BBC Wildlife, Vol. 41.03 (March 2023)

MARCH
2023
Issue 03 Vol 41
Brown bears making

their way in the
wilds of Alaska
Plus
Explore the Isles of Scilly
How to see boxing hares
ANGRY
Zambia’s three-legged lion
Nature can fix flooding
BIRDS
ROBINS H
ROAD RAAVE
GE
discoverwildlife.com
It’s not hard to

see why we
empathise with
bears so easily
60
YEARS
Rhôs pasture on Dartmoor;

A bear family album that’s
COVER: KATE & ADAM RICE; THIS PAGE: BEARS: KATE & ADAM RICE; SEAL: ALEX MUSTARD/NATUREPL.COM; DARTMOOR: GETTY
grey seal off Lundy Island
Britain’s favourite
comfortingly familiar
PAUL McGUINNESS, EDITOR
wildlife hotspot
There’s still time for you to
hat is it about bears that we humans
have your say! To celebrate
our 60th anniversary, we just can’t get enough of? As far back as I
want to know which of our care to recall, from Disney’s Baloo to Yogi
specially chosen locations Bear from Jellystone (not to mention the
is your favourite. Is it ancient imaginatively named Little Ted, who I
Dartmoor, Bass Rock with cuddled at night), I looked to bears almost as big brothers – wild,
its noisy gannets, or the exotic characters that promised mischief but security, too.
seal hangout that is Lundy I’m not sure my view has changed all that much in the
Island? Cast your vote intervening years. Bears are strong, powerful creatures, not to be
now at discoverwildlife. messed with. But at the same time they love to play, and spend
com/60faves. so much time together as a family, as US photographers Kate and
Adam Rice reveal in this month’s Portfolio feature (p40).
Keep in touch It’s left me excited about getting
wildlifeletters@immediate.co.uk out and enjoying nature more this
instagram.com/bbcwildlifemagazine spring. It may have been a long, cold
twitter.com/WildlifeMag winter, but as the song goes, here
facebook.com/wildlifemagazine
comes the sun! Enjoy the issue.
discoverwildlife.com BBC WILDLIFE 3

EDITOR
Paul McGuinness
DEPUTY EDITOR Jo Price ART EDITOR Richard Eccleston
FEATURES EDITOR Sarah McPherson PICTURE EDITOR Tom Gilks
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EDITORIAL AND DIGITAL CO-ORDINATOR Megan Shersby
CONTRIBUTORS
Ingo Arndt, Joanne Bagniewska, Nick Baker, Nicky Bay, Simon Birch, Stuart Blackman, Paul Bloomfield, Alexander Braczkowski,
Gillian Burke, Mark Carwardine, JV Chamary, David Chapman, Freddie Claire, Lucy Cooke, Ben Cranke, Stephen Dalton,
Peter David Scott, Jesse Delia, Mike Dexter, Mike Dilger, Nigel Dunnett, Charles Francis, Luke Gent, Andrew Griffiths, Dave Hamilton,
James Hanlon, Sumio Harada, Ben Hoare, Sam Hobson, Ross Hoddinott, Alex Hyde, Adam Jacot de Boinod, Ernie Janes, Richard Jones,
John Keates, Tim Laman, Ed Marshall, Archie McGuinness, Eric Medard, Tanya Oliver, Kate Osmond, Jenny Price, Kate & Adam Rice,
Remo Savisaar, Phil Savoie, Oliver Smart, Richard Smyth, Wanda Sowry, Henley Spiers, Paul R Sterry, Kenny Taylor, Bryan Thomas,
Merryn Thomas, David Tipling, Chris Vick, Leoma Williams
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4 BBC WILDLIFE March 2023

Get ready for spring
with a subscription
to the world’s best
wildlife magazine
Hop over
to page 38
and dig out
a fantastic
deal!
BBC Wildlife No. 03 Vol. 41
TRIPOD: MIKE DEXTER; BROWN HARES: ANDREW DARRINGTON/ALAMY; WINTERWATCH:

JO CHARLESWORTH/BBC; HEN HARRIER: ERIC MEDARD/NATUREPL.COM
THE COVER
The cub pictured wasn’t too
keen on water. “Any time mom
stopped moving, this little guy
was trying to climb up onto her
back,” say US photographers
Kate and Adam Rice, who
headed to Alaska’s coast to
observe young brown bear
families. “He was quite talented,
staying on her back even while
she walked and chased salmon.”
They used a Sony A1, 400mm, Tripod the lioness has survived against the odds
1/1,000th sec at f5.6, ISO1000.
Every month, only in BBC Wildlife
NICK BAKER GILLIAN BURKE MARK CARWARDINE LUCY COOKE MIKE DILGER
A parasitic female pea crab “Spice up your passion What’s the outcome of ‘Virgin births’ without the “Brown hare fisticuffs
will never leave her mollusc for nature by falling in December’s COP15? need for male sperm are are usually instigated
host, helping herself to a love with law,” urges the It’s just another “grave a last ditch tactic for one by females fending off
free supply of food P.36 Winterwatch presenter P.17 disappointment”. P.29 hammerhead shark P.27 amorous males” P.32

08 Wild Times
Catch up with all the latest
developments and discoveries
making headlines
32 How to see
boxing hares
Take a ringside seat with Mike
Dilger and watch these magical
mammals battling it out during
the spring mating season
36 Hidden Britain
Next time you’re tucking into
moules marinières, keep your
eyes peeled for the parasitic
pea crab. Nick Baker explains...
40 Cub scout
With a lot of help from mum,
brown bear cubs learn all they
need to know to survive the
wilds of Alaska
50 Nature can fix

flooding
We visit Sheffield city centre
and a community park in
Manchester to learn how
rain gardens and clever green
infrastructure can slow the
flow of storm water Boxing hares can be seen across the UK at this time of year
56 Zambia’s three-
legged lion
Despite losing her leg in a
DiscoverMORE
poacher’s snare, Tripod the
lioness lives on in Kafue
National Park
66 Explore the
Isles of Scilly
Features editor Sarah 86 Q&A
McPherson hops on the ferry Can spiders hear, and how do
to Cornwall’s answer to the fish get tongue-eating lice?
Caribbean and discovers a 92 Go Wild
wildlife paradise A host of wintry wildlife
wonders are in store on the
BBC’s Winterwatch
95 ID Guide
Three early spring flowers to
DON’T MISS...
look out for
99 Crossword
Plus Spot the Difference
...the plan 100 Photo Club

to release This month’s competition
captively
bred hen
104 Your Letters
Join the debate
harriers onto
Salisbury Catch up with 106 Tales from the Bush
Plain this year Winterwatch, p92 A moving encounter with a
Page 14 mourning bull elephant

What’s happening right now

STAND CLEAR
BEN CRANKE/NATUREPL.COM
It’s late summer on South Georgia

in the southern Atlantic, when
temperatures can reach a balmy 9ºC,
but snowfall remains a threat. Here,
a fur seal confronts a column of king
penguins, only to quickly withdraw
when met with a few warning pecks.
A collection of more easy-going
elephant seals snoozes behind.

Follow
the
crowd
Striped marlin come
together to feast on
speedy schools of
baitfish in the Pacific
earching for life in the pelagic

ocean is like finding a needle in a
haystack and capturing an epic scene,
such as the one pictured, can take
many long days at sea without reward.
A frantic gathering of seabirds near
the water’s surface, though, is a tantalising
sign that a ‘baitball’ lies beneath, with
frigatebirds and boobies picking at the fish
in this corner of the eastern Pacific.
Cool upwellings deliver nutrients,
drawing in teeming schools of mackerel
and herring – and, with them, opportunistic
predators. The swirling, sparkling masses
employ a safety-in-numbers defensive
strategy, but cunning striped marlin
co-operatively herd them into tightly packed
baitballs, using their 4m-long torpedo bodies
and sword-like bills to strike the prey with
deadly precision, before eating them whole.
At times, the marlin are joined by
sealions, tuna, sharks and even whales –
creating a spectacular feeding frenzy rarely
glimpsed by human eyes.
MEET THE PHOTOGRAPHER
“The challenge
is keeping up”
“Miraculously, we were able to safely
swim alongside the marlin as they hunted
within close quarters,” says Devon-based
underwater photographer Henley Spiers.
“The greatest challenge is
keeping up with the
action. Often the
bait is ‘running’,
pursued at
HENLEY SPIERS/NATUREPL.COM
pace by the
striped marlin.
This image
was captured
in the brief
seconds after
dropping into
the water.”

A dose of sunshine
The bright brimstone butterfly
is a welcome sight in early spring
he rich lemon-yellow of a male contrast, the female brimstone is a subtle

brimstone butterfly is spectacular at shade of greenish-yellow.
any time – this is an insect that can Emerging this early in the year
nowadays be seen in the UK from means brimstone butterflies need some
February until November. But it clever strategies to heat their thorax
seems especially fine in early spring muscles, which power the wings, to the
sunshine, when the first freshly woken 35°C necessary for flight. They do this
individuals are on the wing. The naturalist by seeking sheltered sun-traps, such as
Michael McCarthy, one of the co-authors the south side of a hedgerow or grassy
of The Consolation of Nature: Spring in bank. But even that is not enough. So
the Time of Coronavirus, writes: “The the butterflies perch and bask, angling
brimstone is so bright it looks like a piece their folded wings towards the sun. After
of sunlight that has become detached from basking, they can fly in an air temperature
the sun’s rays and freed to wander.” By as low as 13°C. Ben Hoare

The sound of
vehicles causes
rural robins to
get in a rage
Traffic noise makes rural

robins more aggressive
New study finds country-dwelling robins get feistier
in response to human-made noise pollution
he robin is reckoned to be Britain’s Adding traffic sounds to the mix made

A male brimstone: most popular bird and is also one of urban robins reduce their call rate and didn’t
the shape and veining the most familiar. Dig some earth and affect their aggro, but rural robins became
of its wings closely a resident robin might come close more quarrelsome.
BRIMSTONE: ROSS HODDINOTT; ROBIN: ERNIE JANES/NATUERPL.COM

resemble leaves to see what food you’ve uncovered. The researchers suspect that urban
Robin-to-robin interactions are often robins have learned to dial down their
less amicable. Strongly territorial, a robin threat displays during temporary increases
will sing, posture by puffing its red chest and in noise, whereas rural robins compensate
– if necessary – fight to hold its ground. with increased aggression. Lead author Çağla
Researchers from Anglia Ruskin Önsal says, “Signals are extremely
University and Koç University useful because they can deter an
in Turkey used a robin model intruder without a fight that
and recordings of songs may be costly to both the
to measure aggression territory owner and the
between territorial robins intruder, but if the songs
and intruders in rural and can’t be heard by the
urban settings, reports intruder the robins may
Behavioral Ecology and have to resort to physical
Sociobiology. This showed aggression.” Kenny Taylor
that urban robins are
typically more aggressive Lead author Çağla Önsal
than rural ones. of Koç University, Turkey

Hen harrier
breeding project
takes flight
The raptors are to be released onto
Salisbury Plain in an attempt to revive
the bird of prey in southern England
pioneering project has been was established here. The first 10 hen harriers
launched by Natural England in are already in the UK and were sourced from persecution is the key to restoring the UK’s
partnership with the International rescued and orphaned birds in France. population of these magnificent birds, and
Centre for Birds of Prey, which It is hoped that the initial breeding as such the RSPB is not a partner in the
will see hen harriers being bred programme will lead to the release of young reintroduction, though we wish the birds
in captivity for the first time and birds later this year. Up to 100 birds will be well,” says the charity’s senior conservation
released onto Salisbury Plain, released over the course of the project and officer Mike Shurmer. “The RSPB considers
with the aim of restoring the all of them will be fitted with satellite tags to that if illegal killing was removed or
endangered bird of prey across monitor their progress and track the location drastically reduced, hen harriers would be
southern England. of any nests. able to spread back to their former range.”
The raptors disappeared from lowland “The southern hen harrier reintroduction Simon Lee says, “Hen harriers sadly
Britain in the late 19th century, largely as a project is an excellent example of face many challenges, including
result of persecution. In England, a breeding international collaboration to drive persecution and habitat loss.
population of hen harriers is currently species recovery,” says Simon Lee We are committed to driving
confined to northern moorlands, where the from Natural England. “Working down persecution to ensure
birds are still the target of illegal persecution. together, we hope to create a the permanent recovery of
Over in mainland Europe, hen harriers sustainable population that this species.”
are widely found breeding on grasslands and supports the long-term revival Simon Birch
among arable crops, leading some scientists of this much-loved species.”
to believe that the species could thrive across However, the project Mike Shurmer, RSPB senior
southern England if a pioneering population has been criticised by some conservation officer

Toothwort’s
flowers look
like teeth
The vampire diaries

Spot a strange parasite of tree roots this month
oothwort is a plant devoid of possess an “unearthly, ethereal aura; a static
DOLPHIN: LOUIS-MARIE PREAU/HEMIS/ALAMY; HARRIER: ERIC MEDARD/NATUREPL.COM; TOOTHWORT: ALEX HYDE

leaves or chlorophyll, with a ghostly beauty”. Their odd appearance is explained
pallor that’s most un-plant-like. Its by the fact that they are parasites, deriving
pale pink flower spikes, which sprout all of their water and essential nutrients
suddenly in March and April, bear by tapping into the roots of other plants.
an uncanny resemblance to naked The vampires spend most of their life
flesh, or (hence the name) a stack of pulled underground: only the flowers see the light
teeth. They could also be mistaken for dead of day. Common toothwort, the sole species
flowers, though these blooms are fresh. found in Britain, targets trees, usually hazel.
The botanist Chris Thorogood writes It is widespread, though uncommon.
in his book Chasing Plants that toothworts Ben Hoare
IN BRIEF
Dolphin dementia
A European Journal of
Neuroscience study on
stranded dolphins has shown
FACT.
All 150-plus
brain changes in aged dolphins species of pit
similar to those seen with viper boast a
human ageing and Alzheimer’s sixth sense:
disease. The results could infrared-
support the ‘sick-leader’ theory, detecting ‘pits’
by which a healthy pod of in the head
animals find themselves in allow them to
Hen harriers are on the shallow waters after following Striped ambush their
UK’s Red List, along with a group leader who may have dolphin warm-blooded
capercaillies and starlings become confused or lost. prey.

Melodies
to inspire
The skylark can
raise its small crest
when it is excited
or alarmed
the arts
Listen for the enduring
songs of skylarks and see
their spiralling flight
o bird has inspired more English

poetry and music than the skylark
– well, apart perhaps from the
nightingale. This nondescript, streaky
brown bird of rough grassy places is
often in full voice by March and may
sing right through the spring and summer
months. It frequently begins before first
light, pouring out its melody from the
pitch-black sky while spiralling higher and
higher. Eventually, the bird hangs in midair
50m or so above the ground, still singing,
before it plummets to earth.
Most skylark songs last around three or
four minutes, but performances of as long as
a quarter of an hour are not uncommon. The
birds are able to sing non-stop for so long
John Aitchison thanks to the unique structure of the avian
presents voicebox, or syrinx, which enables them to
the skylark on
Tweet of the Day
produce sound even while inhaling fresh
air. It is the male skylark that sings – a sign
that he is defending territory and hoping to
attract a mate. Ben Hoare
ORIGIN Silverback
mountain gorilla,
Volcanoes
OF PIECES
GORILLA: INGO ARNDT/MINDEN/NATUREPL.COM; SKYLARK: OLIVER SMART
National Park,
Rwanda
AN ANATOMICAL MISCELLANY
A male’s
nipples
volution fashions bodies that
are exquisitely adapted to their
environment. It’s not perfect, though.
Why, for instance, do male mammals
have nipples when only females need
them? Males and females develop
along very similar lines using much the same
genetic recipe. Characteristics of one sex will,
then, be expressed in the other as long as they
don’t confer a disadvantage. Male nipples
neither help nor hinder. Stuart Blackman

We can be passionate about
protecting nature but all the
passion in the world won’t
change a thing if the law doesn’t
reflect a need to protect the environment.
“Law is a technical subject [and] about
reason – argument, logic, facts and evidence
are its daily bread and butter,” writes Conor Catch up
Gearty, a human rights lawyer and lecturer on all the
at the London School of Economics. If all episodes from
this sounds like home to the scientist and Winterwatch
naturalist alike, then the parallels run even
deeper with the law mirroring the complex
interactions of the natural world, where
everything is connected.
Like a rich ecosystem of interconnected
parts, where no single species can exist on
its own, “all laws exist in the context of each
other” explains Joelle Grogan, legal academic
and senior researcher at King’s College
London. Just as in natural systems, laws are
constantly evolving and adapting to reflect
the society they are meant to serve.
Mirroring the tree of life, the myriad
branches of UK law can be traced back to 1215
when King John put his seal on Magna Carta,
which reined in the power of the monarchy
and established the rule of law. Extremely
recent history in evolutionary terms but,
Taking an
centuries later, the impact of this founding
interest in
moment affords us the many liberties and the law can
legal protections we enjoy today. benefit all life
All this might feel like we’ve veered way
out of our lane as wildlife enthusiasts, but
taking an interest in the law is to grasp what OPINION
is arguably the single most powerful tool for
protecting the Earth.
From taking individual offenders to task,
by reporting and successfully prosecuting
wildlife crimes, to challenging government
decisions and policy, organisations like Wild
Justice and Plan B are powerful voices and
advocates for nature and climate justice.
Meanwhile, environmental law charity
ClientEarth has many successful legal “Law is arguably the most powerful
challenges under its belt, including against
corporate ‘greenwashing’ – a practice where tool for protecting the Earth”
companies attempt to mollify growing
public concern for the environment with
demonstrably false or misleading claims time” by Stop Ecocide International, is before they’ve all been identified. If the bill
about their green credentials and products. the campaign to make ecocide – the mass is passed into law, the proposed ‘sunset
It doesn’t stop there. In late 2022, WWF destruction and damage of ecosystems – clause’ will take effect and whole swathes of
and ClientEarth filed a legal complaint to the an international crime, enforceable by the environmental law stand to be weakened or
UK’s Office for Environmental Protection for International Criminal Court. Breathtaking completely lost, if the government decides.
being “missing in action” in enforcing key in its scope, it promises to unleash the full “Without the resources and time for
environmental regulations. power of the law to protect a liveable world stakeholder engagement, the slow and
But perhaps the most audacious legal for all human and non-human life. conscious effort to define the best laws
endeavour, and what is described as “the Yet in the UK, within the next year or and policies for the UK will be lacking,”
most important legal opportunity of our so we may witness the ‘switching off’ of Joelle Grogan goes on to explain. With the
hundreds, if not thousands, of pieces of complicated tapestry of environmental
environmental legislation and protection protection and law at risk of unravelling
Gillian Burke is a biologist,
CHARLES FRANCIS
writer and presenter. You

under the Retained EU Law Bill. Like a or, at the very least having great big holes
can visit gillianburkevoice. vast taxonomic survey cut short, the bill punched into it, there has never been a
com to read her blog will remove all the pieces of EU law that better time to spice up your passion for
and latest news. are still in the UK statute book post-Brexit nature, by falling in love with law.

Blackthorn flowers
before its leaves
appear – one of
the best ways to
distinguish it
from hawthorn
SNOW SCENE
his year’s spring equinox, when night equals day, falls on 20th
March in the Northern Hemisphere. For the Romans, it was a
moment that signalled the start of a new year. For naturalists
today, it’s a time of high excitement, when birdsong steps up a
notch and hedgerows are blanketed in the snow-white, star-shaped
flowers of blackthorn – Britain’s first native tree to blossom.
Roseman Adams
on Mount Taboi,
the highest peak
on Union Island
A male common
ostrich guards a
clutch of eggs
10 heaviest birds
You wouldn’t want to find one of these
heavy beasts on your birdfeeder…
BLACKTHORN: OLIVER SMART; OSTRICH: JAMES WARWICK/GETTY ; PINE MARTEN: MARTIN NOBLE; ROSEMAN ADAMS: JENNY DALTRY/FFI AND RE:WILD; UNION ISLAND GECKO: JACOB BOCK/FFI
1 COMMON OSTRICH 157kg

Weighs as much as a piano and
stands at an impressive 2.7m tall
2 SOMALI OSTRICH 130kg
Native to the Horn of Africa in the MEET THE SCIENTIST
easternmost part of the continent
3 SOUTHERN CASSOWARY 85kg
The prehistoric-looking southern
cassowary is about 1.7m tall
4 NORTHERN CASSOWARY 75kg
Roseman Adams
Has a single rather than a double wattle Community leader on the recovery of the ‘Polaroid’
5 EMU 70kg
Found only in Australia
gecko on Union Island in the Caribbean
6 EMPEROR PENGUIN 46kg
The first non-ratite on our list Roseman Adams has always been passionate “The Union Island gecko is a tiny creature
7 GREATER RHEA 40kg about wildlife but it wasn’t until 1999 that with jewel-like markings,” says Roseman.
The largest living native bird he became involved in conservation more “When it’s brought into the light, it changes
anywhere in the Americas
directly on an island in Saint Vincent and from dark brown to multicoloured – much
8 WILD TURKEY 39kg the Grenadines. “I started to see many like a Polaroid picture. It is truly remarkable.”
The only bird on our list that can fly! environmental issues on Union Island and The entire population of this species is
9 DWARF CASSOWARY 34kg to do something about it, I co-founded a confined to a 0.5km2 patch of ancient forest:
Smallest of the three cassowary species, community-based organisation, now known “First described by science in 2005, the Union
also known as the mountain cassowary
as Union Island Environmental Alliance Island gecko suffered severe population
10 LESSER RHEA 29kg (UIEA),” he says. The primary focus of UIEA decline in the wild due to aggressive poaching
Thought to have helped start Charles
is to improve the livelihoods of ‘Unionites’ in for the international pet trade.”
Darwin’s musings on evolution
balance with healthy natural ecosystems.
“The gecko’s recovery has been
IN BRIEF “We started out with testament to the dedication
clean-up campaigns and of the local community to
water-quality testing, protect the species and its
and now collaborate habitat,” says Roseman.
with international “Without their efforts,
organisations the recovery we have
on endemic and seen to date would not
endangered species have been possible.”
conservation The listing of the Union
and sustainable Island gecko on Appendix
development,” explains A ‘Polaroid’ picture: I of CITES in 2019 also
Hampshire has pine martens the tiny and colourful
Roseman. The UIEA was Union Island gecko
afforded the species the
involved in the comeback highest level of protection
New start of the Critically Endangered against illegal trade.
A breeding population of pine martens Union Island gecko [nicknamed the
has been discovered in the New ‘Polaroid’ gecko], along with Fauna & Flora “We are working on a wider initiative
Forest after hidden cameras captured
International (FFI), Re:wild, and St Vincent to protect the gecko, the island and its
footage of pine martens, including
young. Previously only seen in and the Grenadines Forestry Department. community, while supporting sustainable
northern England, Scotland and parts Its population has increased from 10,000 in development,” he states. “Chatham Bay,
of Wales, this is clear evidence of the 2018 to around 18,000. UIEA activities include where the gecko lives, is recognised as a Key
mustelid’s return to southern England. patrols and monitoring by wardens in the Biodiversity Area and there are also calls for it
forest, and community outreach work. to become a wildlife reserve.” Jo Price

The male
flowers of
Solanum
scalarium
Yellowstone:
The Art of
America. The
role of art in
its creation.
NEW SPECIES DISCOVERY
Garrarnawun
bush tomato
WHAT IS IT?
The newly described Garrarnawun bush
tomato (Solanum scalarium) is part of the
diverse Solanum genus, which also includes
tomatoes, potatoes, aubergines and
some of the nightshades. Although some
bush tomatoes contain solanine and are
Grey wolves in Yellowstone
poisonous, others have been a traditional
National Park, Wyoming,
food source for Aboriginal peoples.
WOLVES: SUMIO HARADA/MINDEN/NATUREPL.COM; BUSH TOMATO: JONATHAN HAYES; WOODLAND: DAVID BOOKER/EYEEM/GETTY
can be manipulated by parasites
WHERE IS IT?
The species was found in the Australian
Hosts with the most outback, alongside a trail leading up to

Garrarnawun Lookout in Judbarra National
Park, a meeting place of the Wardaman
and Nungali-Ngaliwurru peoples.
Parasitised wolves are more likely to become leaders
WHAT IS THE MEANING BEHIND THE
of the pack as their behaviour is forced to change SCIENTIFIC NAME?
The Latin word ‘scalarium’ translates to
‘stairs’ or ‘ladder’, so the specific epithet
any parasites manipulate the increases risk-taking behaviour,” says Connor refers to the human-made stone steps
leading up to Garrarnawun Lookout. It
behaviour of their hosts to their Meyer of the University of Montana. This is
also highlights the importance of making
own advantage. Few, though, help thought to increase the chances that an animal
natural places accessible. Megan Shersby
their victims rise up through the will end up being eaten by a cat, which would
social hierarchy. But that is exactly allow the parasite to complete its life-cycle. Find out more bit.ly/SolanumScalarium
what happens when wolves become Working in Yellowstone National Park,
infected with a common parasite. Meyer, co-lead author of a Communications IN BRIEF
Toxoplasma is a single-celled parasite Biology study, found that this approach to life
that spreads through contact with the faeces
or meat of an infected animal. It can only
results in Toxoplasma-infected wolves being
46 times more likely to become pack leaders
Wood store
UK woodlands store significantly more
reproduce sexually in members of the cat compared to uninfected ones. The wolves are
carbon than was thought, according
family, but can proliferate asexually in most not necessarily benefitting from infection: to new research. Ecological Solutions
mammals, including humans, “What we don’t yet know is whether they are and Evidence reports that novel
where it induces changes successful pack leaders,” says Meyer. 3D-scanning techniques applied
in behaviour. “It A gung-ho attitude is also likely to get to an Oxfordshire
seems to mess with infected animals into trouble in other ways. woodland almost
hormone levels in “Hyenas infected with Toxoplasma are more doubled previous
the brain, which likely to be killed by lions,” says Meyer. estimates.
The finding
Yellowstone doesn’t have any cats big enough has important
Conor Meyer of to take wolves. But that wasn’t always the implications
the University of case. “A few thousand years ago, we’d have for future carbon
Montana studies had the North American lion here, so the management.
Yellowstone’s wolves downsides may have been more obvious.” SB

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to learn
more
A common toad risks
its life on a road in
Bristol at night
The male Stejneger’s
scoter has an orange
bill tip with yellow
along the lower edge
Lost & Found VAGRANT SPECIES DIARY
Stejneger’s scoter, Firth of Forth Lionel Kelleway

is in Surrey
looking for
he Firth of Forth just east of The UK recorded its first white-winged
spring toads in
Edinburgh is an important wintering scoter in Aberdeenshire in 2011 and perhaps Living World
area for velvet scoter, one of our another three have occurred since, the most
scarcer sea ducks, that visits from its recent returning to the Firth of Forth for
breeding grounds in Scandinavia and several successive winters. This winter has
West Siberia. But recently, sharp-eyed produced not only the expected returning
observers have found that the local flocks white-winged, but also an adult drake IN BRIEF
they watch regularly have included some Stejneger’s scoter – a UK first. By January
close relatives of the velvet scoter from 2023 the Stejneger’s scoter was no longer seen. Oldest DNA
further afield. However, around the same time as the white- It’s not quite Jurassic Park, but
TOAD: SAM HOBSON/NATUREPL.COM
When velvet scoter was ‘split’ by winged appeared in Scotland, Ireland recorded scientists have discovered pieces
taxonomists a few years ago into three its first white-winged in County Mayo.
SCOTER: REMO SAVISAAR/ALAMY
of 2-million-year-old DNA – twice as

species, which included the distinct North Taxonomic splits like this tend to result old as the previous record. Nature
ILLUSTRATION: BETH ZAIKEN;
American and East Siberian forms – white- in similar-looking species and these scoters reports that the fragments,
winged and Stejneger’s scoter respectively – are no exception, differing subtly in the found in northern
Greenland, have
interest in these ducks increased. The subtle head and bill profile, and bill colour of the
allowed the scientists
differences were quickly learned by birders adult drakes. With scoter flocks usually only to build a picture
who found that the two newly recognised viewable distantly from shore, credit is due of the ecosystem
species were occurring sporadically in to the spotters responsible for a remarkable present at the time.
northern Europe as rare vagrants. run of rare sightings. James Hanlon

CROSS ROADS
uring mild spells in March, common toads stir from their winter
torpor and begin plodding – not hopping, as frogs do – towards
ancestral breeding pools. Most move on damp evenings with
an air temperature of at least 7°C, but roads represent a lethal
obstacle. On busy nights, Toads on Roads patrollers in high-vis
help hundreds of the sluggish amphibians across the tarmac.
Satellites
Bull elephants prefer to
walk paths that have or
lead to Combretum and
track dinner
time dash
Cissus plants
New research could help

ease conflicts between
elephants and people
new study using satellite imagery

and state-of-the-art GPS systems has
shown that African elephants take the
shortest possible route when looking
to feed on their favourite bushes
and trees. Researchers found that
bull elephants choose different routes from
family groups of females and young calves
due to differences in their gender-based diet.
The pioneering research by Save the
Elephants and Oxford University was
carried out in the rural community of
Sagalla in Kenya. The region is a hotspot for
crop-raiding elephants. The findings of the
study could play a crucial role in helping
STORKS: KLEIN & HUBERT/NATUREPL.COM; ELEPHANT: EWAN BRENNAN/SAVE THE ELEPHANTS; GLORIA: NAIYA RAJA/SAVE THE ELEPHANTS
conservationists forecast potential human-
elephant conflict areas.
“A lot is known about what kinds of foods
are eaten by elephants,” says lead author
Gloria Mugo. “However, being able to single
out the fact that their movements can be
driven by their preferred, gender-based diet,
Lead author helps to further our understanding of micro-
Gloria Mugo level ecological interactions.” Simon Birch
COLLECTIVE Yellow-billed storks
NOUNS
fishing in Luangwa
River, Zambia
WHAT’S IN A NAME?
A mustering
of storks
he term ‘a mustering of storks’
derives from ‘muster’, meaning a
general gathering or assembly; while
‘mustering’ is applied particularly
to troops arranged together for an
inspection. The word is also used in
the animal world for a round-up of livestock,
especially in the Antipodes. The other
collective nouns for storks include flight
and phalanx (used when migrating).
Adam Jacot de Boinod

Attenborough
presents the
mistle thrush on
Tweet of the Day
Feast of plenty
Find holly berries and you could spot a mistle thrush
defending what’s left of its precious food stash
f you notice holly berries left on calls. Blackbirds, song thrushes, robins, even
branches at the end of winter – and it is woodpigeons and other mistle thrushes all
only female holly trees that have them get the same treatment.
in the first place – you may have come Though holly is a particular favourite, a
across the private larder of a mistle mistle thrush will also defend other sources
thrush. This is a bird that jealously guards of fruit, such as yew, hawthorn or mistletoe,
its own berry supply to see itself through the the plant after which it is named. Sadly, the
winter months. Any other bird that dares species has been added to the UK’s Red A mistle thrush
spend too long in ‘its’ tree is chased away List of threatened birds, due to a sustained enjoys its private
and subjected to a volley of agitated rattling population decline over the past 50 years. BH holly berry larder

FEMALE OF THE SPECIES
BONNETHEAD SHARK
Lucy Cooke on a hammerhead

cloning to survive extinction
he female bonnethead shark,
Sphyrna tiburo, is full of surprises.
Firstly, this small species of
Big cat bill hammerhead is the only shark
Efforts to curb private ownership of known to graze on seagrass.
big cats, such as lions and tigers, All other sharks are committed
have increased following the hit carnivores, but analysis of the
Netflix series Tiger King. The Big Cat bonnethead’s stomach has
Public Safety Act, a bill revising the revealed up to 62 per cent plant
requirements governing the trade matter. Scientists initially assumed this
of big cats in the USA, passed by was an accidental by-product of foraging
unanimous consent in the Senate.
It was signed into law by President
for crustaceans, its primary protein source.
Joe Biden in December 2022. But further investigation has shown these
sharks are, in fact, digesting the seagrass “Mommy shark, doo-doo, doo-doo...”
– more efficiently than pandas digest
bamboo – which suggests this freaky rebel’s half the mother’s genetic material. Together
omnivorous inclinations are no accident. these cells, with half her DNA, made the full
UP Even more surprising than her diet is set of chromosomes necessary to create a
the female bonnethead’s ability to give birth new shark.
without having sex. Parthenogenesis, Greek Parthenogenesis appears to be a last
DOWN
for ‘virgin birth’, had never been recorded resort tactic for bonnetheads that don’t
in cartilaginous fish until a bonnethead have the opportunity to reproduce sexually.
gave birth in a zoo aquarium in Omaha in It’s since been observed in about 15 other
2007. Her tank mates were two other female shark and ray species living in aquariums.
bonnethead sharks and an assortment of rays, It is hard to detect in wild populations, but
so who (or indeed where) was the daddy? with environments becoming increasingly
Female sharks have the ability to store fractured, finding a sexual partner is likely
sperm for months, if not years, so it was to become progressively hard.
assumed this shark must have mated prior And sure enough, in 2015 researchers
to being taken captive. The aquarium soap did discover parthenogenesis in a wild
saga continued when the pup was killed population of sawfish. The sawfish is a
by a stingray after just a few days. The freshwater species that looks like it has a
unfortunate tragedy gave researchers the chainsaw attached to its face. It’s one of the
opportunity to do genetic analysis, revealing world’s most Critically Endangered sharks
MISTLE THRUSH: DAVID TIPLING; TIGER: GETTY; EARTHWORM:NPL
there was no ‘DNA of male origin’ in the – numbers have declined to one to five per
baby shark. cent of their original population size. The
Instead of being fertilised by fact that these sharks have started to
a male’s sperm, the shark’s own reproduce asexually indicates how
genetic material combined during desperate their decline has become.
sex cell division. The cell which Cloning sounds cool, but it’s a
Below the radar normally becomes the egg, fused short-term strategy since it doesn’t
A preliminary investigation suggests with another cell produced allow the same genetic mixing that
that UK earthworm populations are during the process which sex does, which enables the species
ILLUSTRATION BY HOLLY EXLEY
shrinking. Studies on population normally dies, but also contains to adapt to environmental change
trends in this ecologically important and new pathogens.
group are sparse, but after collating
the little data that has been collected
Catch up
over the past century, the British Trust Lucy is a broadcaster,
with Lucy’s
for Ornithology found evidence of zoologist and author of
BBC Radio
significant declines in abundance and Bitch: What Does it Mean
Four three-part series
have called for better monitoring. to be Female? (paperback
Political Animals
on sale now)

Coltsfoot is
attractive to
Sunny
pollinators, including
species of Diptera side up
Yellow coltsfoot is one
of the first wildflowers
to emerge in spring
any naturalists have wondered

why so many of Britain’s early
spring flowers happen to be
yellow. The roll call includes
lesser celandine, marsh marigold,
primrose, cowslip, daffodil (the
native variety of which can be seen in
Yorkshire, Gloucestershire, south-west Wales
and a few other places), dandelions and
coltsfoot. The last of these looks superficially
like a dandelion, with golden flowerheads
made up of many separate strands, or florets,
yet is a pretty distinctive wildflower.
In fact, it has two types of floret – darker
orange ones in the central disc, from which
longer yellow ones radiate to form a shaggy
wheel. Coltsfoot flowers in March and April,
usually at the edges of fields and in rough,
stony ground, or even poking through tarmac
and paving stones. Its curious stems are pale
purple and weirdly fleshy, but oddest of all,
there are no leaves until much later in spring.
Ben Hoare
POO CORNER
COLTSFOOT: ALEX HYDE; BADGER PORTRAIT; GETTY; BADGER POO: ALAMY

ID GUIDE
European
badger
Location is key when trying to identify badger
poo. “Badgers use their droppings to mark the
boundaries of their territory, which can lead to
poo wars when badger clans try to ‘out-poo’
each other at the key meeting
points of their territories,”
says Derek Crawley from
the Mammal Society.
“They also use a latrine
area shortly after waking
up.” Containing seeds Badger droppings
and berries, droppings are normally solid,
are usually purple, black measuring about 10cm
or brown in colour and long and 2cm thick
smell foul. Megan Shersby

ou’d have thought governments
would be more interested
in ensuring that our planet
continues to be habitable. But
they seem woefully and bizarrely
unenthusiastic when it comes to
avoiding mutual destruction.
Sadly, then, it will come as
no surprise that COP15 is likely
to be another grave disappointment. The
15th Conference of the Parties to the United
Nations Convention on Biological Diversity
Conference – which took place in Montreal
in December – aspired to “create a world
living in harmony with nature”. It won’t.
I hope I am proved wrong, but past evidence
strongly suggests that these summits are no
longer fit for purpose.
The Convention on Biological Diversity is
a landmark 1992 international agreement that
set out how to utilise and protect the world’s
natural resources. It has been ratified by 196 A displaying greater
parties (including every member of the UN bird of paradise
except, notably, the USA). The latest meeting in Indonesia – an
was particularly important, because delegates example of the global
were thrashing out a new global biodiversity south’s biodiversity
framework to guide conservation efforts for
the next 10 years.
The last roadmap towards a more nature-
positive future, agreed in 2010, set 20 targets “COP15 is likely to be another
to stem the destruction of wildlife and life-
sustaining ecosystems. And guess what? It
failed. Miserably. Not a single target was met.
grave disappointment”
MARK CARWARDINE
Far from reversing the loss of biodiversity,
we have succeeded in speeding it up.
Admittedly, the latest COP15 agreed
some promising targets. Tackling
environmentally damaging subsidies is top
of my list. The world’s most ecologically
destructive industries – fossil fuels, fishing OPINION
and farming – are fiercely protected by
governments whose leaders are relentlessly
browbeaten by lobbyists into keeping their alarm bells. It’s the equivalent of the global by 2030 would cost US$722-967 billion
industries alive and kicking. Between them, warming cap of 1.5°C. But what works for each year. We are spending just US$124-143
they receive considerably more than US$1 climate change (in theory, at least) doesn’t billion. That’s quite a shortfall. What we
trillion in subsidies – the vast majority necessarily work for biodiversity. desperately needed – and didn’t get – was
of which pay no regard to environmental The target is a distraction from the need a new mandatory biodiversity fund to pay
protection. But now there is a target to phase for transformational change. We have to turn for conservation targets in biodiversity-rich
out or “reform” at least US$500bn of these our whole way of life upside- countries in the global south.
environmentally damaging subsidies by 2030. down and get governments, “The world’s Despite promising to do
But the headline-grabbing target of businesses and other most ecologically better, governments haven’t
protecting 30 per cent stakeholders to understand yet met a target they have set
of the planet by 2030 that conservation is not destructive for themselves: sadly, even a
(catchily dubbed “30 a competing interest but industries are strong, ambitious agreement
by 30”) rings loud is fundamental to human does not in itself ensure
fiercely protected”
TIM LAMAN/NATUREPL.COM
survival and needs to be part successful implementation.

of everything we do. A 30 It doesn’t help that the
Want to comment?
per cent target will just result in more rapid week before the conference started, the
Share your thoughts
on Mark's column destruction of the remaining 70 per cent. world reached a frightening milestone: its
by sending an email Besides, what does ‘protection’ actually mean? population soared past 8 billion. That’s
to wildlifeletters@ Anyone familiar with the UK’s national parks, 2.5 billion more people than when the
immediate.co.uk for example, will know that simply labelling Convention on Biological Diversity was
an area ‘protected’ doesn’t cut the mustard. agreed in 1992. As UN secretary-general
Then there is the small matter of António Guterres warned during his opening
funding. The Paulson Institute estimates speech at COP15: “We are losing our suicidal
that reversing the decline in biodiversity war against nature.”

Fleischmann’s glassfrog,
Costa Rica. Right: its blood
is visible when it’s awake
(above) but is hidden when
it’s asleep (below).
FISH: ALAMY; CARLOS: LAURA ANDRADE; FROG PORTRAIT: PHIL SAVOIE/NATUREPL.COM; FROG COMPARISON: JESSE DELIA/AMERICAN MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY
oxygen around their bodies. But the latest
research by Taboada and his colleagues,
published in Science, shows how Fleischmann’s
glassfrogs have found a way around that
problem, too – at least while they sleep, when
they are most reliant on their camouflage.
The team found that sleeping frogs divert
nearly 90 per cent of their red blood cells
to their liver, where they are hidden from
view behind a layer of mirror-like crystals.
This renders the frogs up to 61 per cent
more transparent than when they are awake,
when they need their red blood cells to be
circulating to fuel active muscles.
Invisibility croak Should a predator see through the

disguise, the frogs are able to restore blood
flow and mobility “immediately,” says
Taboada’s colleague Jesse Delia. “Give them a
Sleeping glassfrogs perfect their transparency prod and they’ll wake up and go jump.”
by hiding their blood in a mirror-coated liver Intriguingly, several species of distantly
related frogs have evolved the transparency
strategy independently, although it’s not yet
he glassfrogs of tropical America “They have this suite of adaptations,” known whether they are all capable of
have probably come closer than any says Carlos Taboada of Duke hiding their blood. “We’re working
animal to developing an invisibility University, USA. “They have on that,” says Delia. He speculates
cloak. And new research reveals the transparent skin, they have that frogs’ tendency to shut
lengths to which these remarkable transparent muscle and they down their metabolism during
amphibians go to perfect the illusion. have light-reflecting crystals hibernation might predispose
Camouflage is usually achieved by in their organs.” them to such a capability. “It
matching one’s own colour patterns to those One of the few pigments could be a sort of general frog
of one’s surroundings. But glassfrogs do glassfrogs are unable to trick, and these glassfrogs
things very differently. They have managed dispense with is the red have elaborated it,” he
Co-lead author
to rid their bodies of virtually all pigment to haemoglobin in their blood, Carlos Taboada speculates. “There are a million
make themselves almost entirely transparent. which is essential for transporting questions here.” Stuart Blackman
FROM THE BBC WILDLIFE ARCHIVE March 1989
NEXT ISSUE
THREE-SPINED
STICKLEBACKS
April is the start of the
spawning season for
these tiddlers, when
the males transform

RIVER CHET: JON GIBBS/ALAMY; DOLPHINS: ANTHONY PIERCE/ALAMY; MURMURATION:
GUY CORBISHLEY/ALAMY; ST CATHERINE’S HILL: DYLAN GARCIA/ALAMY
Ham Wall
River Chet

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WILDLIFE SPECTACLES
The broadcaster, naturalist and tour guide shares the
most breathtaking seasonal events in Britain
BOXING BROWN HARES
Bag a ringside seat to see

battling brown hares during
their mating season
o those with a natural history mountains and moorlands – niches that
BOXING: DAVID FEATHERBE/500PX/GETTY; HIDING: KEVIN SAWFORD/IMAGEBROKER/GETTY
bent, the month of March is may well have already been filled by the
synonymous with one spectacle brown hare’s montane cousin.
above any other – that of brown hares Adult brown hares can be distinguished
duking it out. Celebrated throughout from our only other lagomorph, the rabbit,
the ages, it was undoubtedly this by their longer limbs, larger heads and
very behaviour that inspired Lewis Carroll’s longer, black-tipped ears. When running,
March Hare character in Alice’s Adventure’s their distinctive tail is kept down, revealing a
in Wonderland. black upper surface as they sprint away from
Despite the brown hare being easily any perceived threat at speeds up to 70kph.
the more familiar of our two hare species, In contrast to semi-subterranean rabbits,
it is only the lesser-known mountain hare hares spend their entire lives above ground,
that is in fact native to Britain. Originally and though largely nocturnal, are routinely
emanating from the grassy plains of Asia, active at dawn and dusk, too.
brown hares are believed to have When not feeding or interacting
been introduced either during, with their compatriots, hares
or before, Roman times. rest in any fields with good
Favouring open habitat,
Catch up
the hare found such an Did you know? on all the
abundance of farmland episodes from
Brown hares require long
and grassland in Britain grass and vegetation to Winterwatch
that the only areas hide in during the day but
seemingly avoided by this modern intensive agriculture
inveterate nibbler were our has reduced its availability

“Brown hares are believed to
have been introduced either
during, or before, Roman times”
A flash of white tail

may be seen during
a bout of boxing

Mike Dilger’s WILDLIFE SPECTACLES
TOP
FIVE
1 RSPB LOCH GRUINART
Famed for its overwintering
populations of barnacle and
2 WWT WELNEY
The fen grasslands
surrounding this wetland
white-fronted geese, the
centre in Cambridgeshire
grasslands on Islay are also a
are a great place to look out
PLACES great place to look for boxing
for hare activity and WWT
hares as the geese prepare
conducts hare walks right up
to fly back to their breeding
until the end of February.
grounds in Greenland.
5 BROCKHOLES
Managed by the
Lancashire Wildlife Trust,
3 RSPB HAVERGATE
ISLAND
This small, narrow islet
this 100ha site near shelters behind Orford
Preston has an array
of habitats, including
4 ROYSTON AND BALDOCK
The large arable farms
surrounding Royston and
Ness off the Suffolk
coast, and while best
grassland. Its resident Baldock in Hertfordshire, as known for its breeding
population of hares were well as those fields bordering population of avocets,
filmed for Countryfile back the A505, which links the also has a remarkably
in 2017. two towns, have a healthy tame population of
population of hares. brown hares.
all-round visibility. Hunkering down in to rebuff any suitor whose advances are LOOK CLOSER
the vegetation or digging out a shallow not appreciated. Those males unwilling to
impression in the ground, called a form, take ‘no’ for an answer will then reciprocate Thumper
helps keep them out of sight and protects this behaviour, with fur frequently flying Unless physically attacked, brown hares
them from the worst of the elements. whenever contact is made. make very few vocalisations, preferring
It was often assumed that the boxing For the experienced males, however, to use their feet to convey messages.
was rival males fighting each other for persistence appears to pay off, as they They often thump their front feet when
mating privileges, but it has now eventually break down her challenging another hare, but only tend to
strike the ground with their hind feet when
been established this bout of “The fisticuffs resistance and copulation warning of mortal danger – such as the
fisticuffs is usually instigated ensues. With mating the sum
by females fending off any is instigated total of the male’s involvement,
sudden appearance of a fox.
overly amorous males. While by females his focus then switches to

hare society is not particularly
fending off finding yet more receptive Blazing a trail
HARES: ANDREW DARRINGTON/ALAMY; PARTRIDGE: ERHARD NERGER/GETTY; ANT: RICHARD BECKER/ALAMY
complex, a dominance hierarchy females. Capable of producing Hares use well-established trails across
tends to develop among the amorous as many as four litters of fields and you can sometimes spot
males, or bucks, whereby more males” between one and four leverets regularly spaced ‘bound marks’ where the
impact of their large hind feet produces a
experienced individuals will during a favourable breeding
drive away those younger and season, the females’ high shallow depression in the path’s surface.
Also look out for the gaps in hedgerows
less assertive, particularly during the mating productivity will help offset hares’ terribly
made by hares passing through.
season between March and July. short lifespans, where any individual
Nevertheless, with the female coming reaching its second birthday can be
into oestrus for just a day each month, she considered to have beaten the odds. Shades of grey
often becomes the subject of considerable The number of hares on farms and While scanning for hares, keep
attention at this time. When fed up with grassland can differ widely across the an eye out for our native grey
this relentless hectoring, she will rear up countryside, with some locations holding partridge – which has the
on her hind legs before using her front legs healthy populations, while others appear to unfortunate distinction of
hold none. Generally speaking, the arable being one of our fastest
declining birds. Distinguish
heartland of southern and eastern England
them from the introduced
is their stronghold, but the estimated red-legged partridge by the
British population of 800,000 has fallen orange face and the dark
substantially from a high point of about horseshoe on their belly.
four million during the late Victorian era.
When trying to views hares, break up
your outline by using a hedge or a car as a
hide, for example. On private land, such as
a farm, please stick to the public footpaths.
And finally, do remember that if you are on
foot, remaining downwind will help you get
NEXT MONTH
Mike shares his tips on how
Brown hares are generally solitary but will closer to that all-important ringside seat, as to see wood ant nests
gather when feeding – or pursuing females and when the action finally kicks off.

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Nick Baker’s HIDDEN BRITAIN
The popular naturalist, author and TV presenter
reveals a secret world of overlooked wildlife
PEA CRAB
A small, parasitic pea-sized

crab that’s most content living
inside its bivalve host
ot many subjects found in this The female crab never leaves the
column are best seen at the dining mussel. Almost twice as big as the male,
table, or more specifically, in this she is virtually spherical. When carrying
case, within a bowl of moules eggs, the large egg mass clutched to
marinières. But next time you find her underside is so big that she almost
yourself tucking into this tasty doubles in thickness and walking becomes
seafood dish, keep an eye open for a little impossible. Her life of leisure also means
extra: a pea crab (Pinnotheres pisum), also she has no need of a hard exoskeleton.
known as a mussel flea. The male, on the other hand, is a
This tiny animal is one of the smallest different beast. During the early stages of
crab species – a female rarely gets much his life, he, too, is a resident of the mussels’
larger than 12mm across – and is a parasite inner sanctum. But as he matures and
of mussels and a few other bivalve molluscs. the lure of sex calls, he takes risks. The
Mussels are a tough nut to crack: their thick adult females attract males by emitting a
shells and lightning reflexes protect them pheromone that wafts out of the mussel
from most small predators. But the pea from its exhalent siphon. A male down-
crab has taken on this challenge, dedicating current will then slip out of his homely host
its life to breaching these defences to live to find her.
within the protective enclosure of the shell. To aid his ease of exit and subsequent
As the mussel sucks in seawater, edible entry into his lady’s lair, the male is not
particles are filtered out by the gills and only smaller, but flatter. He is also an
gathered in a mucous rope, before being excellent swimmer, possessing fringes of
passed down a conveyor belt of ciliary hairs. long hairs on his legs that act as paddles.
The pea crabs simply help themselves. Because of these field trips into the big wide

world, he has many of the usual crustacean
adaptations – a hardened exoskeleton and
cryptic markings of browns and greys are
useful in minimising the chances of coming
to harm.
However, captive experimental studies
with other species of pea crab have shown
that even jinking in and out of mollusc
hosts is risky. Many males get their legs
trapped and amputated or, more seriously,
can be crushed. Still, this odyssey is worth
the risk for the males, as one mating could
mean a considerable investment in the next
generation. A single female pea crab can
produce thousands of eggs – over 9,000
have been recorded. The bigger the host
mussel, the more food it sucks in; and more
food for the crab means it, too, can grow
bigger and produce more eggs.
After about a month, the female’s eggs
hatch. The free-swimming larval crabs then
move out of their mussel home into the
surrounding seawater and go on to join
the plankton community. In its final free-
floating stage, the pea crab larvae – known
as megalopae – have swimming legs called
pleopods along their tails, as well as large
chemoreceptors. They are thought to use
these adaptations to detect and swim
towards their final mussel hosts, before
being happily sucked in along with the
mussel’s food to take up residence.
Pinnotheres pisum translates from Greek and

Latin as ‘pea-like guardian of the lobe’. The
‘lobe’ probably refers to the mussel’s gills.
LOOK CLOSER
A male
Pinnotherion
vermiforme
ILLUSTRATIONS BY PETER DAVID SCOTT/THE ART AGENCY
A parasite’s parasite
Just in case you thought the pea
crab has an easy life, it, too, is prone
to parasitism. A crustacean called
Pinnotherion vermiforme, which
measures just 1-3mm, infects the crabs
A female pea – it lives inside the pea crab’s body
crab rests within cavity and diverts the crab’s resources
a mussel while (and the mussel’s!) to its own ends.
males venture Parasites of parasites are sometimes
in search of sex known as hyperparasites.

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MARCH
2023
Issue 03 Vol 41
MARCH
2023
MARCH
2023
Issue 03 Vol 41 Issue 03 Vol 41
CUB CUB
SCOUT
Brown bears making
their way in the SCOUT
wilds of Alaska
Brown bears making
their way in the
wilds of Alaska
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PORTFOLIO
The brown bear mothers

of coastal Alaska work hard
to feed, teach and protect
their young offspring
Photos by KATE AND ADAM RICE
One up
This lucky six-month-old cub’s tolerant
mother allowed him to ride on her
back. “We think she’s a first-time
parent who developed a special
bond with her offspring,” says Kate
and Adam Rice, who photographed
these images in Alaska’s Katmai
National Park and Preserve – home to
some 2,200 brown bears – over the
bountiful summer months.
Mother’s milk
There’s no respite from suckling for a mum of
twins – a typical litter size, though triplets aren’t
uncommon and quads not unheard of – feeding
among the fireweed in August. They’ll continue
to demand milk for two or even three years after
their birth in February, in mother’s winter den.
Three’s a crowd
This brown bear mother has her paws full with
triplets, the father having left shortly after mating
between May and July. As well as keeping an
eye out for threats – mostly adult male bears
and, occasionally, wolves – she must teach them
to feed themselves and stay safe.
ABOUT THE PHOTOGRAPHERS

Kate and Adam Rice of KAR
Photography are nature
photographers based in
the American West and
Alaska, specialising in
large mammals, birds
and landscapes. See
more of their work at
karphotography.net.

PORTFOLIO
Paw patrol
A male and female
brown bear graze
sedge, a high-protein
food source in coastal
regions that’s important in
spring and early summer.
He’s watching for an
opportunity to mate, after
which implantation of
the fertilised embryo is
delayed till autumn when,
if she’s built up sufficient
fat reserves, pregnancy
proper will begin.
PORTFOLIO
Burden of youth
That clingy cub won’t relinquish his
perch even while mother is fishing
for sockeye salmon. While continuing
to suckle, he’ll pinch scraps of her
meals, gradually learning to fish and
feed himself over the following two
or three years. Born blind, naked and
only about half a kilo in weight, at six
months old he’s already perhaps 25kg.
Making a splash
Surging through the shallows, this
hungry bear targets sockeye salmon,
which swim upstream to spawn in
Alaskan rivers each summer. When
salmon’s not on the menu, omnivorous
brown bears will eat grass, roots,
berries, insects, reptiles and sometimes
other mammals – even young moose
or caribou (reindeer).

Seeing red
With their vivid red bodies and
greenish heads, sockeye salmon –
which can reach over 70cm long –
are tantalising prey. Yet paddling
through deep water to reach a dense
shoal isn’t the most effective way for
even this strong-swimming bear to
catch them.
Picky eater
When the salmon run is at its peak in
high summer, food is so abundant that
bears may devour only their favourite
parts of the fish – brain, skin, eggs,
even tails – discarding the carcasses
on the riverbank. That’s a boon for
young bears yet to truly master fishing
skills, who can hoover up the leftovers.

Mother knows best
Having no siblings with whom to spar,
this six-month-old cub must learn how to
handle himself in a fight from his mother.
After batting and nipping at her, she
responds with a gentle tussle. Though
brown bears aren’t strictly territorial,
adult males are protective of their space
and mothers can be very aggressive.
Speaking without words

A nudge with the head is one way this cub reinforces the familial bond with his mother
on the riverbank. Bears use body language as well as vocalisations to communicate; cubs
whimper and cry to get mum’s attention, while she’ll make a popping noise to alert her
offspring to potential threats.
Rough and tumble

A pair of first-year cubs pause during a play bout – an important part of their developmental
process when they learn to fight. They’ll also learn to forage and socialise, ready to deal with
other bears at popular feeding grounds such as sedge meadows or rivers during salmon runs
when they gather in large numbers, sometimes as many as ten or more in a 50m stretch of water.

PORTFOLIO

Golden hour
Having enjoyed a hearty breakfast
of salmon, a female and her young
cub climb up from the river onto
the Alaskan tundra to find a patch
of scrub where they can nap in
peace and safety. That’s typical of
a brown bear’s cyclical summer
behaviour in Katmai: feast till full
(a hungry bear can devour 30
fish in a day) then snooze while
digesting the rich meal.

PORTFOLIO
Shore thing
Three young cubs, perhaps five months
old, linger on a tidal flat while mother
snatches salmon from a deeper creek
nearby. She won’t be far away, returning
to her youngsters every few minutes in
between fishing forays. It pays to stay
alert: more than one-third of cubs may
die in their first year of life.
Next steps
A big male ambles along the riverbank to
his next fishing spot. Bears often follow
the salmon run as it moves upstream to
target the most dense masses of fish.
He’s not in a rush – though adults can
reach 65kph in short bursts. Still, it pays
to enjoy the bounty while you can. Soon
enough, the arrival of autumn will signal
time to retreat to a den, where bears
slumber in winter torpor for six months
or more before emerging the following
spring to feed up once again.

ONATURE-BASED SOLUTIONS
“It’s such a
simple idea,
why haven’t
we been doing
it for years?”
How nature could help
fix our flooding problems
By ANDREW GRIFFITHS Illustration by KATE OSMOND
I
t was raining when I visited The rain garden is one of a number of and is being closely monitored by scientists
Manchester, fittingly one might say, features in the park designed to manage at Manchester University.
N
given its popular image. Fittingly, storm water and help prevent flooding in an
also, because I was standing in West area that is prone to it. These other features one of its design concepts
Gorton Community Park, which include swales (imagine ditches planted up are difficult. You take the
includes a lovely rain garden – a sunken with vegetation), timber dams, permeable hard, flat surfaces of the
area filled with water-loving plants where paving, alder trees, and a mini wildflower urban environment and do
rain is channelled and left to soak away meadow where ox-eye daisies sway gently in your best to get rid of them.
slowly, rather than bouncing off the roads the breeze. Soften them, roughen them, make them
and pavements then hitting the grids all at Not that you are immediately aware that porous. Scoop out sections and fill them
once, swamping the already overburdened these are rainwater management features. All with water-loving plants. Then, channel the
sewerage system. you really see is a beautiful green space, an rainwater into them and let the vegetation
oasis of calm in the city. soak it up. That water is then released slowly
ABOUT THE AUTHOR Manchester City Council commissioned back into the atmosphere via transpiration in
this award-winning park as part of a 10-year the leaves.
Andrew Griffiths is an
environmental journalist plan to regenerate the area. It is also one of Given that the natural world has been
and photographer who the UK’s first research and demonstration doing this for years, it makes sense that these
specialises in rivers. He project for assessing how Nature-Based methods are called Nature-Based Solutions
lives in the Peak District. Solutions can help combat climate change, (NBS). Green Infrastructure is another term;

SuDS another, which stands for Sustainable
Drainage Systems. Snappy, huh? “Engineers like to do grand projects
Whatever you want to call it, NBS tick
a lot of boxes. They take some stress off
our antiquated sewerage system; their trees
with concrete and pipes, because
and plants store carbon, helping to mitigate
climate change; and they create valuable
that is how they were trained”
wildlife habitat. They also provide the MARK LLOYD, CEO OF THE RIVERS TRUST
green lungs that are so important for our
physical and mental wellbeing. NBS is such a
wonderful and simple idea that you wonder
why we haven’t been doing it for years. And The catalyst for the project, which will “A lot of things are run by engineers,
that’s a very good question. protect towns and villages along the 45km and engineers are keen to keep doing grand
M
of the Wyre from flooding, was the severe projects with concrete and pipes, because
ark Turner is team storms the region experienced in 2015. that is how they were trained,” says Mark
leader of Natural Course, “Effectively we will be delivering 70ha Lloyd, CEO of the Rivers Trust. “There is
a partnership from the of NFM interventions and 39ha of woodland also a lag within our institutions, in that
Greater Manchester creation,” says Tom Myerscough, general you get innovative thinking, but there is a
Combined Authority that manager of the Wyre Rivers Trust, which is resistance to adopt ideas wholesale because
aims to improve water quality. “The [green] co-steering the project. “Work will include the it feels risky.”
T
technology has been in place for a while, installation of ‘leaky dams’ [woody material
so we know what can be done,” he says. laid to slow water flow], ponds, scrapes, river he principle of ‘slowing
“But how do we pay for it? And how do we restoration, hedges and offline storage [where the flow’ applies as much
go from funding demonstration or niche water is diverted from the river channel and on a household level as it
projects to delivering neighbourhood-wide or stored in a separate area].” does on a landscape scale.
catchment-wide solutions? Everybody sees it This work will improve water quality as Peter Melville-Shreeve of
as somebody else’s project.” well as help prevent flooding. It will create Exeter University’s engineering department
An insight into why green infrastructure superb habitat for wildlife, as well as making researches rainwater management systems
projects have been so slow to move from the beautiful places for people to visit. The for homes, focusing on the more mundane
drawing board into reality can be found by work itself is relatively straightforward – the weather events that occur perhaps multiple
travelling to the River Wyre in Lancashire, innovation has been in how to finance it and times a year, overloading the sewerage
where a £1.5m Natural Flood Management how to get people to accept new ways of system and lead to Combined Sewerage
(NFM) pilot project is underway. doing things, which took two years. Overflows (CSOs) discharging into rivers.
We have in this country a combined
sewerage system, where waste from toilets
ends up in the same pipes as rainwater. If
there is too much volume in the system (due
to heavy rain, for instance), then the excess
escapes through the ‘valve’ of the CSO into
our rivers, much to the detriment of wildlife,
not to mention our enjoyment of what
should be a beautiful natural resource.
One solution would be to make the
existing underground storage tanks bigger
FLOODING: RICHARD MARTIN-ROBERTS/GETTY; GREY TO GREEN: NIGEL DUNNETT (X2)

(so-called ‘grey infrastructure’, meaning hard
engineering); another is to use more natural,
above-ground solutions to ‘slow the flow’
of the storm water and prevent that sudden
increase in volume. And the impact of flow can
be dramatic: during a heavy storm, a 6m² patio
will generate a similar volume of rainwater to
the foul outflow of 100 houses in a day.
Melville-Shreeve has been developing an
above-ground solution: water tanks attached
to gutters, which slow the flow of rainwater
into the drainage system during heavy
rainfall and reuse that water to, for instance,
flush toilets. These raintanks are ‘leaky’ (like
a bucket with a hole), so they are not already
full when needed to hold back water during
a storm. They also have ‘smart’ controls,
so that the capacity for a coming storm
can automatically be created by opening a
valve. It isn’t easy to sell a big bucket with a
small hole in it, but that is essentially what
Hundreds had to flee their homes when Sheffield’s River Don broke its banks in 2007 Melville-Shreeve has done (see box p54).

Grey to Green,
Sheffield city centre
Sheffield sits immediately below
the Dark Peak and Yorkshire Moors
and is highly vulnerable to flooding.
Following a series of catastrophic
floods, the city has become an
exemplar of how an urban space
can be re-imagined with green
infrastructure and innovative flood-
mitigation design.
The Grey to Green project in the
city centre not only looks beautiful,
with seating areas among planted-
up beds, but acts as a sophisticated
sustainable drainage and filtration
system. The plant beds are, in fact,
reservoirs to hold back the flow of
storm or flood water, and the plant
roots filter the water before it is
returned to the river. According to
Grey to Green, “24,000 bathtubs’
worth of water is prevented from
entering Sheffield’s sewage
treatment works each year.”
It is a lovely place to sit and eat
your sandwiches when the sun is
shining – a city centre as glorious
as a summer meadow, beside the
glinting River Don.

One senior water company executive told
me of a pilot project where 55 such water “In the past three to four years, you
tanks had been deployed to houses, leading
to a 75 per cent reduction in CSO discharges
into the local river. Melville-Shreeve says
can really feel a move towards
that his own generic computer modelling
makes this figure seem entirely feasible.
nature-based solutions”
M
LEE PITCHER, YORKSHIRE WATER’S HEAD OF PARTNERSHIPS
elville-Shreeve is
currently working
with Thames Water on
projects that involve local It often requires a catastrophic event to in schools and colleges to encourage green
communities in managing change the way we do things. In Yorkshire, solutions instead of going straight to grey?”
rainwater. Given that it is written into the the 2007 floods, which saw cars floating Living with Water encourages nature-
Environment Act that water companies must past office windows in Sheffield city centre, based thinking in primary school children
reduce CSO discharges, Melville-Shreeve resulted in the groundbreaking Grey to through to PhD students. The biggest culture
thinks we can expect much more emphasis Green infrastructure project (see box p53). shock for our current engineers is that these
on managing rainwater on the domestic scale In Hull, the same storm, which closed 91 out strategies often start with people.
over the coming years, with our own smart of 98 schools and forced 8,000 people to “It’s not like you turn up, build a big
water tanks and rain gardens, for instance. evacuate their homes, triggered an increased tank underground, cause disruption for three
The solutions are there. investment in ‘grey’ infrastructure, but with weeks and then move away – you are working
“Why doesn’t a water company an emphasis on ‘green’ solutions, too. and co-creating with that community,” says
encourage householders to disconnect their Lee Pitcher is Yorkshire Water’s head Pitcher. “But in the past three to four years,
storm water?” asks Melville-Shreeve. “Part of partnerships and general manager of the impetus has really changed, you can feel
of the reason is that they are already being Living with Water – a partnership that aims a move towards more NBS”.
L
paid to deal with the consequences. How can to reduce surface-water flood risk using
you charge someone for electricity then tell innovative NBS. iz Sharp is leading a multi-
them to get it from their own solar panel? “The difficulty is, for 50-plus years, disciplinary team at Sheffield
It is the same kind of analogy. We ask them engineers have gone through an education University that is working
to disconnect their roof or their driveway, programme that has been focused on grey with communities in Hull. The
yet we still want to bill them for taking their engineering,” says Pitcher. “So the first thing MAGIC project is researching
waste water. But it is the shift that has to is: where do you get the different thinking how best to introduce SuDS (that’s
happen – and I believe is going to happen.” and cultural change among employers and Sustainable Drainage Systems) and green
Smart water tanks
SMART TANK: SDS LTD; WEST GORTON: MARK WAUGH/ALAMY (X2); GREY TO GREEN: ANDREW GRIFFITHS
Computer-controlled containers to slow the flow
R
oofs are amazing there is a storm forecast. Another more
resources for many reasons, sophisticated method is to have a water
one of which is that they tank with a computer that receives weather
are superb rain-harvesting forecast data, so water can automatically be
devices. In effect, they act released when a storm is forecast.
as big funnels and direct the rainfall into More sophisticated still would be entire
your gutters, and then often straight down residential areas with water tanks receiving
your drain. Each average terraced roof in data. These could be ‘micromanaged’ to
Britain receives between 10,000 and 70,000 enable localised storm-water management
litres of rain a year. Imagine a housing estate, and optimise the harvested water made
then flatten out all those roofs into one available for other tasks, such as flushing
big area – that is a lot of water potentially toilets and watering the garden.
contributing its volume to a combined The technology is there, the questions,
sewerage system during a heavy storm and as always, are largely financial: who pays
ending up as diluted raw sewage entering who and how, and who pays to install and
your local river via a CSO. maintain the equipment?
‘Disconnecting your roof ’ by collecting Trials are underway. South West Water
that rain in a water tank is a good idea. To has installed smart water tanks in the
be effective though, there has to be room in village of Combe Martin in Devon. Early
the tank for a coming storm. If the tank is results show that during the first six months
full, it can’t prevent the storm water hitting residents stored a total of 122,000 litres
the drainage system. One method would be The tanks connect to the roof downpipe and of water in the 35 tanks, which would have
to manually empty out some water when have solar-powered computers attached required 245 tanks without smart controls.

NATURE-BASED SOLUTIONS O
infrastructure into communities, and
its effectiveness. Traditionally, water
companies communicate with bill-
payers at a household level. Sharp and
her team are investigating a ‘building-
based’ approach, where key buildings,
such as schools and health centres, are
targeted. Their communities of users
then come away enthused with nature-
based ideas.
MAGIC has been instrumental
in setting up a local cooperative that
specialises in making and fitting SuDS
devices, such as planters, that have
reservoirs to hold back water during
a storm. They look beautiful when
planted up, as well as cleverly serving
as green infrastructure (see box, p53).
Interestingly, Sharp’s research
shows that reminding people of past
floods events is not a good motivator.
“If flooding is sufficiently close to home
to be terrifying, then people’s emotional
reaction is just to blank off,” she says.
“If you put too much emphasis on the
negative, there is a risk that you end
up with people not engaging because
the problem is too big.” Instead, the
emphasis is on the beauty and the
wildlife these installations can attract.
N
BS are not designed
to compensate
for inadequate
investment in our grey
infrastructure, but would
play a large part in any ‘perfect’ system,
with associated benefits for climate
change, wildlife and our wellbeing.
As Mark Lloyd of the Rivers Trust
says: “Where there is water, there is life.
West Gorton Slowing the flow not only deals with the
problem, it creates nature. If there is
Community water around, you can create fantastic
Park in wetland habitats – and we have lost
Manchester 90-95 per cent of our wetlands in this
Nicknamed the
country. Recreating them would be a
“sponge park”, this massive boon for biodiversity.”
£1.3m project began
in 2018 with the FIND OUT MORE
aim of providing a
green space for local
residents as well as Whetted your
reducing flooding and
storm water run-off. As
appetite?
well as NBS such as a Learn more about these projects by
rain garden and swales, visiting the following websites:
there is a piazza for
social events and a West Gorton Community Park
vegetable-growing bit.ly/3GNP5Um
area. Researchers Natural Course
from the University naturalcourse.co.uk
of Manchester noted Grey to Green
that run-off volumes greytogreen.org.uk
reduced by 88-100 per
Living with Water Grey to Green
cent (over two years)
livingwithwater.co.uk
and a significant rise in
people using the park.

Despite a history of
poaching, wildlife –
including hippos – is
flourishing in Kafue
The characteristic woodland

and wetland of Kafue – one of
Africa’s largest national parks
he shrill calls of cicadas resonate

through the heavy air as the woodland behind
me shimmers in the rising heat of the day.
A ring-necked dove, unseen in the canopy, urges
me to “work harder, work harder, work
harder,” but my damp shirt and red skin argue that I already am.
The dove wins and I continue searching the long, yellow grass
that has thwarted my efforts for hours.
LIONS O
Wire snares can easily be

hidden in the bush, trapping
animals for the illegal
bushmeat trade
Somewhere in that grassland is the Her name is Tripod, and her home is a In 2016, Tripod was caught in a poacher’s
legendary lioness that has brought me to veritable Eden. She lives in Kafue National snare. This one was a particularly brutal trap
this remote corner of Zambia. She is an Park, a wilderness of 22,400km² (a similar in which a tree is bent and secured to the
indomitable survivor, a warrior who is a size to Wales) blanketed in vast swathes ground with a winch cable. When an animal
testament to the resilience and fortitude of of woodland interspersed with a mosaic of steps on the trigger, the tree is released,
wild animals and the people who make it grasslands, wetlands and floodplains and tightening a wire noose around the victim’s
their duty to protect them. cleaved in two by the lazy oxbows of the leg and hoisting it into the air where it hangs
Kafue River. Her pride’s territory lies to the upside-down and eventually dies.
A
east of the river, where hippos, crocodiles,
ABOUT THE AUTHOR water birds and a rich bounty of antelope n animal as powerful as
are attracted to an expansive lagoon that a lion may break free, but
Mike Dexter is a professional
holds water throughout the year. Taking in the resulting injuries can
wildlife photographer and
photographic safari guide such beauty and abundance, it’s difficult be horrific. For Tripod, the
based in South Africa. Find to conceive that below the surface lies a snaring led to the loss of
out more about him and his problem, malignant and widespread, that the lower part of her right hindleg. Robbed
work at mikedexter.com. nearly cost Tripod her life. of her speed and stealth, she is today forced

OLIONS
IN NUMBERS
Enforcing the law

Musekese Conservation’s anti-poaching
measures are protecting lions in Kafue
6 anti-poaching teams supported

274 wire
snares removed
85 poachers
arrested
2,000
kg of illegal
bushmeat recovered
18 firearms recovered
15,500 anti-poaching patrol days
SNARE: SEBASTIAN KENNERKNECHT/MINDEN/NPL
So far, three
lions have lost
their legs to a
snare in Kafue
to hop; a slow, unsteady and exhausting injury. She is just a wild lion living in
gait that announces her presence with an a wild place, as lions have done for
audible thud, thud, thud. Gone is her ability millennia, but the paradigm shifts
to silently slink through long grass or chase as she walks onwards. Her front
down fleet-footed prey. Even keeping up with legs move with confidence and
her pride is difficult. grace, but her back leg has to hop,
T
catching the full weight of her
he question of how Tripod hindquarters with every step. My
has managed to survive in a heart goes out to her as she flops
wilderness where the law of in the shade of an ebony tree. She
nature dictates that only the seems so vulnerable, so alone in this
strongest and fittest can has vast wilderness. Where is her support,
been doing laps in my mind for months. It her safety, her pride?
is why I am spending weeks sweating in the The answers are close at hand.
Zambian sun, looking for answers. Sitting beside me in the four-wheel drive
There is movement in the long grass. is Phil Jeffery, safari guide and co-founder
I glimpse a tawny coat and the twitch of of Musekese Conservation. Set up in 2017,
a black-tipped tail and all at once Tripod the organisation partners with the Zambian
strides forward, head and shoulders visible, Carnivore Programme, in collaboration
into the clearing. She stands proud, regal with the Department of National Parks Phil Jeffery scans the area for Tripod’s
and defiant, eyeing me warily from only 10m and Wildlife, to protect Kafue through sister, who is fitted with a GPS and very
away. In this moment, there is no sign of her a combination of habitat management, high frequency collar for research

LIONS O
Tripod received
no veterinary
treatment for
her injuries
The pride consists

of just her sister
and two subadult
lionesses
“Her small but loyal pride are an efficient unit and make
regular kills, sharing the spoils with Tripod”
engagement with local communities, of scavenging – there’s an abundance of night. Tucked up in bed, I hear two lions
research projects and law enforcement, leopards here so she scavenges their kills.” roaring near the camp, so deep and loud and
including anti-poaching measures (see box). Added to that, and even more vital, has resonant that the very air seems to quake.
P
been the support of her small but loyal pride, It’s been two days since that first sighting
hil explains that veterinary comprising her sister and two subadult of Tripod and I’m inexplicably certain that
intervention can be possible females. They are an efficient unit and one of the roars belongs to her. A few hours
when a lion is discovered in a make regular kills, sharing the spoils with later, with just a hint of light in the sky, Phil
snare – as was the case in 2017 Tripod if she is within vocal distance. And and I are straining our eyes for tracks in the
with a lioness from the same finally, there are the anti-poaching teams, headlights when two animals materialise
pride, now sadly presumed dead. That Tripod who patrol the land and air, identifying from the gloom ahead. It’s Tripod, and she
has survived without such treatment makes criminal trails and camps. “They make sure has company – one of two young males who
her story all the more remarkable. that Tripod is not only free of other snares, are staking their claim in the area and have
Key to her success has been her but also that she has a viable prey base to just ousted the previous ruling coalition. The
adaptability. “She has altered her hunting increase her chances of survival,” says Phil. pair glance in our direction, then continue
techniques – she ambushes prey more like There can be nothing as timeless and on their way. This apparent courtship
a leopard,” says Phil. “She also does a lot wild as a lion’s roar on a moonless African explains Tripod’s absence from the pride,

OLIONS
OTHER THREE-LEGGED LIONS
A male mates
Snared but with Tripod but

motherhood could
prove a challenge
surviving
Jacob the lion
Jacob Queen Elizabeth

National Park, Uganda
In August 2020, Jacob stepped into a wheel
trap, also known as a bear or gin trap, while
in the Democratic Republic of Congo (his
territory crosses the international boundary).
He was given veterinary assistance once
back in Uganda and made a rapid and
remarkable recovery. He now takes part
in hunts with the pride and has even been
seen mating with the females.
Clarence Murchison
Falls National Park,
Uganda
In 2011, Clarence was caught in a
poacher’s snare and, though he managed
“She has just stepped into the
to escape, the resulting injury was so
severe that the decision was taken to
amputate. His recovery was astounding
limelight as an ambassador for
and he remained a dominant pride male
until 2014 when he was killed by a buffalo.
the fight against poaching”
Tripod Male Kafue male, turning in tight circles, her tail flicking most significant issue remains inadequate
JACOB: ALEXANDER BRACZKOWSKI
National Park, Zambia his face. She’s more nimble than I expected, law enforcement at the scale required. To
Tripod Male was dominant in the same and clearly knows how to flirt. She lies down combat that, we’re now buying vehicles and
range as lioness Tripod for a number of and he mounts, snarling and baring his teeth new firearms, and will recruit another 80
years. In 2017, he lost his rear right foot as he bites the back of her neck. Seconds scouts before the end of the year.”
to a snare. Despite the injury, he held later, he leaps away as she spins on the spot As one of the largest protected areas in
his territory with his coalition partner for
to swat his face with a sharply clawed paw. Africa, Kafue poses a significant conservation
another four years until finally being ousted
by two younger male lions in April 2022. Phil and I look at each other, astounded: is challenge. Its unfenced boundaries border
Tripod a mother-to-be? Game Management Areas (GMAs), which
T
act as buffers between the park and human
ripod’s future is tied up settlements. “A lot of the GMAs have
and I realise that at the last sighting her beau with that of the park she challenges of illegal settlement and that’s
was probably lying nearby, concealed in the calls home. Musekese reducing the inherent benefits that normally
long grass. Conservation has done good accrue to the local communities,” says
A shaft of golden light slices through the work in securing large parts Craig. To address the problem, a community
cool morning air and the lions are briefly of the park, but the safeguarding of Kafue as engagement team has been developed to
illuminated in its glow. I’m struck by an a whole lies with African Parks. In July 2022, work on enterprise and education initiatives.
uncanny metaphor: if Tripod is mating and this NGO was awarded a 20-year mandate My final afternoon in Kafue is spent
conceives, then she has just stepped into for the management of Kafue. sitting with Tripod’s pride. She’d mated
the limelight as an ambassador for the fight Project lead Craig Reid gives credit to the with the male for three days and he and his
against poaching. They turn from the road Zambian government for what he describes brother moved on two days ago. She will
and enter a clearing, by which time the sun as visionary commitment to leverage likely now be looking for her sister, so we
has risen fully. Tripod springs in front of the Kafue as a national asset. “But by far the wait in the hope that she turns up. The three

LIONS
Tripod remains
majestic,even with
her leg injury, as
she moves towards
Mike’s camera

O LIONS
The effort of hobbling on

three legs means Tripod has
to frequently stop and rest
lions suddenly lift their heads, ears forward, last, Tripod speeds up, though the effort it
She finally rejoins her eyes staring intently to the north. We hear it takes is clear to see. I raise my camera in
small pride after mating too, not a bellowing roar but a subdued and anticipation of the affectionate welcome
for three days plaintive moan repeated over and over again but… nothing. The other females don’t so
– a lion’s contact call. It must be Tripod. much as stand up. Tripod collapses on her
W
side, finally able to rest. My heart cries out
e wait for her sister when, five minutes later, her sister stands
to respond, but she and walks effortlessly down the road,
simply lies and listens. followed by the other females. Tripod heaves
We drive in Tripod’s herself to her feet once again and hobbles
direction and find her after them. They pause, letting her catch up,
on the road less than 1km away, exhausted. but as she lies down again, they continue
She can only walk 20m or so at a time, then along their way. This time she just sits and
stops, rests and calls. She must have been on watches them disappear into the fading light.
their trail for days. She reaches a fork in the There is no room for sentimentality in
road: left will take her to the pride, right will nature. Survival is all that matters; emotion
lead her away from them, but she is upwind does not blur judgement. I’m left wondering
and has no way of knowing which path to what Tripod’s prospects will be as a mother.
take. Devastatingly, she heads right. If she has cubs, she will isolate from the
A little further and she flops down again, pride for six to eight weeks. She will have
calling and looking nowhere in particular. to hunt and scavenge for herself, as well as
She heaves herself up and leaves the road, protect her young from danger. Yet this hero
now heading towards her family. Our spirits lioness has prevailed against all the odds
buoyed, we loop back around to the others thus far. I can only hope that she somehow
to await her arrival. Seeing her sister at finds a way.

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JOHN KEATES/ALAMY
The gin-clear waters of

the Isles of Scilly (here St
Martin’s island) are one of its
defining features – a result
of a lack of rivers on the
westerly archipelago
If you crave a remote island

paradise but don't want to fly,
there are white-sand beaches
and extraordinary wildlife
a ferry ride from Cornwall
Words by SARAH MCPHERSON
ISLES OF SCILLY O
OISLES OF SCILLY
Razorbills and
guillemots crowd
the rocky outcrops
around the islands
The busy harbour at Hugh Town,

St Mary’s. From here, it’s easy to hop
on boats to the other islands.
The most prolific

bird on Scilly,
the wren, is also
the loudest
t’s a gloriously warm It doesn’t take long to see why they say
Scilly is special. The archipelago lies just
Tuesday in June when the 50km from Penzance, yet feels as if it has
casually shrugged off its British identity.
Scillonian III draws into the Its white sands and sparkling waters feel
more akin to the Caribbean; its fusion of
subtropical and native plant life feels a world
pretty harbour on St Mary’s, away from the green and pleasant land a
short hop back over the water.
the largest of the Isles of For what is essentially a smattering
of granite cast out in the Atlantic, Scilly
Scilly, announcing her arrival punches far above its weight for wildlife, a
quality reflected in its formidable tally of
with three ear-splitting designations. It’s a Heritage Coast and a
honks. It’s fitting that it’s a

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
blue-sky day, as these are often referred to as Sarah is features editor at
BBC Wildlife. She visited the
the Sunshine Isles, basking as they do in the islands courtesy of Isles of
Scilly Travel and the Isles of
restorative warmth of the Gulf Stream. Scilly Wildlife Trust.

“For what is essentially a smattering The Isles of Scilly
of granite cast out in the Atlantic, ST. MARTIN’S
Scilly punches above its weight” BRYHER
TRESCO
Special Area of Conservation, and claims and internationally important assemblage

Hugh Town
the title of Britain’s smallest AONB. It of breeding seabirds that includes storm
HARBOUR: ALAMY: WREN: DAVID CHAPMAN/
ALAMY; SEABIRDS: RUSSELL BROWN/ALAMY
contains numerous Ramsar wetland sites and petrels, puffins, razorbills and shags. And, ST. MARY’S
Special Protection Areas, and its 11 Marine as England’s gateway to the Atlantic and
Conservation Zones are trumped by 26 our most south-westerly point, the islands
ST AGNES
SSSIs. Not too shabby for a land area of just offer the first (and last) landfall for migrants AND GUGH
16km2, roughly half the size of Bath. making their spring and autumn passage
S
across the ocean – and for any lost souls
There are five inhabited islands on the
cilly is best known for its whisked away by the wind. “‘First seen in
Isles of Scilly: St Mary’s, Tresco, Bryher,
birds, with a list topping 453 Scilly’ is an all-too-common note against St Martin’s, and St Agnes and Gugh, which
species at the last count, many of the UK’s rarest vagrant birds,” are connected by a sandbar at low tide.
more than any single site in writes BBC film-maker Andrew Cooper in his St Mary’s is the largest and most populous.
Europe. It hosts a nationally book Secret Nature of The Isles of Scilly. It’s a

OISLES OF SCILLY
There’s plenty of
wildlife to spot on
the sail to Scilly
Sea safaris on the Scillonian III

Any wildlife adventure to Scilly starts from the top deck of the
Scillonian III ferry. The crossing from Penzance to St Mary’s
has just been named the UK’s highest diversity ferry route for
wildlife spotting by marine conservation charity ORCA, whose
scientists conduct surveys on ferry routes all around the UK and
have been working from the Scillonian since 2009. Common
dolphins (right) are frequently seen hurtling towards the ship to
ride its bow wave (299 were recorded over 13 surveys in 2022),
while rare behemoths such as basking sharks and fin and minke
whales are always a tantalising possibility. Seabirds are easy to
observe, with regular sightings of gannets, puffins, guillemots
and razorbills, and even Manx shearwaters and storm petrels.
Find out more about ORCA at orcaweb.org.uk.
Common dolphins
trend that continues apace: only in October “We have no orange-tips or brimstones,”
SCILLION: DAVID CHAPMAN/ALAMY; DOLPHINS: KENNETH EDWARD LEWIS/ALAMY;

did a Blackburnian warbler make its England says Will, pointing out two speckled woods
debut on Bryher, blown off-course while battling for territory, rising in an angry spiral.
travelling down the Americas. “But if it migrates, we’ll get it – we often see
GARDENS: JOHN KEATES/ALAMY; THRUSH: ANDREW GREAVES/ALAMY
My visit falls between migration seasons, monarchs from the USA.”
W
but there is still plenty to see – or not to
see, as it happens. Joining naturalist Will ill has super senses,
Wagstaff on a nature walk around Tresco, frequently interrupting
I discover that Scilly is equally interesting his own commentary
for what it doesn’t have. “There are plenty to pick out songs
of song thrushes and sparrows here, which and calls from the
are declining on the mainland, but you surrounding chorus. The wren – Scilly’s most
won’t see a nuthatch or green woodpecker,” common bird, with 2,500-5,000 pairs – is
he says, as we follow the path from New the one we hear the most. “If in doubt, say
Grimsby Harbour to Great Pool, a ground- ‘wren’, and there’s a 9 out of 10 chance you’ll
fed freshwater lake that roughly divides the be right,” he says. With peregrines the only
island in half. “No jays have been seen here resident raptors, these diminutive birds can
in 40 years and jackdaws are rare. Somebody afford to sing brazenly from their perches,
once chartered a boat to see a magpie.” “cheating onlookers by holding their tails
It’s the same with insects. The blue- down rather than aloft”.
tailed is Scilly’s only damselfly, and just 11 By the end of the two-hour ramble, Known as ‘Kew without the glass’, Tresco Abbey
of Britain’s 59 butterfly species are resident. we’ve heard or seen, to name a mere few, Garden houses a vast collection of plants

Thrushes (and house
sparrows) on the Isles
of Scilly are highly
confiding, regularly
gatecrashing picnics
“Just when I see a patch of vegetation that vaguely

resembles home, a profusion of exotics comes into view”
chaffinches, wrens, dunnocks, starlings, ivy give way to giant ferns, and fabulous in 1834. Smith knew the mild climate would
blackcaps, reed warblers, meadow pipits, succulents explode from stone walls. “Don’t lend itself to warmth-loving plants, if only he
linnets, pochards and herons, all with frankly trust the botany here,” warns Will, as we could fashion a shelter belt – a windbreak of
minimal effort, testament to the confiding feel the papery leaves of New Zealand’s trees and shrubs – as a defence against the
nature of Scilly’s birdlife. An unexpected muttonbird tree, flanked by an imposing brutal storms that barrel in from the Atlantic
surprise is a hobby, hawking against the blue 3m-tall trio of purple echiums from the each winter. With no British tree capable
sky, scattering the swifts and swallows. Canaries and a sprawling, showy gunnera. of tolerating seasonal lashings of salt-laden
B
Exploring Great Pool and its neighbour, wind and spray, Smith turned to California’s
Abbey Pool (ideal spots to spy summer ut it’s in the world-famous robust and fast-growing Monterey pine and
stragglers and the first winter visitors), I Abbey Garden where the plant cypress to take one for the team.
can’t decide whether I’m in Cornwall, the life really takes your breath As these trees took root, so did a
Med, Jamaica or somewhere else entirely. away. Nestled around the ruins microclimate, and with it a startlingly
Just when I see a patch of vegetation that of a 12th-century priory, this beautiful garden. Wandering the vast,
vaguely resembles home, a profusion of subtropical spectacular was the handiwork rectangular maze of paths, surrounded by
exotics comes into view. Horse chestnuts of Augustus Smith, who took over the lease explosions of more than 3,500 luxuriant
stand with Chilean myrtles, swathes of of the islands from the Duchy of Cornwall plant species from across the globe, a

Atlantic grey seals rule
the rocks around the
archipelago
SCILLY SPECIALS
Scilly shrew
Also known as the lesser
white-toothed shrew,
as it lacks the red-
tipped teeth of its
mainland cousins. It
lives fast and hard,
consuming its own
bodyweight in food
each day and producing
up to four litters a year.
Least adder’s-tongue
fern
A tiny rarity whose
only UK site is
Wingletang Down, St
Agnes (it’s also found Scilly is regionally
on Guernsey). It important for breeding
survives in the grazed puffins, present here
sward here, thanks to from April to July
gorse management.
PANSY: PAUL R. STERRY/ALAMY; SCILLY BEE: BRYAN THOMAS/IOSWT; FERN: ED MARSHALL/
RSPB-IMAGES.COM; SHREW: DAVID CHAPMAN/ALAMY; SEALS: FIONA DEATON/ALAMY
Scilly bee sculpture or other arty objet around every more shipwrecks per square mile here than
Alas, this subspecies of corner, I feel like I’ve disappeared into a anywhere else on Earth. Cruising past a
the moss carder bee, dreamy, tropical paradise. The gardens even bustling raft of at least 200 gannets, puffins,
once widespread come complete with golden pheasants and, razorbills and black-backed gulls, we reach
across the Isles of better still, red squirrels, which are now Bishop’s Rock Lighthouse, a desolate tower
Scilly, has not been thriving here following introductions in 2012 presiding over the foaming surf. The skipper
seen in a decade. Its
and 2013. switches the engine off and we bob for a spell
T
final stronghold was
the coastal heathland on the bumpy water.
of St Agnes. he sultry stillness of the Landing on the Western Rocks is difficult
gardens rapidly dissolves and discouraged, so this outlying seascape
when I take to the water. The has been claimed in no uncertain terms by
Dwarf pansy sun has disappeared behind wildlife. Atlantic grey seals eyeball us lazily
No taller than 1cm, this a low bank of cloud and a from isolated haul-out spots, their relaxed
exquisite little flower stiff breeze is whipping up a gentle swell. demeanour belying the fact that they are
doesn't grow on I’m heading out to the Western Rocks on a a globally rare species. Shags stand proud
mainland Britain. It
seabird safari with ecologist Vickie Heaney, on impossibly sharp pinnacles, their wings
blooms from March
to May on Bryher and plain sailing this is not. Scilly’s seas are spread out to dry. A small pod of common
and Tresco. Recent bespattered with rocky outcrops, islets, stacks dolphins puts on a brief show and a sunfish
conservation efforts and stumps, and beneath the surface lurk potters by. There are shouts of excitement
have restored the plant to all manner of treacherous reefs and shelves as a fellow passenger glimpses a broad, grey
Teän island, after an absence of 17 years. primed to tear even the largest of vessels to back slicing the surface: could that possibly
shreds. Little wonder there are said to be have been a minke whale?

ISLES OF SCILLY O
HOW TO GET THERE
By ferry
Scillonian III sails from Penzance
from March to November (2 hrs 45
mins). From £76.25.
By plane
The Skybus flies from Lands End
(20 mins), Newquay (30 mins) and
Exeter (60 mins). From £121.50.
By helicopter
From Penzance heliport (15 mins) to
Tresco and St Mary’s. From £129.
The view over St
Martin’s and the Visit islesofscilly-travel.co.uk
Eastern Isles and penzancehelicopters.co.uk
“There’s a brief pause and then the noise comes back.

We’re in conversation with a Manx shearwater.”
Back on dry land, there’s one more In her 15 years on the project, Vickie has
seabird I’m keen to encounter. Manx identified more than 80 burrows – and got to
shearwaters are summer visitors to the UK, know them well. Particular favourites include
arriving in early spring from South America Feisty Burrow, whose occupant emerges
to breed on offshore islands. By day, they routinely to have a peck at her phone;
secrete themselves away in underground Double Yoker Burrow, in which two females
burrows, safe from predators such as greater attempted to breed together, and The One Show
black-backed gulls; by night, they gather in Burrow, filmed for the BBC series in 2011.
PUFFIN: ED MARSHALL/RSPB-IMAGES.COM; LANDSCAPE: MERRYN THOMAS/NATUREPL.COM;
large flocks to feed on the water, throwing St Agnes was selected for rat eradication
out their unearthly calls as they return to the thanks to the deep channel that separates
shore. Only a handful of other UK islands, it from its neighbours, making a ratty
including Rum and Skomer, host breeding recolonisation less likely, but not impossible.
colonies, together equating to 80 per cent of Efforts will be ongoing if these highly
the world’s breeding population. intelligent rodents are to be prevented from
M
Vickie and a colleague survey active Manx staging a comeback. Signs urge you to “rat on
RESEARCHERS: ED MARSHALL/RSPB-IMAGES.COM; FERRY: ALAMY
anx shearwaters have shearwater burrows on St Agnes a rat” and volunteers routinely check 55 bait
not had an easy ride. stations dotted across the island for tell-tale
Populations have “Numbers have at least quadrupled since the teeth marks in chocolate-flavoured wax.
plummeted due to project began. In 2021, we had 55 chicks.” “Getting rid of the rats has been very
predation from rats, who Vickie surveys the burrows throughout beneficial,” says Sam Hicks, who runs
make easy pickings of vulnerable chicks the summer, and I spend a breezy morning Troytown Farm and Campsite and has four
cornered in burrows. By 2000, Scilly's in her company on St Agnes’ grassy shore. To bait stations on his land. “We’re usually
population was estimated at 200 or so pairs, determine if a bird is in residence, she plays booked up anyway, but the increasing
with just 15-20 on St Agnes and Gugh. But the a recording of a call from her phone. “They presence of Manx shearwaters makes guests’
species’ fortunes have slowly reversed thanks take this as a territorial challenge and call experience more enriching. I’ve only ever
to The Isles of Scilly Seabird Recovery Project, back,” she explains. We crouch at burrow had one person complain about the noise.”
which facilitated the complete removal of rats number 10, marked by a small wooden stick, Enriching is certainly how I’d describe
from these islands over the winter of 2013-14. and hit ‘play’. A chaotic, peculiar squawking my four days on the Isles of Scilly. I manage
“It’s been a real success, in large part breaks the silence. There’s a brief pause and one last walk on St Mary’s before heading
because we had 100 per cent support from the then the noise comes back from the depths back to the quay to await the Scillonian III.
local community,” says Vickie, who monitors of the burrow. We’re in conversation with a But I have a feeling this won’t be the last
the birds during the breeding season. Manx shearwater. time I hear those ear-splitting honks.

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to collect data
Asilia, we understand the As the season progresses,
importance of eco-friendly and wildlife begins to congregate
sustainable tourism and believe around the swamps, increasing
that when practised responsibly, sightings of lion, leopard, herds
tourism can be a driving force of elephant, buffalo, and antelope
in both the conservation and such as sable and roan. With a bit
development of East Africa. of luck, it may be possible to spot
This belief guides everything wild dog in the short grass plains.
we do — from where we source The Douglas Bell Eco
our energy and materials used Research Station is the central
at camps, to how we hire and hub for all research and
empower local staff and work conservation efforts taking place
alongside community and in Usangu Wetlands. Situated
conservation programmes. alongside Usangu Expedition
Camp, it allows guests to
UNIQUE AND AUTHENTIC engage with researchers and
Looking for a unique and develop a deeper understanding
authentic safari experience, of the important work being
founded on citizen science and conducted in the region. Contact
conservation? Head south! us to start planning your next
Usangu Expedition Camp is safari adventure.
a seasonal camp situated on the
banks of the Usangu wetlands, in
the beautiful and remote location
of Ruaha National Park, Tanzania.
With access to a private green-
fuelled vehicle and expert guide,
Usangu Expedition Camp offers
a wide range of activities,
Upcycled Land with a strong emphasis on
Rover powered by
conservation, providing a asiliaafrica.com
green fuel (ethanol)
rich and immersive safari enquiries@asiliaafrica.com
experience that will leave you +27 21 418 0468
PIONEERS IN
Southern elephant seal in
a ‘sea’ of king penguins on
Macquarie Island
EXPEDITION
CRUISING
For more than 35 years, Heritage
Expeditions have been leading
expedition travel to the world’s
most spectacular places
D
o you consider Travel aboard Heritage learn and experience as much as DESIGNED FOR DISCOVERY
yourself something of Expeditions’ purpose-built vessels. possible about the region they are There are plenty of beautiful
a wildlife enthusiast? You can choose between the visiting – all while minimising the locations on offer for you
Or perhaps you have 140-guest flagship and ‘Grande environmental impact of their visit. to discover with Heritage
a keen interest in conservation Dame of Exploration Cruising’, Expeditions. Perhaps you
and wildlife photography? If the Heritage Adventurer or the EXPLORE EFFORTLESSLY like the sound of a voyage to
so, expedition cruise pioneers 18-guest expedition yacht, the You’ll be able to travel in style with Antarctica’s rarely visited Ross
Heritage Expeditions explore Heritage Explorer. With the fellow like-minded adventurers. On Sea region observing penguins,
some of the most breathtaking highest passenger ship ice class board, you’ll find that expedition including the regal emperor,
places on the planet with intrepid rating, Heritage Adventurer was days start early in order to allow stepping inside the historic huts
travellers. Founded in 1985 designed for exploring the wild you to have the best opportunity and marvelling at the Ross Ice
by Rodney and Shirley Russ, and remote, from Antarctica to to observe surrounding wildlife Shelf. Or maybe you like the
Heritage Expeditions has always Japan’s subtropical islands, or and make the most of the morning idea of going on a trip to the
been a family-owned business. discover coastal New Zealand light, excellent for photography. South Pacific, visiting Papua
Now run by their sons Aaron and on Heritage Explorer. Each Exploring on the ship’s Zodiac, New Guinea, the Solomon
Nathan, the Russ brothers proudly expedition is meticulously planned by foot or local transport takes Islands, the Philippines and
continue the family’s legacy of to ensure all guests are able to you well off the beaten path. On Indonesia where you can revel
responsible expedition travel. maximise every opportunity to your journey, you’ll also be joined in idyllic beaches, snorkelling
by a world-renowned team of and birdwatching. Or even
naturalists, botanists, geologists, an expedition to Australia’s
historians and experts interpreting iconic Kimberley Coast, the
natural and human history as your Subantarctic Islands or to New
voyage unfolds. Zealand, where you’ll discover
Heritage Expeditions’ one- awe-inspiring fiords, golden
of-a-kind itineraries have been sandy beaches, hidden coves,
created by an industry-leading tranquil waterways, native
expedition team specifically for forests and marine reserves –
those with an appreciation of perfect for small ship expedition
the natural world, conservation, cruising and travel.
and history. Whether you choose
to journey on the Heritage
Adventurer or the Heritage
Explorer, every expedition is led
by an experienced leader and
Heritage expert in the region. They
Adventurer was will guide you throughout
purpose-built for the voyage and share their
adventure knowledge, experiences and To find out about planning
unique insights with you and your adventure, visit
your fellow travellers. heritage-expeditions.com
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At Arctic Whale Tours, we strive to provide our guests with a
safe, informative and inspirational experience while
respecting the wildlife we have the privilege to see and learn
about.
In the summer we embark on an open ocean safari in search

of the world’s largest toothed whale, the sperm whale. This
full-day adventure gives you the opportunity to observe not
only several whale species, but also a plethora of birdlife
including Atlantic puffin, white-tailed eagle, northern gannet
and Arctic skua.
In winter, we take you on an adventure through snowy

landscapes for a chance to see killer whales and humpback
whales as they gather in the fjords for their yearly feast on
Atlantic herring.
Join us for a day out at sea to witness the uniqueness of

Northern Norway and its wildlife, in the endless days of the
summer, or the raw beauty of the northern winter.
www.arcticwhaletours.com -
info@arcticwhaletours.com
+47 473 84 621
Volunteer with Malawi’s leading and cheetah. Whether you’re
conservation organisation
for an unforgettable wildlife
experience! Lilongwe Wildlife
working with rescued animals or
supporting a research project,
you’ll get involved in real
LILONGWE
Trust’s volunteer placements
include sanctuary work and
veterinary medicine at Malawi’s
conservation work and make
a meaningful difference in a
beautiful and fascinating country
WILDLIFE TRUST
award-winning wildlife sanctuary, which is affectionately known
the Lilongwe Wildlife Centre. as “the warm heart of Africa”.
The centre is accredited by Our placements are perfect
the Pan African Sanctuary for everyone, from budding
Alliance and Global Federation conservationists and veterinary
of Animal Sanctuaries and is students to wildlife enthusiasts!
widely recognised as one of lilongwewildlife.org/volunteer
Africa’s best wildlife rescue placements@lilongwewildlife.org
facilities. Or if you prefer being
out in the bush, why not sign
up for a research placement
in one of Malawi’s top national
parks where you’ll help to
monitor iconic species like lion
Explore Chilean nature with Andean condors amongst
EXPERIENCE Albatross Birding and Wildlife

Photography in Chile, offering
wildlife-focused tours since
soaring peaks; sail the rich
Humboldt Current for wonderful
encounters with albatrosses,
CHILE 2009 with experienced and

knowledgeable tour leaders.
Stretching over a length of
petrels, shearwaters and
whales; visit king penguins
on Tierra del Fuego, and look
4,300km, Chile is a country for huemel deer, numerous
with amazing mountainous guanacos and majestic pumas
geography, a wide variety of in the breathtaking landscape of
habitats and abundant wildlife. Torres del Paine National Park.
The imposing Andes flank albatross-birding.com
the country from the arid contact@albatross-birding.com
Atacama Desert in the north +56 9 6184 0249
to the southernmost tip of
South America.
Join our iconic tours in
this wonderful destination
to observe and photograph
rich wildlife on the Altiplano-
Puna Plateau; see giant
Offering all-inclusive, fly-in grizzly are included in our packages.

bear and whale watching tours in
Canada’s Great Bear Rainforest.
Tours are conducted from a small,
Tours run in the Knight Inlet
area of British Columbia and
transportation from Vancouver
SAILCONE’S
remote lodge with small group
sizes. Grizzly bear, black bear,
Island is provided. Our season
runs from June to October.
GRIZZLY BEAR
humpback whale, orca and more
are frequently sighted in the
area. Float plane transportation,
Book your personal wildlife
experience today.
grizzlybearwatching.com
LODGE
gourmet meals, lodging and tours grizzlybear@shaw.ca
South Luangwa, located in north- offers the ultimate wilderness
eastern Zambia, is considered
one of Africa’s greatest wildlife
sanctuaries and while it is home
experience and unforgettable
safaris. Activities include daily
morning, afternoon and night
KAFUNTA
to abundant and varied wildlife,
it is particularly recommended
for leopards, lions and African
drives, bush walks and visits
to the local community and
conservation projects. Kafunta
SAFARIS
wild dogs. Safaris can also assist in
For over 20 years, Ron designing extended itineraries
and Anke Cowan have owned to visit other parts of Zambia
and operated Kafunta Safaris, such as the Victoria Falls.
which includes three distinctive kafuntasafaris.com
properties in the central and bookings@kafuntasafaris.com
southern part of the park: Kafunta
River Lodge, Three Rivers Camp
and Island Bush Camp. Each
providing excellent comfort and
fantastic game viewing.
A combination of the camps
associated with stellar service
and professional guiding,
The small, intimate Thabamati viewing deck with seating areas,
THABAMATI Luxury Tented Camp is situated

within the world-renowned
Timbavati Private Nature Reserve
sunken boma, library corner,
curio shop, bar, lounge and
dining area.
in the Greater Kruger National Each Java safari-style tent lies
Park. Here you can relax under next to the dam and has a view
canopies of canvas and enjoy of the water. The tents comprise
views of the dam below your a writing desk, seating area,
feet, the bushveld beyond and bedroom, ensuite bathroom with
the Drakensberg mountain range a wooden closet, WC, bath and
on the horizon. Accommodating an inside and outside shower.
only eight guests in four luxury Amenities with the scents of Africa
safari-style tents, Thabamati are provided for your enjoyment.
offers a timeless safari feel with thabamati.co.za
some modern elegance.
Entering the main area
at Thabamati, you will find a
spacious open-plan reception
and lounge area designed with
nature in mind. The camp’s main
area comprises an infinity pool,
Imagine a remote, small tropical of conservation on the island,

island, fully protected for the
past 25 years, boasting one of
the most pristine coral reefs in
all financed through ecotourism.
Seven eco-bungalows allow
for relaxation, completely
CHUMBE ISLAND
the whole of eastern Africa and immersed in nature and with
an abundance of wildlife, such a clear conscience as solar
as turtles, reef sharks, coconut power, rainwater harvesting and
crabs (the largest land-dwelling composting toilets create low-
crab in the world), more than impact accommodation. When
500 species of fish and more booking please use code ISLAND.
than 80 species of birds. On chumbeisland.com
Chumbe Island you will spend book@chumbeisland.com
your days fully surrounded
by nature and barely seeing
another human, as the maximum
number of guests allowed on
the island is 18 people. Guided
snorkel tours and forest walks
with one of Chumbe’s expert
guiding rangers will give you
insights into the positive effects
majestic big cats through large panoramic windows.
Book your unforgettable safari staycation today using

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Email your questions to
wildquestions@immediate.co.uk
Have whales
recovered since
the whaling
moratorium?
CHRIS VICK ANSWERS: 1985-86. Some of the big species that exist. Those whales that were targeted by
hunters historically targeted, such as fin hunters probably number no more than
Sir David Attenborough recently said: and humpback whales, are increasing in 1.5 million, and perhaps half of those are
“Fifty years ago, whales were on the very number in some regions. The population minke whales.
edge of extinction worldwide. Then people of the largest and most iconic species, the Sadly, some whale hunting still
got together and now there are more blue whale, is also recovering. But some occurs today, and there is also a growing
whales in the sea than any living human species are still classified as Endangered plethora of often poorly quantified and
being has ever seen.” or Vulnerable, and the North Atlantic right understood issues that are threatening
So, have the whales been saved? whale is Critically Endangered. whales worldwide, such as fishing and
Well, yes and no. Certainly, there is a It’s worth bearing in mind that the global warming, and noise, oil, plastics and
conservation success story to tell after seven or eight ‘great whales’ that were chemical pollution. There is real concern
the International Whaling Commission hunted commercially are a relatively small that whales are now vulnerable to threats
introduced a whaling moratorium in percentage of the total whale species that that are increasing and compounding.
Whaling may be rarer these
days but cetaceans
face other threats
It may not have ears

but a bridge spider
can detect sound
better than humans
Can spiders hear?

STUART BLACKMAN ANSWERS: However, at least one species augments
these capabilities by constructing an
As the old joke goes, you can prove that a enormous ‘eardrum’ 10,000 times bigger
spider’s ears are on its legs, because if you than itself, sitting right in the middle of
pull all its limbs off, it doesn’t come when it and picking up the vibrations through
you call its name. its feet. In fact, the orb webs spun by the
Actually, spiders don’t have ears as bridge spider (Larinioides sclopetarius) – a
such, but they do indeed hear with their UK species so-called because it is most
legs, by means of a smattering of specialised commonly encountered on human-made
fine hairs that are stimulated by airborne structures near water – are more sensitive
vibrations and connected to nerve cells at to acoustic vibrations than any known
WHALE: M.M. SWEET/GETTY; ARCHIVE IMAGE: GETTY; BRIDGE SPIDER: MICHAEL GRANT/ALAMY
their base. conventional eardrum.
Humpbacks were
hunted for oil, meat
and baleen BBC WILDLIFE EXPERTS
STUART BLACKMAN JOANNA BAGNIEWSKA JV CHAMARY DAVE HAMILTON

Science writer Zoologist Biologist Horticulturalist
ASK US
Email your
questions to
wildquestions
@immediate.
RICHARD JONES MEGAN SHERSBY CHRIS VICK co.uk
Entomologist BBC Wildlife WDC

Q A Rosehips are
How do fish
the fruits of the
rose plant and ripen
from late summer
get tongue-
eating lice?
JOANNA BAGNIEWSKA ANSWERS:
Fish are prone to numerous parasites, and

one nightmarish example is the tongue-
eating louse. This trilobite-like crustacean
enters the fish via the gills, and moves
into its mouth. There, the louse severs the
blood vessels to the tongue, leading to its
degeneration, and attaches itself to the
remaining stub – as an organ replacement
of sorts. Fish tongues are not muscular, but
bony and tough, and rigid lice can mimic
them surprisingly well. Interestingly, all
tongue-eating lice start off as males and
only turn female when they reach over a
centimetre in length. If two lice parasitise
the same fish, the smaller one remains in
the gills as a male and will pop over into the
fish’s mouth for a quick conjugal visit to the
larger female there.
Is rosehip syrup
full of vitamin C?
DINOSAURS: STOCKTREK IMAGES/GETTY; LOUSE: ALAMY; ROSEHIPS: DEBORAH VERNON/ALAMY; LARVA: NICKY BAY
DAVE HAMILTON ANSWERS: of fruits high in vitamin C, such as oranges
and lemons. And as a result, the government
With a bit of care to filter out the tiny, at the time feared the population would
itching hairs within the fruit, rosehips suffer nutritional illnesses, such as scurvy.
can be mashed up and stewed to make Their solution was the mass-scale picking of
sweet and tasty rosehip syrup – great over
pancakes or ice cream, or diluted with hot
water for a cosy winter drink. Many online
articles sing the praises of this syrup for its
health benefits – particularly that it is high is so much of this vitamin in a hip, that
in vitamin C. In fact, during World War II, there is still enough left in the end product
enemy blockades prevented the importation to prevent nutritional problems.
RECORD BREAKER!
What was the

largest dinosaur?
FACT.
Gorillas rarely
drink water as they
All the contenders for this title belong
can obtain all the
to a subgroup of sauropods called
moisture they need
the titanosaurs. Patagotitan mayorum
from the vegetation
may have measured 37.2m in length,
they eat. Dian
although some scientists believe this is an
Fossey once wrote
overestimate. However, Argentinosaurus
that mountain
may have measured between 37-40m
gorillas “seem
in length. The truth is we don’t know, as No complete skeletons
to dislike water
scientists can only estimate the size and of Argentinosaurus
in general”.
weight of these dinosaurs. MS have been found

WHAT
ON EARTH?
Q A
ANTS: MARK MOFFETT/NATUREPL.COM; GHOST APPLE: ANDREW SIETSEMA; SEA

HARE: DANIEL POLOHA/ALAMY; KAGU: ROLAND SEITRE/NATUREPL.COM (CAPTIVE)
FAST ANSWERS
Ghost apples will leave you hungry
What is a
ghost apple?
During the winter of 2019, images of
hollow, apple-shaped ice formations
resembling cut-glass fruits began
circulating on the internet. Dubbed
‘ghost apples’ they confused and
delighted all who saw them, but what
were they caused by? During the winter,
apples can rot from the inside – flesh
behind the skin breaks down to the
consistency of apple sauce. Freezing
rain then ‘sets’ on the outside of these
rotten apples, forming a hard, icy casing,
before the mushy insides
fall out, leaving an intact
ghost apple. DH
What is a
sea hare?
Related to the sea slugs
Mi casa es of the nudibranch order,
su casa: the sea hares are a similar-looking group of
neighbourly herbivorous marine gastropod molluscs.
Argentine ant One of the most notable features of the
group are their ‘ears’, protruding from
the top of the head, which somewhat
resemble the long ears of a hare. These
are actually a pair of rhinophores –
structures that can detect chemicals
in water. MS
What are ant How does a kagu

use its wings?
supercolonies? Lacking the muscles required for flight,
the mostly flightless kagu bird still uses
its wings in a variety of ways, including
RICHARD JONES ANSWERS: Linepithema humile, was accidentally courtship displays and gliding through
introduced to Europe in the 19th century, the forest. It also exhibits the ‘broken-
Like medieval city states, neighbouring the gene pool was so shallow and the wing’ display, where a parent fakes an
injury in order to
ant colonies constantly bicker over land colonies so closely related to each other lure a predator
and resources. Enemy ants are detected by that they did not recognise neighbouring away from
their genetically determined smell, so while nests as the enemy, just as extended family. its chick.
worker sisters in the same nest have similar That family now runs for 6000km MS
scents, foreign interlopers are repulsed. along the coasts of Portugal, Spain,
However, it is possible for ant nests France and Italy, and contains millions of A kagu uses its wings
to connect and form ‘supercolonies’. interconnected nests and countless billions in a defensive display
For instance, when the Argentine ant, of happily cooperating sisters.

iven that they contain
the biological molecules and
machinery required by all life
forms, it’s ironic that cells were
named after empty spaces.
When the 17th-century polymath
Robert Hooke looked down a
microscope at the structure of
cork, its repeating units of spaces
reminded him of the sleeping quarters in
a prison or monastry. Hooke called those
units ‘cells’, from the Latin for ‘little rooms’.
Is all life made of cells?

It depends on how you define life! Viruses
aren’t made of cells, but some biologists
consider them alive. A virus can’t replicate
without using a host cell, though, so we can
sidestep the philosophical discussion of
“What is life?” and say all life uses cells.
Life forms that are made of cells are Plant cells
called organisms. They’re either unicellular revealed under
(single-celled) – bacteria, for example – or a microscope
multicellular. Unicellular organisms must
do all the work needed to sustain life, but
multicellular life forms can have a body
with a division of labour: different types of INSTANT EXPERT
cell play specific roles in the organism.
What do cells have in common?

Every cell has a fatty membrane that
Cells: the basic
establishes its boundary and controls
which substances go in or out of its watery
internal fluid, the cytoplasm. A cell will
almost always contain genetic material, too.
units of life
WITH EVOLUTIONARY BIOLOGIST JV CHAMARY
And how do they differ?
The biggest distinction between cells is how
they hold genetic material. In eukaryote But in eukaryotes, cell division is often different cells (over 200 types in a human
cells, the DNA is enclosed with a ‘nut’ complicated by having DNA distributed body) carry the same genetic instructions.
or envelope called the nucleus (hence among numerous pairs of chromosomes, As a cell divides, it reads genes to make
eukaryote meaning ‘true nut’ in Greek). which are packaged inside the nucleus and proteins, which determine its features and
Meanwhile, in prokaryote cells – bacteria have to be aligned before they’re copied. behaviour. That can even cause a cell to
and archaea, descendants of life forms that Eukaryote cells divide by either mitosis ditch its DNA: in humans, after making the
didn’t evolve to have a nucleus – the DNA or meiosis. Mitosis involves one round oxygen-carrying protein haemoglobin, a red
floats freely in the cytoplasm (prokaryote of division, meiosis involves two rounds. blood cell will use a weird kind of division
means ‘before nuts’ in Greek). Meiosis is the process that creates sperm or to pinch off its nucleus and make space to
Eukaryote cells are more complex eggs and, because their DNA isn’t duplicated pack in more haemoglobin.
because they’re organised into during the second round of cell division,
compartments with structures known as they end up with unpaired chromosomes. Are any body parts not made of cells?
organelles (‘little organs’) with separate These combine into new pairs via sexual Loads! The most apparent are parts such
functions, analagous to the organs of a body reproduction, when the cells from each as feathers and scales, claws and hooves,
CWLL: GETTY; PARASITE: KEVIN SCHAFER/GETTY
– as in energy-generating mitochondria that parent fuse to form an embryo. which come from the integumentary system
breathe oxygen like lungs. – an animal’s skin and appendages – and
A cell’s contents vary depending on a How can one cell develop into so many are partly composed of the protein keratin.
cell’s function. Many contain something like different types? Even when an organism isn’t made entirely
muscle and bone – the cytoskeleton – for That’s the miracle of life! Incredibly, a of cells, they’re mostly made by cells.
shape, support and internal movement. single-celled embryo repeatedly divided to
Other cells (such as plant, fungi and form everything from your brain to your
NEXT MONTH WITH JV

bacteria) may be surrounded by rigid belly button. The path to making different
cell walls. cell types is like a plant whose stems
represent stem cells with the potential to
How do cells divide? give rise to leaves, the specialised cells. PARASITISM
Prokaryotes duplicate genetic material Embryonic development seems more Survival through exploitation
then simply split in two by binary fission. amazing still when you consider that

TV HIGHLIGHT OF THE MONTH
Wild wintry delights

Winterwatch and Michaela Strachan returned to Wild recorded films with the four presenters
Catch up on BBC iPlayer Ken Hill in Norfolk for a second winter, and Megan McCubbin take you around
whilst Gillian Burke and Iolo Williams the UK to encounter both extraordinary
anuary saw the return of headed northwards to Scotland’s winter wildlife and knowledgable
Winterwatch to our screens for greenest city to experience the urban naturalists and conservationists –
a joyful two weeks. The four wildlife of Edinburgh. including murmurating starlings,
regular presenters celebrated the As usual, there are live cameras roosting jackdaws with Flock Together’s
wonders of the UK’s wildlife and aplenty to keep viewers hooked and the Nadeem Perrara, and insects with
its landscapes. Chris Packham popular Mindfulness Moments. Pre- entomology curator Ashleigh Whiffin.

Starlings roosting
on Brighton pier
Jack Baddams also

co-hosts the comedy
nature podcast How
Many Geese?
MEET THE RESEARCHER
Jack Baddams
We speak to the Winterwatch wildlife researcher
about what his role on the programme involves
How did you first get involved in on and around our main location. I talk to a
‘The Watches’? network of local naturalists to find out the
I have my mum to thank! I’d always been interesting stories or species, and then make
a huge fan of the show and she simply sure we try to get them filmed. So whether
encouraged me to find the email address of it’s footage we’ve captured on our remote
the series producer and drop them a message cameras or with our long lens operators, it’s
asking if there was anything I could do on my job to be across it all and work with the
the show. I had no faith in her plan but, lo producers to make sure we’re getting the
and behold, I ended up getting a job as a best moments on screen.
‘story developer’ (someone who monitors
the wildlife cameras) on the show for four Are there any animals or plants you’d
series, before being taken onboard as the like to get featured, but haven’t found
wildlife researcher. Moral of the story: if you a way to do so yet?
don’t ask, you don’t get! Moles! I would absolutely love to find a way
to do a feature on moles. They’re a species
What does your research involve? I’ve looked into a couple of times, but they’re
Largely it’s working on the content of the not animals that make themselves easy to
show – whether that be the pre-recorded film, given that they spend their entire life
films or the ‘live items’. In the case of the underground. I think they’re one of the most
films, we’re working on them months ahead fascinating creatures we have in the UK, and
of time, so there’s always something to keep the idea that they’re just busying away with
busy with. My role also involves researching their lives under our feet amazes me.
STARLINGS: SIMON DACK NEWS/ALAMY
the locations that the programmes use as a

base, and I’m very lucky that I get to explore What is the most unusual aspect of
the best wildlife spots in the country and your role?
speak to the people who know them best! Being on location throws up all sorts of
It’s not too late
to catch up with
situations. I’ve been involved with setting
What does your role involve during the out weightlifting courses for badgers,
Winterwatch. All
episodes are available now. live weeks? been trained in the art of frog tickling, and
As the wildlife researcher, it’s about being calculated the air speed velocity of a laden
across all the wildlife action that’s happening great spotted woodpecker!

CHILDREN’S BOOK OF THE MONTH
Darwin’s Super-Pooping
Worm Spectacular
By Polly Owen, illustrated by Gwen Millward, Wide-Eyed Editions, £12.99
id you know that charles darwin tests their hearing and finds they can’t hear
was fascinated with worms? Polly but they do respond to vibrations. Then he
Owen and Gwen Millward’s zany and tests their smell and concludes they can
humorous book tells the true story of only smell their own preferred foods.
how the famous naturalist discovered But most exciting – particularly for
that the humble earthworm is one of children – is his discovery of their super-
the most important species on the planet. pooping superpower! Cue lots of poo
Colourful pages filled with a pleasing pictures and the lesson that worm poo is
combination of illustrations, speech bubbles essential for plant and animal life.
and text show the enamoured Darwin This is a disarmingly silly read that
conducting experiments on his specimens. manages to share cool worm science, and an
First, he tests their sight and discovers insight into Darwin’s life and work, with a
Gordon they can’t see but they do have light- light and easy touch.
looks into detecting sensors in their skin. Second, he
community
conservation
PODCAST OF THE MONTH
Beneath
the Baobab
jammainternational.com/podcast-2
The award-winning wildlife cameraman

and presenter Gordon Buchanan steps
up to the microphone to host this podcast
from conservation and communities charity
Jamma International. Across the episodes,
he delves into the world of community-led
projects and how indigenous peoples are
working to conserve wildlife both now and
for future generations. The podcast doesn’t
shy away from difficult topics, such as the
legacy of colonial land use or the role of
the media in sharing misinformation.
BOOKS ROUND UP
Sensational Elixir Britain’s Living Seas Spring Rain

By Ashley Ward, By Kapka Kassabova, By Hannah Rudd, By Marc Hamer,
Profile Books, £20 Jonathan Cape, £20 Bloomsbury Publishing, £16.99 Vintage Publishing, £16.99
by forests and mountains. introduces the different habitats reflects on his childhood in a
animals. It is an impressive Here, she follows the river and species, then the book takes violent home and how he came
journey into why we may have and explores the connections a deeper dive into the threats to love plants, insects and
as many as 53 senses (rather between people, plants and facing them, the conservation nature by finding refuge in his
than just five), and how we place, seeking an answer to how work being undertaken, and small back garden, leading to a
interpret the world around us. we can re-think the way we live. what you can do to help. life of gardening.

ID GUIDE Will Askari the male
lion pose a danger
to the pride’s new
young lion cubs?
Early spring
flowers
Spring is near, daylight hours are
increasing, our winter bird visitors
are leaving, and the early spring
flowers are starting to bloom. For
more ID guides, visit our website:
discoverwildlife.com/identify-wildlife.
COMMON GORSE
A large evergreen shrub, gorse is
most recognisable by its coconut-
scented bright yellow flowers.
ILLUSTRATIONS: FELICITY ROSE COLE; LION: LUKE GENT/JOHN DOWNER PRODUCTIOSN LTD/BBC
TV HIGHLIGHT
Watch all the
Serengeti III episodes from

the Serengeti III
series
BUTTERBUR Catch up on BBC iPlayer
Named for its large leaves that were
once used to wrap butter, this plant
has small pink flowers on a spike. he dramatised wildlife series What trouble will they get into on their
Serengeti returns to BBC One for a adventures, and will they survive meeting
third season, this time narrated by the male lion of the pride?
the British actress Adjoa Andoh – A baboon family led by a male called
of theatre and Casualty fame, and Bakari have found sanctuary amongst
lately playing Lady Danbury in the the rock ‘kopjes’ – the piles of ancient
Netflix adaptation of the Bridgerton books. rocks sticking up like islands from the
The six episodes were produced by John surrounding grassy savannah. Bakari faces
Downer Productions, which has previously the threat of a rival, who has the audacity
made Spy in the Wild (and its associated to bully his son, leading to a battle for the
programmes) and Snow Bears. troop’s survival.
We are introduced – or reintroduced, if It’s also almost time for cheetah
you watched the previous Serengeti seasons Aiysha’s cubs to become independent, but
RED DEAD-NETTLE
– to the main characters that feature across have they learnt enough hunting skills to
Loved by bumblebees, this nettle the series. One such character is the lioness venture out and go alone? They may have
species has pink-purple flowers and Kali, who started the series with young enthusiasm – shown by their attempt to
lacks a sting – hence the ‘dead’ name. cubs to look after, who are now starting catch some flamingoes – but it’s going to
to explore the world outside of their den. take more than that to survive.

5 THINGS
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Student Anna Webberley has been leading swarovskioptik.
com
her university’s ornithological society
Alongside studying for her biological involves monitoring the nestboxes in a local
sciences degree, Anna Webberley is woodland and checking the progress of the
the president of the Cardiff University chicks nesting there.
Ornithological Society and was awarded
the British Trust for Ornithology’s (BTO) Why do you volunteer?
Marsh Award for Young Ornithologist of the I really enjoy getting out and about in
Year in 2022. nature and wildlife, and doing things to help
the environment where I can. I want other
What does your volunteering involve? people to have the opportunity to enjoy it,
As president of the society, my role involves too! The more people that are passionate
running and organising the society and its and care about these species, the more they Eco birdfeeder,
events, with the help of two committee will work to conserve and protect them. £8.99, shop.
woodlandtrust.
members – Maddie Davis (secretary) and It has been great to see the society get
org.uk
Lili Tarrant-Snedden (treasurer). Events re-established (after it shut down in 2020,
ANNA: IMAGE TAKEN PRIOR TO THE BIRD FLU OUTBREAK
include regular birdwatching walks, socials, due to the pandemic) and have such a good
and trips both in the local area and further increase in members over the last couple
afield, such as a Q&A session with Iolo of years – we now have nearly 40 members.
Williams and a residential camping trip to It’s also amazing to see more people helping
Pembrokeshire. We encourage our members out and getting involved with the local
to get involved in citizen science, too. volunteering activities.
I also regularly help out with the
BTO’s monthly Wetland Bird Survey in What has been your proudest moment
Cardiff’s Roath Park each month. This as a volunteer?
involves counting and recording the It was receiving the BTO’s Marsh Award for
5
Zoology
numbers of different species of wetland Young Ornithologist of the Year last year jigsaw puzzle,
birds. This data is important for informing for my work with the ornithological society £25, wrendale
conservation decisions. During spring, I and vounteering. I felt incredibly honoured designs.co.uk
volunteer as a nestbox volunteer, which to receive the award.

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The crossword
ACROSS
5 Number of tentacles on a helmet jellyfish (6)
7 Heathland songbird (8)
9 ___ mantella, small frog that lives in
subtropical Madagascar (8)
10 Foxes’ dens (6)
11 Fern in the genus Ophioglossum (6,6)
13 Spotted cat of South America (6)
15 Cassava (6)
18 A woodland mammal found in both Europe
and Asia (5,7)
21 The family containing dung, Hercules and
Goliath beetles (6)
22 Tree in the laurel family, notable for its
aromatic bark and leaves (8)
23 ___ plover, a small wader endemic to a
mid-Atlantic island (2,6)
24 Tail bone, in apes (6)
DOWN
1 Hagfish (5,3)
2 Tasmanian ___, common name for
carnivorous Australian marsupials (6)
3 Red ___, wetland Eucalyptus (5,3)
4 Not common; rare (6)
6 Mallard, say (4,4)
7 Grazing waterbird, Anas penelope (6)
8 ___ flycatcher, grey-blue songbird of sub-
Saharan Africa (4)
12 Edible marine fish also known as a
St Pierre (4,4) 19 Hairy-leaved plant also known as 28 raceme Down: 1 sunbeam, 2 ratel, 3 kestrel,
14 New World songbird named for its mountain tobacco (6) 5 Arctic, 6 bluebells, 7 ortolan, 8 invisible rail,
spasmodic movements when excited (8) 20 Rabbit’s tail (4) 14 rose aphid, 17 ash keys, 19 Cumbria,
16 Acrobatic woodland songbird resembling a 20 aconite, 21 Pearce, 24 Gosse.
small woodpecker (8) January answers
17 Large monkey species, also known as a Across: 1 shrike, 4 bamboo, 9 gnat, 10 Sand
Cape Baboon (6) County, 11 medlar, 12 ibisbill, 13 amaryllis,
18 Bright-coloured tropical forest bird related 15 plane, 16 daisy, 18 black swan, 22 wheatear,
to the toucans (6) 23 maggot, 25 hen harrier, 26 ship, 27 sedges,
SPOT THE DIFFERENCE

GETTY
The striking-looking lionfish uses its outstretched fins to corner and ambush its prey. Unfortunately, it is now an invasive species in the
Atlantic, competing with vulnerable native species. Can you spot the five differences between the images? Answers on page 105.

PRIZE-WINNING PHOTO
Fungi family WIN WATERPROOF BOOTS
Growing out of a moss-covered twig, this small Worth £165!

troop of miniscule collared parachute fungi These versatile Moresby short boots
was photographed early in the morning, perform their best when put to the
against diffused sunlight coming through test outdoors. Sporting a multi-surface
the surrounding beech trees. When viewed traction design and fully waterproof,
through a macro lens, they looked like a they are handcrafted to keep your
family, positioned in such a way that they feet supported and dry when
almost told a story to be interpreted however traversing through rain and mud.
the observer wished. Visit ariat.com.
Mike Blacknell, Hampshire

Stand out
At Gold Harbour
in South Georgia
we were met with
thousands of king
penguins and their
chicks. I had to
search hard to find
this single adult
among juveniles.
It was a privilege to
be able to get the
shot I was looking
for, but doubly so to
be able to visit this
wonderful location.
Jon Hawton,
Sydney, Australia
Follow me
A line of bison
trudge through
the cold Wyoming
temperatures in
single file. The
snow on their coats
will not melt from
the heat of their
skin due to just how
thick their coats
are. The mammals
use their heads to
plough the snow in
order to graze.
Riley King,
Tennessee, USA
Catch of the day

Darters, also called snakebirds, usually hunt small to
medium fish as they are easy to kill and swallow. It takes
them some time to kill big fish. They will hold the fish and
keep punching at its gills until it dies.
Manish Madhavan, Varanasi, India

Jumping for joy
At my work, we have a lot of jumping spiders
on the wall. I managed to shoot 120 images
of this individual before it hopped off to find
breakfast. I can’t tell you how happy I was to
get a shot without a single movement.
Radim Kadlecik, Havířov, Czech Republic
Lift off
This northern pintail duck gave the take-
off signal, poking his head up and looking
around. I took aim and then suddenly he flew
upwards. Yes! What a beautiful moment.
Jack Zhi, California, USA
Tragic trio
These three great horned owlets were
waiting for their parents to fetch them food.
Six weeks later, the parents and owlets died
from eating poisoned rats. Following this,
there have been efforts to educate local Send your pics to discoverwildlife.com/
people about the dangers of rodenticides. submit-your-photos for a chance to win!
Joanne Clement, Florida, USA

Geese in flight with an artistic blur
Emmanuel –
caught by his own
camera trap
SNAP-CHAT
A breaching humpback whale
How to take
WITH BBC WILDLIFE PICTURE EDITOR TOM GILKS
photographs
of action and
Emmanuel Rondeau on pouncing behaviour
tigers and vanishing vultures Hunting, fleeing, feeding,
playing and even sleeping... it’s
a great achievement to capture
How did you get into photography? of the bars. I have never experienced fear
a slice of animal action. Here
I grew up in a city and felt trapped. Seeking like it. I thought I was already dead.
out wildlife was the exact opposite, and
are three top tips:
photography has always been my ‘thing’. What’s the most remote place your work OUNDERSTAND HABITS
has taken you?
Learn as much as you can
Which shot is most important to you? French Guiana. This part of the Amazon is
about the animal you want to
An image of a jaguar that I captured on my an ocean of hilly forest. It took four days
very first project – a self-funded, three- just to reach our base camp.
photograph. The more you
month trip to Costa Rica. After walking study it, the more you can
2,000km and losing 10kg, I got the shot on Any ‘oh drat it’ moments? predict what it might do.
the very last day. There have been many. The most recent was
OSPEED IT UP
when I was filming vultures. One morning,
You spent time with the military in a rare Egyptian vulture flew right in front
To capture an animal in
French Guiana. Can you tell us why, or of me, which happens about once every five movement, use fast shutter
would you have to kill us? days. I don’t know what happened, but I speeds of 1/2,000, 1/3,000 or
I was documenting an operation to destroy completely missed it. I had to watch as it higher. Or use a slightly slower
an illegal gold-mining camp – illegal mining flew peacefully off into the distance. shutter speed for blurring.
is a huge threat to the rainforest. After
an eight-hour trek, we found the camp, What’s your worst investment of time on OBE PREPARED
complete with miners, and everything went a shoot? Know your camera, rather than
crazy. But please don’t tell anyone... In my 20s, I went to Costa Rica with a playing with the dials as a once-
friend. We’d had a tip-off that harpy eagles in-a-lifetime moment passes
GEESE AND WHALE: GETTY
What has been your scariest encounter? had been sighted. We spent three weeks you by. Test your settings and
In Nepal, I went to see a tiger that had been searching and got absolutely nothing – just take practice shots in advance.
injured in a road accident and placed in an a lesson in double-checking your sources.
enclosure. When I pulled back the curtain
around it, it roared and pounced, stopping Emmanuel Rondeau is a wildlife photographer Visit discoverwildlife.com/
centimetres from my head on the other side and film-maker: emmanuelrondeau.com how-to/movement-photographs

Curlews are one
Shared passion
of many birds that What an absolute joy it was to read the
can be seen on the feature on Britain’s 60 favourite places for
North York Moors
wildlife. Lovely to see that the professionals
get just as excited about wild and special
places as the rest of us, and that the sense
of wonder never leaves them.
John McAree, South Lanarkshire
Ham Wall’s charms

I loved reading about Britain’s 60 favourite
places for wildlife and was impressed with
the beauty of nature in your country. Of all
the places, my choice is RSPB Ham Wall in
Somerset, with the picturesque image still
lingering in my mind’s eyes.
The poetic image of the swirling
starlings was like condensed energy,
full of pathos, vibrant and atmospheric,
with untamed primeval beauty. It was
sentimental and mesmerising in the soft,
sweet twilight, with the pale, iridescent
hues of the cold evening sun lingering in
the west, reflecting in shimmering waters.
Like ancient Romans who used to read their
fates through birds, I saw in the scene a
sense of hope that there’s always tomorrow
and that the world’s worth living in.
Thank you BBC Wildlife for sharing the
beauty with us.
Stephanie Suh, California, USA
The North York Moors are Scorpions in Essex

a bird-lover’s paradise I read the item in December’s Q&A section
about whether the UK has any scorpions
with interest. The non-native European
our recent feature on Britain’s 60 a population of turtle doves that reside yellow-tailed scorpion seems to be hogging
favourite places for wildlife (January here, too. the limelight, having appeared on BBC’s The
2023) included such an array of I am incredibly lucky to have this One Show and been covered elsewhere.
breathtaking wild places in the UK. amazing place on my doorstep, where a long When I was a youngster living in Essex,
But you have missed probably one walk or a day’s outing always provides a new there were a lot of mentions of these
of the most scenic areas (in my wildlife sighting. The North York Moors are scorpions living along the Central Line here,
opinion) of all: the North York Moors. a must-visit for anyone. with articles on other BBC programmes and
I live in a market town on the edge Sarah Brierley, via email in the local press. I believe Bill Oddie also
of this wonderful national park and I mentioned them. I never saw them, though.
wouldn’t want to live anywhere else. It’s a Does anybody know if they are still
bird-lover’s paradise with curlews, golden
Elmley is top of my list there, and if so, how far they have spread?
plovers, lapwings, oystercatchers and red It was really interesting reading about Also, are there any other known locations
grouse to name a few, and if I’m in the right Britain’s 60 favourite places for wildlife, but in the UK?
CURLEW: GARY K SMITH/ALAMY; DEER: JULES COX
place at the right time, merlins hunting I feel Elmley Nature Reserve on the Isle of Peter Richardson, Devon
over the rolling gorse. A few pairs of red Sheppey in North Kent was worthy of being MEGAN SHERSBY REPLIES:
kites can now regularly be seen gliding over included on the list, or at least having a I’ve spoken with some local wildlife
Farndale – always a delight to see. Plus, I passing mention. organisations and it looks like the Essex
often see roe deer skulking around the field Elmley has a vision and commitment population of scorpions were a bit of a hoax,
margins around Goathland and Grosmont. to restore nature and is a fantastic place having been released there by a train station
The North York Moors covers a wide to spot hares, marsh harriers, kestrels, foreman at the time.
area of many habitats. Dalby Forest hosts short-eared, long-eared and little owls, just
some beautiful walks, where I regularly see to name but a few. I have been fortunate to
bullfinches, great spotted woodpeckers and have seen a merlin there this past year.
Surprise gecko
slow worms! And I mustn’t forget Sutton I would certainly include Elmley at the Happy New Year! I just lined up my 2022
Bank – you can visit the turf-cut White top of my list. magazines to file them away and spotted the
Horse on the hillside, plus there is Steve Russell, via email image on the spines. What a lovely touch, it

.
really made me smile.
Ingrid Taylor, via email
Wintry butterflies
I have written six haikus about butterflies
in winter:
Sheets of ice above

Deep blankets of settled snow
And butterflies sleep.
Carefully chosen
The old neglected pillbox
Where peacocks are safe.
Deep within brambles

As red leaves lose their colour
Brimstones hang unseen.
Late red admiral

Fluttering on the pavement
Put it somewhere safe.
In silken black webs

Marsh fritillary larvae
Huddle towards spring.
Out of the long dark

A tortoiseshell tests its wings
Springing back to life.
Enjoy the beauty of a
Richard Stewart, former Suffolk butterfly familiar British species
recorder for Butterfly Conservation, Suffolk in our next issue
CORRECTIONS NEXT MONTH

February 2023 Photo Club, p93: The image
Roe deer
captioned as a corn bunting is a female reed
bunting. January 2023 Wild Times, p11: The
ptarmigan pictured is a male and not a female.
Delightful footage of a roe deer mother

bringing up her fawns in a cemetery
features in Wild Isles – the new five-part
series coming to BBC One this spring
that showcases the natural wonders of
Answers to Spot The Difference on page 99 Britain. Photographer Jules Cox studied
GET IN TOUCH the family for a period of four years
Email and shares his portfolio of ON SALE
9th
wildlifeletters@immediate.co.uk
Post
intimate portraits, taken
BBC Wildlife, Eagle House,
Bristol, BS1 4ST through the seasons, in our
By contacting us you consent to let us print your letter
in BBC Wildlife. Letters may be edited. upcoming spring issue. MARCH

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
John Boyle is an amateur
wildlife photographer and
writer living in the Suffolk
countryside. His wildlife
photography can be viewed
on Instagram – search for
@jjboyle1999.
So, on day four of the trip, as our open-

sided safari truck pulled out of camp for
another afternoon game drive, there was
a buoyant and excited mood amongst our
small party as we speculated about the
wildlife we might encounter next. Half an
hour from base, Disho brought the vehicle
to an abrupt halt alongside the remains of
an elephant. The atmosphere within our
group immediately changed – a sombre
mood descended on our group like a dark
cloud suddenly appearing over a mid-
summer picnic. As I viewed the skeletal
remains of the fallen giant, I took some
John spotted
solace from the fact that the ivory tusks
this bull touching
the remains of a were still intact in the huge skull, suggesting
fellow elephant it had been a natural passing and not a
violent death at the hands of poachers.
Suddenly but silently, as if defying the
laws of physics, a bull elephant appeared
from the bush just metres from our vehicle.
Ambling over to the carcass, the immense
creature used his tactile trunk to gently
caress the bones of his fallen comrade.
Fallen giant As I looked into the eyes of the bull

elephant, I was full of empathy as he
continued to touch the remains with the
A cheery safari trip takes utmost care, displaying all the reverence
and respect that one would associate with
the most dutiful of human undertakers.
a solemn turn The scene before me was so moving that
despite my best attempts not to indulge in
CHOBE NATIONAL PARK, BOTSWANA anthropomorphism, I was convinced that
this five-tonne beast was feeling grief and
mourning for the deceased elephant.
Just three days into our enjoyed intimate viewings of lions, hyenas, As quietly and unexpectedly as he
Botswana tour and our guide, elephants and wild dogs. had appeared, the bull elephant then
Disho, had exceeded all The undoubted highlight for me and vanished back into the bush, leaving me to
expectations with his uncanny my three travelling companions had been a contemplate the most emotional of all my
ability to spot the wild inhabitants of morning spent with a pack of 17 wild dogs African animal encounters.
Chobe National Park. During morning and as they scoured the bush in search of prey,
afternoon excursions from our tented camp sprinting into action after a band of red JOHN BOYLE
Have a wild tale to tell? Email a brief synopsis
in Khwai Community Concession we had lechwe and efficiently pulling one down. to catherine.smalley@ourmedia.co.uk
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MARCH

Brown bears making

It’s not hard to

Rhôs pasture on Dartmoor;

grey seal off Lundy Island

discoverwildlife.com BBC WILDLIFE 3

PHOTOGRAPHY AND ETHICS

4 BBC WILDLIFE March 2023

TRIPOD: MIKE DEXTER; BROWN HARES: ANDREW DARRINGTON/ALAMY; WINTERWATCH:

Every month, only in BBC Wildlife

6 BBC WILDLIFE March 2023

50 Nature can fix

...the plan 100 Photo Club

discoverwildlife.com BBC WILDLIFE 7

8 BBC WILDLIFE March 2023

It’s late summer on South Georgia

discoverwildlife.com BBC WILDLIFE 9

earching for life in the pelagic

MEET THE PHOTOGRAPHER

discoverwildlife.com BBC WILDLIFE 11

he rich lemon-yellow of a male contrast, the female brimstone is a subtle

12 BBC WILDLIFE March 2023

Traffic noise makes rural

he robin is reckoned to be Britain’s Adding traffic sounds to the mix made

BRIMSTONE: ROSS HODDINOTT; ROBIN: ERNIE JANES/NATUERPL.COM

discoverwildlife.com BBC WILDLIFE 13

14 BBC WILDLIFE March 2023

The vampire diaries

oothwort is a plant devoid of possess an “unearthly, ethereal aura; a static

DOLPHIN: LOUIS-MARIE PREAU/HEMIS/ALAMY; HARRIER: ERIC MEDARD/NATUREPL.COM; TOOTHWORT: ALEX HYDE

discoverwildlife.com BBC WILDLIFE 15

o bird has inspired more English

16 BBC WILDLIFE March 2023

writer and presenter. You

discoverwildlife.com BBC WILDLIFE 17

1 COMMON OSTRICH 157kg

discoverwildlife.com BBC WILDLIFE 19

NEW SPECIES DISCOVERY

Hosts with the most outback, alongside a trail leading up to

20 BBC WILDLIFE March 2023

Book now Experience the Original Spirit of Norway

All ﬂights and ﬂight-inclusive holidays are Scan the

Lost & Found VAGRANT SPECIES DIARY

Stejneger’s scoter, Firth of Forth Lionel Kelleway

of 2-million-year-old DNA – twice as

22 BBC WILDLIFE March 2023

New research could help

new study using satellite imagery

COLLECTIVE Yellow-billed storks

24 BBC WILDLIFE March 2023

26 BBC WILDLIFE March 2023

Lucy Cooke on a hammerhead

discoverwildlife.com BBC WILDLIFE 27

any naturalists have wondered

COLTSFOOT: ALEX HYDE; BADGER PORTRAIT; GETTY; BADGER POO: ALAMY

28 BBC WILDLIFE March 2023

survival and needs to be part successful implementation.

discoverwildlife.com BBC WILDLIFE 29

Invisibility croak Should a predator see through the

FROM THE BBC WILDLIFE ARCHIVE March 1989

30 BBC WILDLIFE March 2023

Visit discoverwildlife.com/60faves to vote today!

BOXING BROWN HARES

Bag a ringside seat to see