The Three-Minute Outdoorsman Returns: From Mammoth on the Menu to the Benefits of Moose Drool

Zink’s enjoyable follow-up to 2014’s The Three-Minute Outdoorsman: Wild Science from Magnetic Deer to Mumbling Carp takes readers on an eclectic tour through various aspects of nature. Zink, a conservation biologist and animal ecologist at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, delves into dense scientific studies on sometimes obscure topics and, in a series of brief essays, translates their insights into layperson’s language. Throughout, Zink displays a penchant for catchy chapter titles. “If You Are What You Eat, and What You Eat Stinks, Do Your Friends Say Something?” looks at a little-loved species—vultures—and the positive role they play in the environment. “Never Let the Truth Get in the Way of a Good Story about Cecil” recalls the 2015 controversy about a lion in Zimbabwe killed by a Minnesota dentist, with Zink opining that, contrary to the views of many, “the hunter did nothing wrong.” These discussions, and many others in the book, prove intriguing. Unfortunately, some of the entries, such as the one on the microbial biosphere, “where the microbial equivalents of predators, omnivores, and herbivores live fast-paced lives,” are less captivating. However, they are occasional exceptions in an otherwise intriguing book filled with scientific curiosities. (Oct.)