The Unburnt Egg

Book excerpt: Natural history museums contain many thousands of zoological specimens and each has a tale to tell an often involving extraordinary people, daring explorations, unquenchable scientific curiosity, and strange coincidences. This perfectly presented book, with its engaging pictures, is rich in stories and unveils many secrets. Read about: the fate of a tortoise given as a gift by Captain Cook - the epic international voyage of the biggest known moa egg - the admiration induced by an ape from the jungles of Borneo - the barn owl of mysterious origins - the unfortunate fate of an angry young elephant - the quest to discover how a New Zealand heron turned up in a Florence museum - the strange arrival of an Australian banjo frog - and many other mind-boggling mysteries.