In recent decades, Britain has seen the reintroductions and translocations of many animals, from red kites and great bustards to pine martens and natterjack toads. But the pioneering Scottish Beaver Trial has been, if anything, even more significant than any…
In this new series of articles, The Nature Nook will be taking a look at a variety of legendary creatures from around the world, along with the animals that may have inspired them. For our first foray into the realm…
Beavers are some of the greatest construction workers in the mammalian world. They are dam-builders, lumberjacks, engineers, architects and transport planners all rolled into one. They have, perhaps, a bigger deliberate impact on their surroundings than any other animal besides…
With Easter now upon us, I’m sure many of us are about to partake in the bizarre custom of eating large chocolate eggs delivered by a beribboned bunny. But as you’re smashing up your chocolaty treat, take a moment to…
The common ostrich is the tallest and heaviest bird alive today. It can grow up to 2.8 metres in height and weigh up to 150 kg, which is 50,000 times heavier than the smallest bird, the bee hummingbird. Unsurprisingly, the…
Last week, in the run-up to Easter, we looked at the history and the ecological importance of the European rabbit. Today, we’re turning our attention to its larger and more elusive relative, the brown hare. Like we mentioned last time,…
From the 1930s through to the 1960s, a small aquatic frog was used as a biological pregnancy test. This may sound suspiciously like one of those medieval folk remedies – in the same vein of shaving the rear end of…
With Easter now approaching, The Nature Nook is going to be taking a look at a few animals that are closely associated with this springtime holiday. The first to take centre stage is the European rabbit, which I’m sure we’ve…
If you’ve been keeping up to date with our British Wildlife of the Week series, you’ll know Britain is home to many weird and wonderful creatures. But during springtime, they all start to have babies. It’s my favourite time of…
Last August, I wrote two articles on the coronavirus pandemic – one explaining how the virus passed from animals to humans, probably via a wildlife market in China, and another exploring how the subsequent lockdowns impacted wildlife and the environment…
Amphibians rely on water for a number of very important reasons. Firstly, although most modern amphibians possess lungs, many of them are extremely simple and are not completely sufficient for their needs. This means that oxygen intake is often supplemented…
Britain is home to many small, skulking, inconspicuous warblers that superficially look very similar to one another. Drab, nondescript and unmemorable, they are the ultimate ‘little brown jobs’ – small seed- or bug-eating passerines of unexceptional shape or colouring. The…