Start with high-confidence animals books, then narrow by subgenre or adjacent topics.
Vanishing Treasures
Katherine Rundell
Are We Smart Enough to Know How Smart Animals Are?
Frans de Waal, Sean Runnette
Mama's Last Hug
Frans de Waal
An Immense World
Ed Yong
Animal
DK, D.K. Publishing
The Encyclopedia of Animals
David Alderton
Beyond Words
Carl Safina
Zoology
DK, Smithsonian Institution
Atlas Obscura: Wild Life
Cara Giaimo, Joshua Foer
