The images you see in [Creature, a new book of photographs by Andrew Zuckerman] are the product of a journey of discovery and of learning how to connect with the soul and essence of all creatures. In animals, as in humans, the eye connects the creature to the outside world and centers our focus to see deeper into the heart and very nature of the creature. The goal of these images is to intensify the viewer's connection to the animals and inspire new perspectives on the familiar and immediate linkage to creatures we have never seen before.

The above is an excerpt by photographer Andrew Zuckerman from the Epilogue of his new book Creature, a collection of his studio portraits of wild animals.

Click here for a slideshow of images from the book, published by Chronicle Books.

Images courtesy of Chronicle Books.