Kat Menschiks und des Diplom-Biologen Doctor Rerum Medicinalium Mark Beneckes Illustrirtes

From fairy-like fireflies, guilty dogs, drunken reindeer, and playful octopuses.

He is a member of the Ig Nobel Prize Committee for quirky sciences, the chairman of the Transylvanian Dracula Society, and the most famous criminal biologist in the world: Dr. Mark Benecke! And he loves animals of all kinds, perhaps a little more than insects. Because when he collects traces to help solve an opaque death case, he can’t imagine a better assistant than the red-legged ham beetle. The Markus fly is even his godchild. And when it comes to low-maintenance pets, the hissy cockroach ranks quite high on his list.

Mark Benecke has no doubt that animals are on par with humans. And they possess many impressive, endearing, and amusing traits. For years, he has been drawing attention to the uniqueness of animal beings every Saturday in his science podcast on radioeins, alongside many other topics. Take, for example, the octopus: exceptionally intelligent, it prefers to take it easy and often gets into mischief. Or the bee, which is not only a good flyer but also quite a decent surfer! Or the cichlid, which becomes depressed if paired with the wrong partner.

Kat Menschik enjoys sitting in front of the radio and listening to Benecke's observations on animals, where the latest research and ancient knowledge converge. It’s no wonder that one day she decided she had to make a book with him.