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Mutual aid for elephants involves sharing the care of the young. In
Animal Behaviour (Usborne, pp 48, £6.50) an allomother, a young female,
guards and plays with a baby from the herd. In the first of a new series
called ‘Science and Nature’, Felicity Brooks gives a thorough account of
behaviour that deals with the basic principles: for example, the different
ways that animals acquire knowledge from habituation to latent learning,
as well as the people who developed the ideas. It is beautifully illustrated,
stuffed with facts and will fascinate the 8 to 11-year-olds for whom it
is intended.