author
A mammalogist with a sharp eye for the natural world, he wrote clearly about bats, raccoons, and other mammals of North America. His work blends field observation with careful taxonomy, making specialized science feel surprisingly readable.
Howard J. Stains was an American zoologist and mammalogist whose research focused on mammals, especially bats and fur-bearing species. He worked with the Department of Zoology at Southern Illinois University and also in the Department of Mammalogy at the American Museum of Natural History.
His published work includes studies of bat taxonomy, mammal anatomy, and wildlife management, including writing on raccoons and other furbearers. Reference sources also identify him as the author of contributions on carnivores and pinnipeds, showing the broad range of his interest in mammal biology.
Stains is remembered as a careful scientific writer whose books and papers were rooted in close observation and museum-based research. A portrait image could not be reliably confirmed from the sources reviewed during this conversation.