The Hidden Nations of Animals A Grand Tour of Earth's Wild Civilizations

By: Ryan Huling

Published by Penguin Group, 2026-06-02

A transformative exploration of the animal kingdom that will fill you with wonder, revealing Earth's wild civilizations as you've never seen them before

In The Hidden Nations of Animals, Ryan Huling takes us on an odyssey to places most people don’t even know exist. From far-flung forest settlements in Canada’s “beaver belt” and disputed territories of clashing Argentine ant armies to the secluded margins of the Korean DMZ—which, despite its reputation as a desolate no-man’s-land, teems with life—Huling’s journey unveils a radically reimagined world, brimming with abundance.

Along the way, we meet internationally renowned wildlife researchers, geographers, anthropologists, and historians whose work has uncovered animal metropolises nestled within the urban sprawl of the American Southwest, vast sub-Saharan tunnel complexes mere inches beneath our feet, and ancient Silk Road-style migration routes that traverse the Eurasian Steppe.

When humans settle in an area, it is deemed, by definition, populated. By contrast, the millions of other species we share this planet with have long been viewed as fleeting ephemera, living brief and transitory lives in “uninhabited” wilderness.

Over the course of a year, Huling investigates how technology is rapidly changing that perception by deepening humanity’s understanding of our fellow animals and their unique relationships with the land, air, and sea. His immersive account fuses with vivid full-color maps and hand-drawn sketches by award-winning cartographer Oliver Uberti, adding new layers to our landscapes and illuminating their true contours for the first time.

An instant classic of nature writing, The Hidden Nations of Animals is a breathtaking blueprint for a more expansive view of animalkind, inspired by the profound sense of awe that accompanies an expedition into unknown lands.