly alongside a photo-delivery pigeon, discover a honeybee’s electric secrets, and sail the high seas with a poop-sniffing dog detective on a mission to save endangered killer whales. All of these animals use their super senses, from echolocation to electroreception, to help human coworkers tackle real-world problems like pollution and global warming. Each chapter introduces a different animal, such as Cynthia, the pipe-fixing ferret, and Rosita, a goat who helps prevent wildfires. With bright and entertaining text alongside colorful photos and illustrations, this book examines how each animal’s behavior and biology makes it perfectly suited for the job it does. At the end of each chapter, curious young scientists are invited to explore their own human senses through fun guided experiments.

Christina Couch and Cara Giaimo are science journalists and alums of the MIT graduate program in science writing. Christina Couch writes about the wonderful weirdness of brains (organic and artificial), and Cara Giaimo writes about the amazing lives of animals. You can find their work in the New York Times, Wired, Atlas Obscura, NOVA, and other outlets. They live in the Boston area.

Daniel Duncan is the author-illustrator of South and the illustrator of Mr. Posey’s New Glasses by Ted Kooser, The Girl Who Could Fix Anything by Mara Rockliff, and The Purple Puffy Coat by Maribeth Boelts. Daniel Duncan creates most of his work in an old stable turned studio on the outskirts of London.