It is a sunny August morning and Tony Juniper CBE, chair of Natural England, is standing beside a beaver created wetland on the River Otter in Devon. He is there to announce a consultation on the release of beavers into the wild, and to reveal that the animal is to be given legal protection as a native species – a status so rudely interrupted here some 400 years ago when it was hunted to extinction.
The River Otter hosted a five-year research project investigating the impact of the beavers’ return to our rivers. The project received very little financial support from government at its outset in 2015, but ended as Defra’s flagship example of species reintroduction. Five years can be a long time in conservation politics.
On a pause between press interviews, Juniper suddenly sees an unexpected bird flying around. He knows instantly what it is: a peach-faced lovebird. How is he so certain? Well, not only has Juniper been one of our better-known environmental campaigners, he is also an expert on parrots. The bird, probably a fugitive from a private collection, adds a pleasingly surreal quality to proceedings. Juniper takes to Twitter: “A touch of Zambia in Devon!”
هذه القصة مأخوذة من طبعة November 2021 من BBC Wildlife.
ابدأ النسخة التجريبية المجانية من Magzter GOLD لمدة 7 أيام للوصول إلى آلاف القصص المتميزة المنسقة وأكثر من 9,000 مجلة وصحيفة.
بالفعل مشترك ? تسجيل الدخول
هذه القصة مأخوذة من طبعة November 2021 من BBC Wildlife.
ابدأ النسخة التجريبية المجانية من Magzter GOLD لمدة 7 أيام للوصول إلى آلاف القصص المتميزة المنسقة وأكثر من 9,000 مجلة وصحيفة.
بالفعل مشترك? تسجيل الدخول
Jump Around - Bagheera Kiplingi - The acrobatic spider with a predilection for veggie food
Spiders eat flies, right? everyone knows that the 45,000 or so spiders in the world are all obligate carnivores, more or less – eating other animals, mainly invertebrates. Nature, however, loves an exception, and one particular spider missed out on that ecological memo. It goes by the wonderful scientific name of Bagheera kiplingi, and its claim to fame is that its diet is – at least mostly – vegetarian.
Female of the Species - Zebras - A strong sisterhood is key to staying safe
Zebras are masters of confusion. Their collective noun is ‘a dazzle’, which is fitting since their bodies and behaviour have been surprising scientists for centuries.
See It, Save It? - Wildlife tourism can be a powerful ally in protecting nature - but it can also harm it. We weigh up the pros and cons.
The sums of wildlife travel aren’t as simple as more tourists equals happier nature. How much did my visit really contribute to the conservation of Lady Liuwa and her habitat – and was that outweighed by carbon emissions from my flights? Did my presence disturb the animals’ natural behaviour more than it reduced the threat of poaching or benefited local communities?The question of whether wildlife travel is, on balance, good for wildlife is a complex one – and there’s no simple answer.
Can Your Really Offset Emissions? - Planning an overseas wildlife-watching trip entails facing some inconvenient truths
Imagine (or maybe you don't need to) that you hanker after the safari trip of a lifetime in sub-Saharan Africa. A 17-day tour beginning at the iconic Victoria Falls, passing through Zimbabwe, Zambia, Malawi and Tanzania, taking in some of the continent’s most wildlife-rich national parks, and ending on the lush island of Zanzibar.
Metamorphosis: a life-changing event
WITH EVOLUTIONARY BIOLOGIST JV CHAMARY
New series for BBC One: Asia
Settle in this autumn for a new natural-history extravaganza on BBC One and iPlayer: the longawaited Asia, presented by Sir David Attenborough.
Loss of Antarctic sea ice could impact seabird food supply
Albatrosses and petrels may be forced to fly further to feed
Tarsiers in trouble
Urgent action is needed to ensure survival of the Yoda-like primate
SNAP-CHAT
Chien Lee on shrew loos, rogue drones and being rained out of bed
VISIONS OF NATURE
The winners of the Wildlife Artist of the Year competition 2024, from David Shepherd Wildlife Foundation
