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From the author of The Hidden Life of Trees: The Illustrated Edition
A visually stunning journey into the rich inner lives of animals.
In his New York Times bestseller The Hidden Life of Trees, Peter Wohlleben opened readers’ eyes to the scientific mysteries of the forest. Next, he explored the world of animal emotions in The Inner Life of Animals. Now this new, breathtakingly illustrated edition of The Inner Life of Animals celebrates animals on the page like never before.
This stunning illustrated edition pairs highlights from the original text with remarkable photos that illuminate Wohlleben’s enchanting storytelling and draws connections among a wide range of species. Animals, he reveals, are different from us in ways that amaze us—and they are also much closer to us than we ever would have thought.
Through vivid stories of devoted pigs, two-timing magpies, and scheming roosters, Wohlleben weaves scientific research into how animals interact with the world with his own experiences in forests and fields. We learn that horses feel shame, deer grieve, and goats discipline their kids. Ravens call their friends by name, rats regret bad choices, and butterflies choose the very best places for their children to grow up. Domestic and wild mammals alike, along with a wide variety of insects, fish, and birds, come to life through the vivid photography and thought-provoking captions that accompany their stories, sparking greater compassion and respect for all animals as part of the web of life.
An eye-opening celebration of the incredible diversity and richness of animals’ emotions and inner lives, this illustrated edition is the ideal gift for animal lovers everywhere.
Published in Partnership with the David Suzuki Institute
Price: $40.00
Pages: 184
Publisher: Greystone Books
Imprint: Greystone Books
Publication Date:
20 October 2026
Trim Size: 10.00 X 9.00 in
ISBN: 9781778404030
Format: Hardcover
BISACs:
NATURE / Animals / General, Photographs: collections, PHOTOGRAPHY / Subjects & Themes / Plants & Animals, SCIENCE / Life Sciences / Zoology / Ethology (Animal Behavior), NATURE / Essays, Zoology & animal sciences, Conservation of wildlife & habitats, Wildlife: mammals: general interest
Praise for The Inner Life of Animals
“A treat for animal lovers of all stripes.”
—Kirkus starred review
“With the same charm and clarity that drew so many readers to The Hidden Life of Trees, Peter Wohlleben has produced another gem. I found delight on every page, thanks to the author’s rare skill at blending scientific discoveries with his own wealth of insightful personal experiences. Read this book, and never again doubt that we share the Earth with other beings living rich and colorful lives.”
—Jonathan Balcombe, author of What a Fish Knows
“Peter Wohlleben’s convincing, highly readable stories about free-living and domestic animals show there’s much overlap between how humans and other animals experience bonding, loss, and the great, shared themes of life.”
—Carl Safina, author of Beyond Words, What Animals Think and Feel
“Wry, avuncular, careful and kind, Wohlleben guides us from one creature to the next. ...Each story adds to a widening vision of intelligence, emotion and relationship.”
—The Guardian
“Like The Hidden Life of Trees, Peter Wohlleben's The Inner Life of Animals will rock your world. Surprising, humbling, and filled with delight, this book shows us that animals think, feel and know in much the same way as we do—and that their lives are, to them, as precious as ours are to us.”
—Sy Montgomery, author of The Soul of an Octopus
“Wohlleben offers an insightful consideration of the emotional and cognitive lives of animals.”
—Booklist
“Animal lovers everywhere will be enthralled by The Inner Life of Animals. Find out what squirrels, deer, and other animals really do out in the woods.”
—Temple Grandin
“Animals is a natural follow-on to 'Trees' and just as beautifully questions human assumptions about nature. ...Wohlleben’s words are bound to touch even the animal-emotion skeptic.”
—Washington Post, Jennifer S. Holland, author of Unlikely Friendships
“The Inner Life of Animals is an important reminder that while we surely are different from other animals, the similarities in our cognitive, emotional, and moral lives are not only surprising and daunting, but very real. And, we must use this information on their behalf in an increasingly human-dominated world.”
—Marc Bekoff, author of The Emotional Lives of Animals and The Animals' Agenda
Peter Wohlleben is a world-renowned forester and author of many bestselling books for adults and children. His books have been translated into dozens of languages and have been adapted for the screen. When he is not writing and researching, Wohlleben manages a sustainable forest academy in Germany’s Eifel Mountains.
Jane Billinghurst’s career has been in book publishing in the UK, the US, and Canada, as an editor, publisher, writer, and translator. She has translated many of Peter Wohlleben's most successful books, including the international bestseller The Hidden Life of Trees, The Secret Network of Nature, and The Power of Trees.
Introduction
1 Anybody Home?
2 An Emotional Roller Coaster
Fear
A Question of Character
Acceptance
Gratitude
Just for Fun
3 Social Awareness
Shame
Regret
Fairness
4 Bonding
Selfless Mother Love
Empathy
Altruism
Fidelity
5 A Feast for the Senses
Taste
Smell
Cleanliness
6 Alien Worlds
The Art of Perception
Different Points of View
Sixth Sense
Honing Our Own Senses
Dreamtime
7 Communication
What’s in a Name?
Mirror Test
Language
Over Here!
8 Passing on Knowledge
School
Leadership
9 Morality
Deception
Stop, Thief!
Bad Behavior?
Are We So Different, After All?
Afterword
Illustrations