CATEGORIES

Holding out for a hero

One brave woman, one soggy badger - and a jet ski

SNAP-CHAT WITH BBC WILDLIFE PICTURE EDITOR TOM GILKS

Ben Hall on destructive deer and getting socked by a gannet

Algae: simple plants or simply plant-like?

WHAT ARE ALGAE? THE TERM IS used for everything from microscopic bacteria and plankton to pond slime and seaweeds, but unlike animals and many other living things, algal groups are an assortment without a single common ancestor. That said, one feature is shared by most algae in every group: photosynthesis – the ability to make food from carbon dioxide and sunlight, releasing oxygen, just like plants.

TOTALLY CHOUGHED

After a 200-year absence, the rare red-billed chough has been returned to its ancient Kent homeland

Норе for the high seas

Global leaders have agreed to a landmark treaty that will safeguard marine life in our shared waters

HIDE AND SEEK

The western lowland gorilla is not as familiar as its mountain cousin, but the forests of Central Africa are gradually revealing the secrets of this elusive ape

PHOTO OPPORTUNITY

An initiative in South Africa is using cameras to nurture the conservationists of tomorrow

GIMME SHELTER

In Costa Rica, a pioneering charity is helping vulnerable sloths that have lost their homes due to deforestation

STUCK IN THE MIDDLE

SEA SLATER - Meet the giant woodlouse that can only survive in the damp zone between land and sea

BLOWIN' IN THE WIND

Catch all the action as spectacular cetaceans swim by our shores

MARK CARWARDINE

\"Why would killer whales attack yachts in 21st-century Europe?\"

Aim of the game

Adult craneflies appear in September with the purpose to mate

Speedy fish

After disappearing in the 1960s, turbocharged bluefin tuna are back

Hummingbirds know their drink-fly limits

New research shows that one particular species can function under the influence - up to a point

Lost & Found

COMMON SWIFTS ARE A FAMILIAR FIXTURE of our summer skies, but there are a number of rarer species in this bird family that visit as occasional vagrants from afar.

Iceland suspends fin whale hunting

The groundbreaking decision lasts until late August and could spell the end of whaling in the country

Katty Baird

National Museums Scotland volunteer and author of Meetings with Moths on documenting British Lepidoptera

GILLIAN BURKE

\"People still believe there's a ticking human population time-bomb\"

Nothing scary to see here

House spiders start to appear indoors in search of warmth and a mate

Scarlet fever

Black bryony is an unmissable hedgerow highlight

Milestone for iconic eagles

For the first time in 240 years, a white-tailed eagle has fledged in the wild at a secret location in southern England

Return of the dragons

Endangered lizard seen for the first time in more than 50 years

Mighty migrants

Bar-tailed godwits show admirable athleticism

Shifting sands

When the sun sets, a baby turtle's life has only just begun

HOPE SPRINGS

Manatee habitat was threatened in Florida but is being restored, one blade of grass at a time

THE POWER OF PONDS

Our farmland ponds have vanished, but new initiatives are bringing back these biodiversity powerhouses

LIVING IT LARGE

Patagotitan is likely the biggest dinosaur to have walked the Earth. Here's how it lived its supersized life.

PLASTIC PERIL

Intimate photos of flesh-footed shearwaters reveal fascinating behaviour - and research into a growing threat

MAKE YOURSELF AT HOME

On the edge of a remote mountain slope in northern India, a secretive cat becomes part of village life

SAIL AWAY

The drifting siphonophore with a killer reputation that paralyses its prey