This is a book stories about nature and encounters with (mostly) wild animals. There are stories about bears, badgers, bats, and burros. Included are tales about tarantulas, tortoises, turkeys, and tigers of the saber toothed variety. Described with prose, poetry and photgraphy Battling the Hydra has adventures involving wrestling snakes, mountain lion sunrises, eagles over Puget Sound, a den of baby snakes hatching in Nevada, and orcas in Alaska. There is the hilarous but hard to believe story about the cross eyed sheep of Montana. Listen to the author describe his attempt at becoming a turkey jockey or the time he was chased by a bear. This book covers a wdie variety of beautiful landscapes across North America and features countless encounters with (mostly) wild animals. This modern bestiary will delight readers of all age and backgrounds