Animals & Insects

Curator of Herpetology in the Museum of Vertebrate Zoology, Harry Greene and Professor of Integrative Biology at the University of California. He has a new book on snakes (with photographs) "Snakes: The Evolution of Mystery in Nature." (University of California Press)

Spider specialist at London's Natural History Museum Paul Hillyard. His 1994 book is "The Book of the Spider: From Arachnophobia to The Love of Spiders" (Random House)

Maureen Corrigan reviews "Lives of the Monster Dogs" by Kristen Bakis, which features, among other things, genetically engineered canines.

Phillips is the project leader of the Yellowstone National Park Wolf Restoration Program. Last year, 14 gray wolves were transported from the Canadian wilderness to Wyoming. It marked the beginning of the project to restore wolves to an area from where they had been absent for nearly 100 years. Phillips provides an update on the program. Phillips has co-authored a book with Douglas Smith titled "The Wolves of Yellowstone."

We'll hear an excerpt from the new NPR radio show, "This American Life," produced at WBEZ in Chicago. Contributor Julie Showalter talks about growing up on a turkey farm in Missouri.

Peacock has devoted the last 20 years to saving the grizzly bear. Like many veterans, he had trouble adjusting when he returned from Vietnam. He sought a life of seclusion in the mountains and it was then that he first encountered grizzly bears. Now, he performs research alone through the mountains of Wyoming and Montana studying the behavior, social hierarchy, and communication methods of grizzlies in their natural habitat. In addition to his several books, he recently contributed to "Mark of the Bear: Legend and Lore of An American Icon."

Science writer David Quammen's new book is "The Song of the Dodo: Island Biogeography in an Age of Extinctions" (Scribner). During his eight years of research, Quammen studied the biogeography of islands around the world. His travels introduced him to plants and animals previously unimagined. Quammen is a two-time recipient of the National Magazine Award for his science essays and other work in Outside magazine.

Internationally renowned professor of behavioral pharmacology at Tufts University School of Veterinary Medicine, Nicholas Dodman, is an expert in domestic animal behavior and psychology. In the new book "The Dog Who Loved Too Much" (Bantam) he illustrates his unique treatments and creative cures for pet disorders with stories from his own practice. Dr. Dodman's therapeutic innovations include, changes in the dog's diet, exercise regime, and even the prescription of some "human" personality drugs. (Interview by Marty Moss-Coane).

Internationally renowned professor of behavioral pharmacology at Tufts University School of Veterinary Medicine, Nicholas Dodman, is an expert in domestic animal behavior and psychology. In the new book "The Dog Who Loved Too Much" (Bantam) he illustrates his unique treatments and creative cures for pet disorders with stories from his own practice. Dr. Dodman's therapeutic innovations include, changes in the dog's diet, exercise regime, and even the prescription of some "human" personality drugs. (Interview by Marty Moss-Coane)

Caroline Hebard is the co-founder of the U.S. Disaster Response Team. She and her German shepherd dogs have carried out search and rescue missions at the world's most tragic disaster sites: earthquakes in Japan, Mexico and Armenia, floods in Tennessee, hurricanes, and bridge collapses. The work is dangerous: trainers often follow their dogs into a collapsed building. Hebard lives in Bernardsville, New Jersey with her husband, children and dogs. Her new book (written with Hank Whittemore) is "So That Others May Live." (Bantam Books).

Temple Grandin is one of the nation’s top designers of livestock facilities. She is also autistic. In her book, Thinking in Pictures: and other reports from my life with Autism she describes how her inner-autistic world has led her to develop animal empathy. She is currently an assistant professor of animal sciences at Colorado State University in Fort Collins. Her new book is published by Doubleday 1995. Grandin was the subject of Oliver Sack’s 1993 New Yorker article An Anthropologist on Mars.

A New Jersey reporter turned freelance naturalist, Montgomery developed a fascination for Bengal tigers. Her book Spell of the Tiger takes a fascinating and frightening look at those animals -- and the people who worship and fear them.

Berenbaum was afraid of bugs until she took a course on insects in college. Her new book is "Bugs in the System," which tries to show insects in a new light. Berenbaum demonstrates the importance of insects in everyday life and throughout history, and explores the lifestyles of some of the more than ten quintillion insects that inhabit the earth at any given moment. She also hosts the annual Insect Fear Film Festival, which will be held this weekend, February 25 & 26, at the University of Illinois.

Wilson has spent most of his life studying ants and other insects, and has written a number of books on the subject. He co-authored the critically-acclaimed "The Ants," with Bert Holldobler. The pair have just published a sequel to that work, "Journey to the Ants." Wilson has also written a memoir, called "Naturalist."

Commentator Dagoberto Gilb on a Wyoming coyote hunt, sponsored by the state's sheep ranchers.

Beverly and Dereck Joubert, wildlife documentary producers. This husband and wife team lives in northern Botswana, seven hours from the nearest village. Working and living out of a four-wheel drive vehicle, they have captured the family relationships of the last free-roaming elephants left in Africa. Their latest wildlife film, "Reflections on Elephants," contains ground-breaking footage of lions attacking an elephant calf. Previously, such attacks were thought to be only mythical. The documentary premieres on PBS this Wednesday at 8:00 PM ET.

Winston created the live-action dinosaurs in this summer's hit movie, "Jurassic Park." In the film, "The Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman," he aged actress Cicely Tyson from age 19 to 110. In "The Terminator," Winston made-up Arnold Schwarzenegger and created the robotic puppetry in the film. He won an Academy Award for his work on "Aliens" and developed and created the character of Edward Scissorhands for the movie of the same name.

Film critic Stephen Schiff reviews the highly-anticiapted Stephen Spielberg film, adapted from the book by Michael Crichton.

Maureen Corrigan looks at a series of books and a movie with canine heroes: the "Taxi Dog" books and "Beethoven."