Why do birds have such bright colours and dramatic mating displays? Take the lilac-breasted roller, a bird with bright purple plumage and electric blue under their wings, who fly high in looping circles before tipping backwards in the sky and stalling their flight, resulting in backward rolls through the air.
When I say Queen, wipe out any romantic image you have of the beautiful mistress of the Kingdom, the Khaleesi-like war queen who masterminds the movements of her troops and plans to conquer the Seven Kingdoms. The Queen of a termite colony is an obese lump of eggs whose sole purpose is to push out thousands of eggs every single day, unable to move, while her workers constantly feed her royal jelly.
From ornate archways surrounded by colourful plastic gardens to the labyrinths of tunnels built inside towering termite mounds, animal architecture is a source of some of the most awe-inspiring natural wonders.
Slowly a wrinkled, slimy creature began to unfold itself from its spiral home, gradually morphing into a familiar shape as its delicate eye stalks extended towards me and it slides forward, leaving a shining trail behind.
Whatever you do, don’t take your pigeon to the cinema.
I’m going to climb a tree to 80 metres. That’s pretty high. Higher than the Leaning Tower of Pisa, at 56 metres. Higher than Nelson’s Column in Trafalgar Square, at 51 metres. Just 13 metres short of the Statue of Liberty. But I’m not just going to climb that high, pee my pants and climb … Continue reading
If there was ever a perfect case study into how documentaries can engage the public in an environmental campaign, Blue Planet II and oceans plastic awareness is it. (Blackfish is also up there, but let’s not digress) Like a lot of us, I think, I’ve been a well-intentioned but lazy consumer. I started carrying around … Continue reading
These people never lose their accents, and remain convinced that Zimbabwe is the most beautiful place in the world, regardless of the trouble they’ve had living there. Continue reading
Does this track have a dewclaw, or is that just a bump in the sand? Is that the sound of a car being locked, or the call of the crimson breasted shrike? Continue reading
By picking up hitch-hikers, drivers forge bonds within a community of mutual trust and create a common good, which will then be passed on by the hitch-hikers in the future, creating a reciprocal cycle of solidarity. Continue reading
Spontaneity has been one of the best treatments for anxiety I have found so far, as it is difficult to worry about something when you don’t know which direction your feet will be pointing when you wake up, when changing your mind has no consequences. Continue reading
The ten species with the sharpest observed population declines in the last 25 years, and although some you may never have seen before, others may surprise you. If action to stop these declines isn’t taken soon, we may lose wildlife wonders such as starling murmurations and the haunting cuckoo call. Continue reading
Nina Seale interviews former Material World host Quentin Cooper, whose background includes both science and journalism, to find out how these problems in communication should best be tackled. Continue reading
Nina Seale interviews Packham about his views on pandas, the badger cull and his aspirations for conservation. Continue reading
If we burn the fossil fuels currently listed in the world’s stock exchange, the market is going to have serious losses in the agriculture sector, as well as unpredictable consequences from natural disasters and water insecurity. Continue reading
