ABOUT THE PHOTOGRAPHER
Stefano Unterthiner is an award-winning Italian photographer, specialising in the life stories of animals in the wild. He also focuses on conservation and environmental issues, particularly human-wildlife conflict and coexistence. See more of his work at: stefano unterthiner.com.
Rock stars
Mareeba rock-wallabies pause among the boulders of Granite Gorge Nature Park, northern Queensland. Weighing under 5kg, this is one of the smallest of about 50 marsupial species of the macropod ('big foot') family in Australia, including four species of kangaroo, plus wallabies, wallaroos and pademelons.
Night vision
Most marsupials - including this eastern grey kangaroo, photographed under a full moon in Murramarang National Park, New South Wales - are largely nocturnal or crepuscular, resting in shade during the day. Sexual dimorphism is also common: male eastern greys can weigh over 60kg, twice as much as females.
Snout and about
Curious Mareeba rock-wallabies check out Stefano's lens in Granite Gorge Nature Park. Among the most social of macropods, this rare species its range limited to a small area of Queensland - forms groups of several dozen individuals.
Fight club
tussle at Eastern grey kangaroos Halls Gap in Grampians National Park, Victoria. Males 'box' with their front paws to establish dominance, the strongest being the most likely to mate with a receptive female. "This pair seemed to be play fighting, as if in training for serious combat," says Stefano. "When you've seen big males really battling in earnest, you know the difference!"
Forest forager
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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
