Innholdsfortegnelse for March 2017 i BBC Wildlife Magazine

NATURE RESERVE SPOTLIGHT WHERE Leek, Staffordshire, ST13 7EU WARDEN Paul Bennett WHY YOU SHOULD VISIT Visit RSPB Coombes Valley to experience spectacular views from our viewpoints across a beautiful frosty wooded landscape. WHAT YOU CAN SEE March is an excellent time of year to spot large flocks of fieldfares and redwings, and if you’re lucky you may hear a lesser spotted woodpecker. The reserve is also home to willow tits that regularly visit our feeding stations – the Red Listed species is declining fast in the UK. TOP WILDLIFE SPOT In 2016 we opened a new walkway on the reserve. It’s a fantastic feeling being whisked up into the canopy on a bouncy rope bridge – my children love it! JOIN ITS EVENT Join us on 5 March for a…

It’s something of a tragedy that we cannot converse with our primate cousins. With so much in common, there would surely be plenty to talk about. It has long been pondered why our closest relatives are incapable of speech. And, according to new research, one fashionable possibility can now be ruled out. There are two broad explanations to account for non-human primates’ lack of conversational skills. One is that their vocal tracts cannot form the variety of sounds required. The other is that their brains and nervous systems are not wired up to control the sounds. The new study analyses the anatomy of the vocal tracts of rhesus macaques and finds that their larynx, vocal chords, mouth and tongue should be quite capable of producing the range of vowel and…

When I was a teenager, I was fortunate to learn the songs and calls of many of our British birds, as I was asked to take on the Common Birds Census for Edgbaston Park in Birmingham. For some years our school natural history society had been running the British Trust for Ornithology (BTO) survey on the adjoining nature reserve, only a mile or so from the city centre. As a school club set up by, among others, renowned birder, conservationist and TV personality Bill Oddie, it relied on new generations of surveyors to keep the annual scheme running, and I was the latest in a long line. When I was learning about that first census from my predecessor, I found some of the calls confusing. Interestingly, these calls turned out…

FRENCH WOLVES A pair of wolves has been living in the Rambouillet Forest, southwest of Paris, for at least a year, according to the French group Alliance avec les loups (Alliance with wolves). The alliance’s Manoël Atman said another wolf was living in the Essonne department, south of the capital. “WOW, 25° BELOW, RECORD COLD SPELL. GLOBAL WARMING, ANYONE?” New US president Donald Trump tweeted this in February 2015. Reports suggest he wants to drop out of the Paris Agreement on limiting emissions of greenhouse gases. LEOPARD ALARM Camera-trap footage taken in China’s Tibetan Plateau region has shown both snow leopards and leopards in the same area, the first time this is known to have happened. Scientists say climate change could push the tree line higher and lead to the…

• ALWAYS TRY to return a hedgehog to where it was found unless there are obvious reasons not to do so. • PUT OUT half a tin of meaty dog or cat food each night until no longer taken. • TRY AND KEEP the food out of reach of your local cat population – one way to do this is to place the food in a feeding dish underneath a paving slab supported by two bricks (so a hog can get at it, but a cat can’t). • GIVE YOUR hedgehog a hibernation and sleeping place – you can buy these in garden centres or build your own. • PUT IT in a shady, sheltered spot facing away from the worst of the weather (in a shrubbery works well). If…

“THE REGION IS SOMETHING OF A WILDLIFE RESERVOIR.” What’s special about the south-west? For a remarkably small area, it has a hugely varied environment. Unlike most of England, population and industrial pressures in the south-west are relatively light, so there is still a significant amount of open space. And the region did not suffer the same level of environmental damage as the rest of the country during the 1960s–80s, so it’s something of a wildlife reservoir. Which part are you most fond of? The ‘toe’ of land between Penzance and Land’s End. I grew up here and the rugged remoteness still appeals. Can you suggest three unmissable locations? First, the Isles of Scilly. The quality of the light, the colours of the water and the curves of the sandy bays…

1 HAWKSBILL TURTLE Cayo Largo del Sur Hawksbills arrive at Cayo Largo to lay their eggs between April and September. There is a turtle conservation project here whereby eggs are taken and hatched, giving hatchlings a better chance of survival when they are released. 2 ANTILLEAN MANATEE Humedal Río Máximo-Cagüey The same species (but separate subspecies) to that found in Florida, the Antillean manatee does well in this protected area of mangroves and swamp evergreen forests. 3 BEE HUMMINGBIRD Guanahacabibes Peninsula You can’t visit Cuba and not see the world’s smallest bird. The bee hummingbird weighs in at about 2g, which is less than a sugar lump. 4 CUBAN PARAKEET Finca La Belén, Camagüey South of the town of Najasa, on poor roads, Finca La Belén is both a working…

In some parts of Alaska, the sockeye salmon is easily the most important component of a brown bear’s diet, contributing to between 60–80 per cent of its annual nutritional intake. But since the salmon are only ‘running’ for three months of the years, the bears must make the most of the opportunity when it comes along. ‘Carpe diem’, as the phrase goes – or ‘Carpe salmo’, perhaps. The need to gorge while the going is good means a dominant male can catch up to 30 fish a day at Brook Falls, in Katmai National Park, helping to add up to 180kg of body weight – that’s nearly three average-sized humans – to help see him through his winter hibernation. While this spectacle is taking place on many of Alaska’s rivers,…

As Galápagos species go, the Galápagos sealion isn’t special. It’s not endemic (they also live off the coast of Ecuador), and there are many other members of the islands’ fauna that have carved out more extraordinary niches – the marine iguana springs to mind, as does the giant tortoise. But while the Galápagos are famous as the crucible that helped Charles Darwin form his theory of evolution, this doesn’t mean you shouldn’t have some fun while you’re there. It’s not all work, work, work. After a hard day contemplating how land iguanas adapted to a marine lifestyle and a diet of algae, nothing beats donning your mask and diving into the Pacific Ocean for some playtime. Sealions do know how to play, and as long as you give them ample…

Visit the Elephant Nature Park in Chiang Mai – an elephant rehabilitation centre funded by Save Elephant Foundation, a local project supported by Rickshaw. You’ll learn all about Asian elephants, how to contribute to their ethical treatment and even prepare them a tasty lunch. Explore Khao Sok National Park and stay at an eco-lodge built by the local community. The lodge employs people from the area to run the accommodation and has trained guides to run tours throughout the park, giving you an insight into this beautiful area from a local’s perspective. The lodge was built as a sustainable property; recycling, reusing and reducing their impact on the environment. The park is also home to a handful of exotic species, including gibbons, clouded leopards, tapirs and elephants. Immerse yourself in…

NICK BAKER Naturalist and TV presenter Nick is thrilled by life’s minutiae. In his new column he discusses barnacles. “Never is the excitement as great as when the surprises are close to home,” he says. See p11 GRAHAM APPLETON Writer Graham shares the joy of recapturing the sound of birdsong with his new hearing aids. He says, “The full richness of a robin’s song immediately brought a smile to my face.” See p30 HELEN PILCHER Helen had her preconceptions about earthworms smashed after spending time with a worm expert.“They’re not boring and brown,” she says.“Earthworms are the unsung superheroes of the animal kingdom.” See p38…

BOMB SITES A small species of the Bombus genus, early bumblebees have distinctive ginger tails and one or two yellow bands around their shaggy-haired bodies. Those seen in gardens this month are queens foraging or prospecting for suitable nest-sites – compost heaps and old birds’ nests may be used. OLD YELLER The brimstone is the longest lived of our native butterflies and can survive for up to 11 months. Adults on the wing in March emerged last August then hibernated through the winter. Bright, sulphur-yellow males (females are paler) are often seen flitting along roadside verges from now until June. SIGNATURE SONG They might be beaten back to Britain by sand martins or wheatears, but chiffchaffs are the first of our spring arrivals to sing. Their eponymous, two-tone chime is…

1 Mar ADULT SHORESEARCH Join Yorkshire Wildlife Trust staff at 11am to search for weird and wonderful rockpool creatures, including anemones, fish and crabs in this adult only event. Tickets cost £5 (non-member) or £3 (member). Booking is essential. http://bit.ly/2gE6Qbd 10-19 Mar BRITISH SCIENCE WEEK This year British Science Week (BSW) has a penguin theme. You can get involved by annotating images of penguins for a citizen science project called Penguin Watch. The data you collect will help improve our understanding of these birds. http://bit.ly/1UbxYz3 25 Mar WWF EARTH HOUR Now in its tenth year, this annual World Wildlife Fund event takes place across at least 178 countries and territories. To take part you need to turn off your lights for an hour at 8.30pm to show…

A new study in the Baltic Sea shows that offshore windfarms are dangerously attractive to migrating raptors. Little is known about the risk of bird collisions with turbine blades. Many seabirds don’t fly high enough to be threatened, but others – gannets, for example – are more vulnerable. There is also concern for soaring migrants such as raptors and storks, which tend to island-hop across large expanses of water. Are they similarly drawn to windfarms? Using radar to track raptors migrating between Denmark and Germany, biologists led by Henrik Skov, senior ecologist at Danish Hydraulic Institute (DHI) in Denmark, have shown that they are inclined to alter their flightpaths towards the turbines. Skov told BBC Wildlife that there are three options for mitigating the collision risk. “Deter the raptors when…

NEOTENY Most juvenile animals aren’t simply miniature adults. Rarely is this more obvious than among amphibians – think of a tadpole and a frog. Sometimes, though, youthful characteristics are retained into adulthood. In the axolotl, an aquatic Mexican salamander, adults are essentially sexually mature tadpoles. Neoteny can also be seen in flightless female glow worms, which are much like their larvae. Humans’ large heads may be a neotenous development to make space for our big brains.…

DEEP TROUBLE A Hawaiian octopus discovered last year (BBC Wildlife, May 2016) has very particular habitat requirements. According to Current Biology, it attaches its eggs to sponges that grow only on mineral nodules, which are attractive to mining companies. TAILS OF THE UNEXPECTED Defence against predators may not be the chief reason that lizards drop their tails. Animal Ecology reports that, for two species of Mediterranean gecko, tail-loss rates are highest among dense populations on islands with no predators, suggesting it has more to do with aggressive disputes between rivals. AMBER ALERT Evidence for feathered dinosaurs doesn’t get much firmer than a tail preserved in amber with fine primitive feathers. The 99-million-year-old fossil from Myanmar is described in Current Biology. POISON OR PANACEA? A hormone in platypus venom could be…

SPURN NNR AND SPURN BIRD OBSERVATORY The best times of year to go to Spurn are April/May and September/ October for migrant songbirds, and over the winter for Brent geese and shelducks. Autumn 2016 was notable for impressive numbers of redwings, song thrushes, firecrests and red-breasted flycatchers. www.spurnbird observatory.co.uk; www.ywt.org.uk/  reserves/spurn-nature-reserve. Spurn Migration Festival takes place on 8–10 September 2017. http://spurnmigfest.com NORTH CAVE WETLANDS Avocets arrive at North Cave to breed in early March, other waders such as ringed plovers and lapwings in March or early April and common terns in April or early May. Some 300 pairs of sand martins breed at the reserve. Teal, wigeon, gadwalls and shovelers arrive for the winter in late autumn. www.northcavewetlands.com TOPHILL LOW NATURE RESERVE More than 1,000 wigeon and 700 teal overwinter…

To see humpbacks around Britain and Ireland, narrow the odds by focusing on these areas. All often support dense aggregations of sprats, herrings or mackerel. HEBRIDES The waters off Tiumpan Head on the Isle of Lewis, and between Skye and Gairloch, can be very fruitful for cetaceans large and small. SOUTHERN IRELAND Rich hunting for humpback, fin and minke whales and several dolphin species. Fin whales peak in October and November. SHETLAND Sightings annual, having increased in recent years. Most are in midwinter but summer reports are on the rise too. Also a hotspot for orcas. OUTER MORAY FIRTH & EAST GRAMPIAN Humpbacks are just one of the species often seen here: also watch for fin and sperm whales, orcas and smaller cetaceans. YORKSHIRE’S NORTH COAST A relatively new hotspot,…

“BYCATCH IS ONE OF THE MOST SERIOUS CONSERVATION PROBLEMS IN THE WORLD TODAY › ONE DESCRIBED BY MANY EXPERTS AS THE ‘BIGGIE’.” WHAT IS FISHERIES BYCATCH? It is the term used for the staggering number of animals caught incidentally during fishing operations around the world – animals that fishermen usually do not want, cannot sell, or are not allowed to keep. They are simply thrown back over the side, dead or dying. Bycatch is one of the most serious conservation problems in the world today – one that many experts describe as the ‘biggie’. WHY DOES IT HAPPEN? Many fishing techniques are shockingly indiscriminate and few can target a single species without catching other species by mistake. So wherever there is fishing, there is bycatch. Thousands of miles of highly…

Vale Wildlife Hospital took in 4,535 casualties in 2016, including 79 species of wild bird (and quite a few domestic ones), 27 species of mammal (including the odd domestic cat or dog), 9 species of reptile (most of them non-native and probably escaped pets such as a royal python), three species of amphibian and a goldfish. HEDGEHOG Number admitted: 1,014 Primary reason: Most hedgehogs brought into Vale come in during the autumn and winter and are juveniles from the year’s second litter that are underweight to cope with the coldest part of the year. Hedgehogs represent 22 per cent of all admissions to the hospital. WILD BOAR Number admitted: 5 Primary reason: Luckily for staff at Vale Wildlife, all the wild boar that were brought in were piglets and not…

What does FoTF do? We work in partnership with the Forestry Commission to help everyone access and enjoy Thetford Forest, which straddles north Suffolk and south Norfolk. What sort of work do your volunteers get involved with? Our volunteers look after Lynford Arboretum, check walking trails, meet and greet, undertake archaeological research and carry out conservation tasks. How does their work directly help wildlife? In various ways! Just some of our recent conservation tasks have included constructing and maintaining bird and bat boxes, improving habitat through clearance work, carrying out local pool-frog reintroductions, building a toad fence at a road crossing point, caring for our Goshawk Trail and making tern rafts. How much time do you request from volunteers? People can give as much time as they wish. The usual…

“There’s one looking straight at me,” remarks Stephen Fry in the 2009 series Last Chance to See that he co-presented with BBC Wildlife columnist Mark Carwardine, “and I have to say, it’s one of the most malevolent expressions I’ve ever seen on any living thing.” Malevolent or not, Komodo dragons are the largest member of the monitor lizard family, occasionally reaching a length of 3m and weighing up to 90kg. Historians speculate that Chinese traders, travelling to the Lesser Sunda Islands in the 2nd century, came across these fearsome beasts and returned home with stories that exacerbated, or even inspired, dragon mythology. Some maps, it is said, are inscribed with the legend, “Here be dragons”. They are certainly fearsome beasts, possessing huge claws that can disembowel a horse, a thick…

There are other great migrations in Africa. In Botswana, thousands of plains zebras travel 1,000km – the longest terrestrial journey of any mammal on the continent – from the floodplains of the Chobe River to the Nxai Pan and back again every year, while in South Sudan, some 1.2m or more antelopes, including 800,000 white-eared kob, form herds 80km long and 50km wide. But still, the wildebeest migration in the Serengeti and Masai Mara is the spectacle with which all others must bear comparison. While the sheer numbers – often cited at about 1.5m animals in total – are mind-boggling, and the grisly challenge of the Mara and Grumeti river crossings exhilarating, it is perhaps the migration’s never-ending circularity that gives it the greatest resonance. The synchronised calving of the…

Our fascinating planet harbours an incredible array of landscapes and ecosystems, which, in turn, are home to a remarkable diversity of life. In terms of iconic species and memorable encounters, Africa must be the stand-out continent. There is so much more to this magical region than the traditional safari on the plains – there are fascinating and contrasting wildlife experiences to be had right across Africa. Wildlife Worldwide’s experts have travelled far and wide in search of some of the very best natural encounters, expanding their unrivalled knowledge year-on-year. Whether you are looking to experience the natural wonder of the wildebeest migration, incredible encounters with big cats on the rolling plains of the Masai Mara or the Serengeti, witness the vast numbers of straw-coloured fruit bats in Zambia’s Kasanka National…

Situated in the heart of the South Atlantic Ocean, this small British Overseas Territory may be one of the remotest places on Earth, but it is also one of the most extraordinary places you can visit. Its unique character and unspoiled beauty lies in contrasting and spectacular scenery, a rich cultural heritage and an environment extremely rich in biodiversity. Follow in the footsteps of explorers such as Charles Darwin, Edmund Halley and Captain James Cook in discovering St Helena’s fascinating range of plant and animal life. The island is home to over one thousand species, of which more than 400 are endemic, including the Wirebird. Clear, warm waters, 18th century wrecks and fascinating marine life, including almost 50 species only found in St Helena’s waters, make the island an irresistible…

If you’ve ever wondered where the northern gannet gets its scientific name Morus bassanus , then a visit to Bass Rock should put an end to your contemplation. Bassanus … Bass Rock – yes, the bird gets its name from this volcanic plug squatting in the outer edges of the Firth of Forth. Some 75,000 pairs breed and raise their chicks here, almost a fifth of the global population, and the sight of even 10 of them hanging in the air, those lovely emulsion-white feathers gently tousled by the wind, before the inevitable, stomach-churning plunge, is enough to melt even the hardest of hearts. Then add this to the mix: gannets are a wildlife success story. Numbers in the UK have increased by a third in a decade and on…

In 1973, the American author Peter Matthiessen accompanied the great field biologist George Schaller on his study of blue sheep in Nepal, and later wrote the travel classic The Snow Leopard, even though he never laid eyes on one during the two-month trip. Thanks in part to the book, but also their elusive nature, snow leopards became a byword for something as mythological and cryptic as the yeti – despite the fact that they were real. How things change. The advance of digital technology has led to the development of cheap, easy-to-use remote cameras, and they have not only helped scientists uncover details of their once-mysterious lives but also made it far easier to see them in the flesh, because we know much more about where and how they live.…

Whale sharks can be identified by a tool originally developed by NASA to chart the night sky. But instead of mapping stars, the algorithm analyses the pattern of spots on their flanks and topsides and compares them to other sharks in a database. Getting into the water with one, then, could be likened to taking a dip with a living galaxy. And while that might be stretching things a little, with its gaping mouth, strangely flattened head, the ridges along its side and the dense pattern of spots set against an inky-black background, a whale shark could legitimately be described as being out of this world. At up to 12m long it is the largest fish on Earth. Of course, there is nothing to fear from these sharks, because despite…

It is probably true, as the Jigokudani Yaen-koen ‘wild snow monkey park’ website says, that there are many notable aspects of the lives of these Japanese macaques, other than the fact that they bathe in thermal springs. But, really, it’s difficult to imagine what. This is the place where – in 1963 – a young female macaque called Mukubili first went into one of the springs to retrieve some soya beans, and found the 43-C temperature of the water was preferable to the sub-zero one of the chilly mountain air. The practice soon spread, first to younger monkeys, then to all those in the area, and since then the monkeys have featured in dozens of natural history documentaries and been snapped by thousands of professional wildlife and enthusiastic amateur photographers.…

“TWO BUD-LIKE, RED FEMALE FLOWERS AWAIT THE ARRIVAL OF THIS GOLDEN RAIN.” Glowing with a stirring of early spring sunshine, hazel catkins dance on the breeze and shower sparks of pollen into the sky. At the same moment, two bud-like female flowers, their vivid red tufts visible in the top-centre of Valter Binotto’s award-winning image, await the arrival of this life-generating golden rain. Hazel is monoecious, meaning both male and female flowers are found on the same plant, although pollen must be transferred between different trees for fertilisation to take place. The male catkins, or inflorescences, hang like clusters of catatonic caterpillars from mid-February (or earlier in more sheltered, lowland areas), appearing ahead of leaves, so the wind can disperse the millions of microscopic pollen grains more easily. Recent research…

ACORN BARNACLE Have you ever considered barnacles other than when one skins your knees or makes you dance painfully, barefoot across intertidal rocks? These little crustaceans get ignored by most of us. If we see them at all, they’re out of the water and closed up – a small, mysterious capsule of calcium that gives away few clues as to what actually lives inside. Within each tiny turret is an intertidal survival specialist able to tough out the harshest of conditions, by trapping a bubble of seawater in its fortress of perfectly interconnecting plates when the tide retreats. Superficially, a barnacle looks like a limpet; many mistakenly think that they are molluscs. But look closely at barnacles underwater and you’ll see something that no mollusc has: jointed legs. Next time…

WHAT The Wildlife of Devon WHEN 7.30pm on Monday 27 March WHERE West Charleton Village Hall, Devon Local naturalist John Walters will be revealing in this talk the amazing variety of wildlife found on moorlands and along coastlines in Devon through field sketches, photographs and video clips. The illustrator was interviewed during an episode of BBC One’s The One Show, which featured the rufous grasshopper. He will be sharing his knowledge of this species and others during the evening. “The rufous grasshopper is quite rare locally, and has a beautiful courtship display,” he says. Kingsbridge Natural History Society members can attend for free and tickets cost £3 for non-members. John illustrated The Wildlife of Dartmoor by Norman Baldock. For more information on his talk visit: http://bit.ly/2kmXMxg…

“NOW, THOUGH, HE HAD A NEW CHALLENGE: TO EMBRACE ZOOLOGY.” I remember a series of Sunday mornings collecting food for my lizards. I remember sitting on the collapsed carcass of a Dutched elm, watching him peel back the bark and scrabble to squeeze spiders into a jam jar. Shirt, no tie – it was Sunday after all – but still with that trademark sense of purpose, of focus, of a job worth doing… and doing well. My pause was brief – I didn’t want to be caught slacking. I never feared his frowns, nor feared him, but I knew if I didn’t strive to succeed, to fumble more ‘bugs’ into my jar, then when they were measured I’d be found wanting. (He still got twice as many spiders as me.)…

A RECENT ITEM ON COUNTRYFILE SUGGESTED THERE IS GROWING PRESSURE FROM ANGLERS TO CULL OTTERS, BUT DR DANIEL ALLEN OF THE UK WILD OTTER TRUST DISAGREES . Are otters a problem for freshwater fisheries? Predation can eat into the profits of those with vested interests in fish, but measures can be taken to prevent otters from taking stock from still-water fisheries. What measures? A physical barrier that otters cannot climb over, pass through or under is the most effective deterrent for managed stillwater fisheries and fish farms. Otter-proof fencing specifications have become standardised as part of Natural England licensing conditions. Otter-feeding (‘sacrificial’) ponds can also be effective. Is there pressure from anglers to cull otters that become a problem? There is no pressure for an otter…

When did you first learn about birds of paradise? I was eight years old. I had a set of playing cards with the birds on the back. I asked my mother if they actually existed, and she said “yes, in Papua New Guinea”. From that day I’ve always wanted to go there. How tough was the whole experience? I was pretty uncomfortable a lot of the time. It was hot and humid, and the food was appalling. It was also muddy, which made it difficult for me to get around. But I got to see this extraordinary, remote part of the world and witness tribal practices that few have seen. The Niowra performed a welcome-back ceremony for Benedict, and their costumes and displays were amazing. Did you get a sense…

OUR EXPERTS STUART BLACKMAN is a science writer who is mildly obsessed with evolution. KATE JONES is an ecologist and former chair of the Bat Conservation Trust (BCT). BEN GARROD is an evolutionary biologist who specialises in both primates and skeletons. MIKE TOMS is an author and associate director at the British Trust for Ornithology (BTO). SARAH MCPHERSON edits the monthly Q&A pages. Send her your questions. Q BIOLOGY How do burrowing desert animals not inhale sand? A There’s plenty of air in the tiny spaces between grains of sand; the problem for sand-burrowing animals is how to get that air into their lungs while keeping the sand out. Narrow nostrils help, but other clever adaptations are also needed. The Colorado Desert fringe-toed lizard, for instance, is equipped with a…

14 - 21 February GARDENATURE Taking part in National Nest Box Week gives you the chance to contribute to bird conservation whilst giving you the pleasure of observing any breeding birds that you attract to your bird box. Why not try a ready assembled and easy to set up nest box camera system and create your very own wildlife TV channel within the comfort of your own home? Hand made in the UK, each camera bird box has been carefully designed to provide the perfect nesting environment, increasing the chance for attracting birds into your box and in front of the camera. www. gardenature.co.uk  // 01255 514451 THE OWL BOX Our most popular box is the Barn Owl Nest box with a shelf for £62.50 plus p&p. We also make…

Casting my eye over our selection for this year’s travel supplement, one thing struck me about what links most of our top choices – water. Wild animals love water. Some, like whale sharks (Australia), literally can’t live without it, while others, such as sealions (South America) and gannets (Europe), are entirely dependent on the sea for their food. But for the salmon-fishing bears of Alaska (North America) or Japanese macaques (The Far East), the relationship is more subtle. As for the Serengeti’s wildebeest (Africa), crossing the Mara River is a considerable source of danger. But all of these make for unforgettable wildlife experiences.…

For an animal the size of a small dog and weighing about 7kg, the howler monkey is incredibly noisy. Its guttural roar (in truth, it’s nothing like a howl) is said to be one of the loudest of any terrestrial animal on Earth, and a group of monkeys in concert can be heard up to 5km away. There are 15 different species, and many are of them are not rare, so you don’t have to go to the remote Mayan ruins of Tikal to find one – in this case, the Yucatán or Guatemalan black howler monkey. But the extraordinary location, with its unique stone temples towering above the surrounding rainforest, make this an extra special place to hear the monkey’s roar. To get the best effect, you’ll need to…

Our objective will always be to show you the highlight of a country, but we also like to take you off the beaten track to see the lesser-known, but equally interesting, places not frequented by large numbers of tourists. Our wildlife group tours (formerly Steppes Discovery) have been receiving plaudits now for more than 15 years, from both our clients and conservation partners alike – for example, our Durrell Wildlife Conservation in India, or our Gorillas and Community Conservation in collaboration with Fauna and Flora International in Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of Congo, and our Orangutan Conservation Tour in partnership with the Orangutan Foundation in Indonesian Borneo. Seeing wildlife in its natural habitat is an inspiring and uplifting experience. It is a privilege. Steppes Wildlife Group Tours has three…

Emperor penguins are not like other penguins. They’re not like other birds. They are not quite like most other living things on the planet. Most animals reproduce just as the weather is beginning to warm up in the springtime in order to give their offspring the best possible chance of survival. It’s a pretty standard template that’s evolved over millions of years and it mostly works. Emperor penguins, however, do it the other way round. They lay their eggs in the howling gales and extreme sub-zero temperatures of an Antarctic winter. The female immediately sets off on a fairly lengthy fishing expedition, while the male keeps the egg, and later the chick, warm until she returns to take over childcare duties. The reason for this topsy-turvy approach is because once…