Have you ever asked yourself how loud fish can get, or which birds are the best architects? Have you been itching for a list of the world’s most notable trees, a map of impressive migrations, or a guide to exactly which of the planet’s animals are fluorescent? Are you curious about the best place to meet a tent-making bat, an enormous stick insect, the world’s largest fungus, or a rare ghost dog?

We have great news for you: There’s a new Atlas Obscura book coming out this fall! It has answers to all these questions, and a whole lot more.

Wild Life: An Explorer’s Guide to the World’s Living Wonders celebrates hundreds of surprising animals, plants, fungi, microbes, and more, as well as the people around the world who have dedicated their lives to understanding them. It was created in collaboration with a team of fantastic writers from all over the globe—pieces were filed from all seven continents!

Just like Atlas Obscura and Gastro Obscura, Wild Life is several lifetimes’ worth of adventure distilled into a single book. You’ll climb the world’s tallest tropical tree, get front-row seats to a crab fashion show, and learn how to find fluorescent scorpions in the desert. You’ll dive into blue bacterial pools in Mexico that hold the secrets of ancient Earth. And you’ll meet flying snakes, exploding ants, Spirit bears, rainbow eucalyptuses, and many, many more members of the unimaginable menagerie living alongside us and forming our shared world.

Everyone has their wellspring of wonder—that aspect of life that fills them with joy and makes them want to search more broadly and know more deeply. Ours is the natural world, and we’ve both spent years writing about other species and the people who love them. We learned so much while working on this book, and we’re thrilled that we’ll be able to share it all with you so soon.

Wild Life: An Explorer’s Guide to the World’s Living Wonders comes out on September 17, 2024. We can’t wait for you to open it, and meet all the awe-inspiring beings inside. They’re waiting for you! You can pre-order the book now.

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