Presents a collection of true animal stories from different historical periods, including the tales of Balto the Alaskan sled dog, Smoky the Bear, and Internet sensation Christian the lion.

The sled dog who helped save the children of Nome -- The Iditarod Race commemorates the run -- Balanchine's elephants -- The humane treatment of performing animals -- Simon : ship's cat first class -- Other onboard cats -- Keiko, the Orca movie star -- Orca (Orcinus orca), killer whale? -- Daughter of Sunshine -- Altruism in animals -- Owen and Mzee : an unlikely pair -- Other unlikely pairs -- The Capitoline geese : after the battle -- Hoover, the talking seal -- Talking animals -- Greyfriars Bobby : man's best friend -- The elephant whisperer -- Elephant mourners -- Cheri Ami, the pigeon hero -- Homing pigeons : how do they find their way home? -- Washoe, the hand-signing chimp -- Another famous signing chimp -- Christian the lion -- Lions in captivity -- Saving the whales : gray whale -- Seabiscuit, the people's horse -- Why was Seabiscuit so popular? -- Smokey, the firefighting bear -- Was Smokey too good at fire prevention? -- Pale Male, big-city hawk -- Red-tailed haws outside the city -- The last of Lonesome George -- Darwin, evolution, and tortoises -- The Tamworth two -- What is a Tamworth pig?