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Imprint: Oneworld Publications

Subject: Nature

Black Ops and Beaver Bombing

Adventures with Britain's Wild Mammals

Fiona Mathews Tim Kendall

Britain is teeming with wildlife, often in the most unexpected places. There are stone mines where bats hang out with pot-smoking teenagers and water voles thrive without water in Glaswegian parklands. Our coastlines are laden with seals. That’s the good news. The bad news is that a quarter of British mammals are at imminent risk of extinction.

Tim Kendall and Fiona Mathews take us on a safari unlike any other. Armed with binoculars, a Thermos and, regrettably, an inexhaustible supply of puns, they travel from Scotland to the Isles of Scilly in search of their elusive subjects.

You’ll find answers to questions you never thought to ask: do pine marten droppings really smell like Parma Violets? Should we give squirrels access to family planning? And what do wild boar have in common with a certain royal? Black Ops and Beaver Bombing is a celebration of Britain’s marvellous mammals, and a rallying cry to save them.

  • Publication date: April 27, 2023
  • ISBN: 9780861545568
  • RRP: £17.99
  • Pages: 368

Reviews

'Packed full of useful information and acutely up to date… As she's one of the ablest mammalogists of our age, it's well worth listening to Fiona Mathews. I would heartily recommend this book to all.'

Derek Gow, author of Bringing Back the Beaver

'If you care about Britain’s beautiful mammals – which of course you do – this hilarious book is a must-read. Weasely my favourite book of the year so far.'

Dave Goulson, author of Silent Earth

Fiona Mathews

Fiona Mathews is professor of environmental biology at the University of Sussex. She is the founding chair of Mammal Conservation Europe and author of the UK government’s official census of British mammals. She advises the UK government and its devolved authorities on a variety of conservation issues.

Author page

Tim Kendall

Tim Kendall is professor of English literature at the University of Exeter. He is the author of works of poetry and literary criticism, and he edited Britain’s Mammals 2018. He lives in the wilds of East Devon with Fiona, and they share their house with two teenage daughters, two rabbits, a Labrador and a rehabilitating common pipistrelle bat.

Author page

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