In Sentient, Jackie Higgins assembles a menagerie of zoological creatures – from land, air, sea and all four corners of the globe – to understand what it means to be human.

The peacock mantis shrimp can throw a punch that can fracture aquarium walls. The great grey owl can hear many decibels lower than the human ear.

The star-nosed mole’s miraculous nose allows it to catch worms in as little as 120 milliseconds. In Sentient we also meet the four-eyed spookfish and its dark vision, the vampire bat and its remarkable powers of touch, as well as the common octopus, the Goliath catfish and the duck-billed platypus. Each zoological marvel illustrates the surprising sensory powers that lie within us and enables us to engage with the world in ways we never knew possible.