This is a much, much better Tuf story than “A Beast for Norn”.

It’s more creative, more interesting, more funny, more dramatic, and
handles the environmentalist themes a lot better too. The plot is
compelling, the twists and turns are exciting but well-grounded, and the
worldbuilding is as fascinating as some of the better “Thousand Worlds”
stories (the Tuf stories are separate to those, but are in the same
genre of course).

If I could only recommend one Tuf story to someone, it would be this
one, because it exemplifies the best and most notable aspects of the
series. I give it three mudpots, and a telepathic kitten.