Throughout the ages, animals have played a significant role in human life. But the relationship between animals and humans is often taken for granted. For example, everyone knows that dogs can be trained to sit, stay, and roll over. But could a dog guide a blind man 2,144 miles down the Appalachian Trail--a difficult feat for a sighted person? Could a cat actually defend a sleeping infant from a deadly rattlesnake that is prepared to strike? Could a dolphin really save a person who is drowning at sea? Could a monkey communicate using English?

Defying facts as we know them, these stories detail the intelligence, bravery, and skill of animals. They make us take a second look at creatures who have been viewed as being driven largely by instinct, and they begin to reveal the mysteries of animal intelligence.