For more than 30 years, award-winning National Geographic photographer Vincent J. Musi has covered diverse assignments, but an unusual twist of fate led him to the highly unpredictable world of animal portraiture. Musi gets up close—almost too close—to his unique subjects, despite the fact that they growl, bark, roar, bite, hiss, claw, poop, and pee on him. With his trademark sense of humor, Musi shares stories from his encounters with some extraordinary animals, including a bonobo with a 300-word vocabulary and a crow that makes and uses tools.