Innholdsfortegnelse for January 2021 i BBC Wildlife Magazine

I’ve always loved this time of year – sharing a feast with the family, watching my son and his cousins playing with their new toys, and the chance to reflect as another year’s over, and a new one just begun. Being something of a soppy sausage, one of my festive highlights is watching George Bailey (James Stewart), and his unbridled joy at finding that his mouth is bleeding. For those unfamiliar with Frank Capra’s 1946 masterpiece, It’s A Wonderful Life, there can surely be no more hopeful scene in Hollywood history than Stewart’s realisation that all is not lost. Far from it. In this moment, reality is revealed to George, and whaddya know – his life is full of wonder. After the year we’ve all just endured, I’m sure we…

1 Kincorth is an Aberdonian suburb south of the River Dee, famed for its large flocks of waxwings during invasion years. The birds come to feed on the berried ornamental trees lining its streets. 2 Didsbury, to the south of Manchester city centre, is a northern outpost for ring-necked parakeets. They frequent its tree-lined streets, botanical garden and nearby Chorlton Water Park. 3 Broomhill, a leafy part of Sheffield (one of the UK’s greenest cities), was immortalised by Sir John Betjeman, who described it as the “prettiest suburb in England”. 4 Stoke Bishop in the north-west of Bristol is renowned as the location for the University of Bristol’s longterm suburban fox study. There is an estimated population of 16 foxes per square kilometre. 5 Putney in south-west London is not…

There is one thing we should be able to take for granted in our so-called civilised society during the 21st century: clean rivers. I remember a time when we mindlessly and routinely treated our stinky waterways as dumping grounds but, surely, we’ve learned from past mistakes? Apparently not. The Government’s green watchdog, the Environment Agency (EA), recently released data on water quality in England – and it makes woefully depressing reading. Every single river in the country is polluted beyond legal limits. And just 14 per cent reach an ecological standard high enough for wildlife to flourish. England’s rivers are now officially among the dirtiest in Europe (where, on average, 40 per cent are considered healthy). But even 40 per cent isn’t something to sing and dance about – we…

Liz Kiambi Kenyan conservationist and former lead of the African Wildlife Foundation Youth Programme. For decades, conservation in Africa has been viewed as a cause for western people. However, this perspective is rapidly changing among African communities, who are recognising wildlife and the environment as fundamental parts of their identities and livelihoods, and understanding that they need to be protected. Young people are at the forefront of this movement. Over the past 10 years, there has been an increase in youth participation in conservation initiatives – including demonstrating their role in economic development. I recently met a representative of a national government who was so impressed by the drive and passion of one particular youth group that he immediately began working towards implementing the changes they were pushing for. Twenty…

“Many people feed the monkeys daily, because of karma or just because they love them.” Visit Lopburi in central Thailand, and you’ll be left in little doubt who’s in charge: long-tailed macaques. “The monkeys act like kings of the city,” explains Joan, who captured this striking shot of one of the city’s simian denizens scampering beneath the piercing gaze of a species-mate in mural form. Tourists have long been drawn to Lopburi’s ‘monkey temple’, the 13th-century Khmer monument Prang Sam Yot, thronged with long-tailed (or crab-eating) macaques. In recent years, though, groups of monkeys have expanded across the city: by September 2020, more than 4,500 were estimated to roam Lopburi’s streets. Historically, locals have revered their primate neighbours, considering them disciples of the monkey-god Hanuman. As numbers rose and their…

Though it might sound like a photography filter or something to do with paint, ‘ecotone’ is how scientists describe a transitional area between two ecosystems. This could be the treeline on a mountain, a patch of scrub between more-open grassland and forest, or a marshy area along a riverbank. Ecotones protect the ecosystems on each side, while providing distinctive conditions that many animals and plants favour, something known as the ‘edge effect’. Often they support a wider species mix than more-uniform habitat. Ben Hoare…

JAMES AGYEPONG›PARSONS Carnivorous plants are making a comeback in England. Journalist James went to meet the ecologist behind it all. “These organisms have as much a place in Britain as the common daisy,” he says. See p32 EIRIK GRØNNINGSÆTER The photographer and field biologist set out to discover more about the plight of the bowhead whale, which was almost hunted to extinction. “Today, rows of whalers’ graves are the only reminder of this period in Svalbard’s history,” he says. See p38 CHRIS PACKHAM Following the adversity faced in 2020, the Springwatch presenter tells us why he’s optimistic for the future: “A lot of people woke up to the fact that we have to offer nature so little in order for it to gain so much.” See p62 BENEDICT MACDONALD Having…

At first sight, there’s not a lot going on in the insect world right now. The colder air, with a risk of freezing, rain and strong winds, not to mention the lack of leaves and flowers to feed on, add up to rather inclement conditions. But one bold family of flies bucks the trend. Go out on a clear, still day, and you may well see clouds of the dainty insects, gloriously backlit by a brumal sun as it sits low in the sky. These ‘fairies of the wintertide’ are winter gnats, in the family Trichoceridae. They look a bit like small craneflies, hence their alternative name of winter craneflies. While not quite as gangly, and lacking a bit in leg length, they are still delicate insects – all spindle-legged…

In 2015, Myanmar’s 70-year armed political conflict was replaced by a brittle ceasefire agreement and tensions remain between the government and the Karen people. Anyone protecting the environment has their work cut out for them, but to do so under these circumstances takes remarkable resilience. For Paul Sein Twa, whose work has recently been recognised with a Goldman Environmental Prize, his strength comes from firm footings in the land. As a child, he remembers travelling on the Salween River, spotting barking deer, peacocks and wild pigs from the boat – sometimes even gibbons swinging past. “In those undisturbed days, before the loggers came, our culture forbade hunting tigers, gibbons and many other species because of their interrelationships with humans as described in our old stories,” he explains. “The gibbon is…

NORTH ATLANTIC RIGHT WHALE From being widespread and fairly common in the North Atlantic, it was hunted to near extinction during the big whaling era. Today’s population is limited to the east coast of the US and Canada, and numbers only about 400 individuals. Now, the biggest threat towards the population is becoming entangled in fishing gear and ship strikes. Individual whales can be recognisable by the callouses that grow on them. NORTH PACIFIC RIGHT WHALE Despite living in the North, this species is more closely related to the southern right whale than any of its northern cousins. Overhunting in the 1800s and early 1900s brought the species to near extinction. Today, there are possibly as few as 1,000 whales left. Main distribution is along the coasts of the Bering…

“We showed the world that we can come together to solve a crisis.” You would be forgiven for thinking that as an environmentalist and founder of a plastic-pollution-fighting organisation, I might have finished 2020 crying into my pillow. Single-use plastic surged as a result of PPE being used to prevent the spread of COVID-19, reusable cups and bottles were off the menu in most cafés and restaurants, and governments around the world were overturning plastic bans. (Happily, not ours! More on that in a moment.) But, thankfully, I haven’t been deterred and, instead of crying, I found myself rejoicing over all the good that came from 2020 when it comes to saving our planet. Admittedly, eco-tears were shed twice last year, thanks to Sir David Attenborough’s Extinction: The Facts and…

We solve your wildlife mysteries. Email your questions to wildquestions@immediate.co.uk More amazing facts at discoverwildlife.com ORNITHOLOGY How does light pollution affect birds? A few birds may benefit from artificial light at night, known as ALAN by researchers. Peregrine falcons, for example, are known to use the urban glow to hunt after dark. But light pollution is likely to be bad for more species. As in people, it disrupts circadian rhythms, making birds more active at night. It interferes with migration, too – since skyglow affects the stars, which birds use to orientate. A study of North American tree swallows found that nestling development can be impacted by light pollution – the chicks may be smaller, show signs of stress and take longer to fledge. There’s also evidence that artificial light…

By contacting us, you consent to let us print your letter in BBC Wildlife Magazine. Letters may be edited. EMAIL US wildlifeletters@immediate.co.uk FOLLOW US facebook.com/wildlifemagazine;twitter.com/WildlifeMag; instagram.com/bbcwildlifemagazine WRITE TO US BBC Wildlife , Eagle House, Colston Avenue, Bristol, BS1 4ST Biodiverse covers I wrote to you in December about the fact that in 2019 there had only been one non-mammalian species as the front cover image on the magazine. I was pleased that you printed part of the letter and the editor revealed that it is a subject that has been discussed. I would like to say well done on featuring some different animal groups on the cover of four of the recent issues. The jewel-like perfection of the kingfisher (May 2020) was surely about as perfect a cover picture as…

As if to secure their position as proper insects of the cold, winter gnats have unwittingly been introduced to Antarctica. In 2006, a large colony of Trichocera maculipennis was discovered at a research station on King George Island. This is a species widespread in the north of Europe, and it is unclear exactly how the gnats made the journey. They have, however, proven highly adaptable, and there are concerns they will leave the research station and naturalise in the wild. Eradication plans are afoot.…

Allergies and other immune disorders are a growing problem among urban populations. One possibility is that a lack of exposure to micro-organisms found in natural environments hinders the development of immune systems. Aki Sinkkonen of the University of Helsinki and his colleagues set about testing this hypothesis by introducing forest soil and plants, including heather, mosses and grasses, to the playgrounds of four Finnish daycare nurseries. Following the transplantations, children displayed an increase in biochemical indicators of immune system function, compared to infants using unmodified playgrounds. These changes were accompanied by a rise in microbial diversity on their skin and in their gut. It’s not yet entirely clear that this immune response is caused by the forest vegetation specifically – any sort of shrubbery, planted in garden compost or urban…

1 SEAL CELEBRATIONS The grey seals at Norfolk’s Blakeney National Nature Reserve have had another strong year. The first pup was spotted there in 1988, and the site has since flourished to become the biggest colony in England. The number of young has burgeoned from just 25 in 2001 to a whopping 3,399 in 2019, a result of low levels of disturbance and mortality during the first key weeks of life, and lack of natural predators. Autumn 2020 again predicted about 4,000 new arrivals – so many that rangers are having to change the way they count. nationaltrust.org.uk 2 TENERIFE A TOP SITE FOR WHALES In February 2021, the pristine waters of Franja Marina Teno-Rasca, south Tenerife, are set to become Europe’s first Whale Heritage Site. The area…

“Every single person has the power to get up and make a difference.” “I was the most angry young man,” Chris Packham says. “At times, I’ve become the most angry older man. But that anger, I understood a long time ago, it’s implicitly important that you don’t damage yourself with that anger, you don’t let it become a negative energy, you turn it immediately into a creative force.” With a new book, Back to Nature , exploring how an increased engagement with wildlife benefits both ourselves and our environment, presenters and conservationists Packham and Megan McCubbin are talking positivity. Chris has just returned from the Isle of Wight, and is bubbling with excitement: “I saw a white-tailed eagle, can you believe it?” The reintroduced raptors are just one of the…

The People’s Trust for Endangered Species (PTES) has identified that more than 90 per cent of traditional orchards have been lost since the 1950s. To combat this, it has helped set up the Orchard Network – a partnership of organisations helping to conserve traditional orchards across the UK. From promoting ‘apple days’ (usually held in mid-September) to encouraging engagement with community orchards to helping advise on traditional orchard management, Orchard Network is working to protect these disappearing habitats. With a global downturn in cider sales, orchards are still being grubbed up across the UK and converted to other forms of farming. Traditional orchards were added to the list of Priority Habitats in 2007, but PTES says protection is still weak. Looking to the future, a new subsidies scheme could help…

WINTER WOODLANDS If you’re willing to brave the cold, why not set yourself the challenge of spotting these fungi, ferns and mosses while out for a woodland stroll: discoverwildlife.com/winter-woodland SURVIVAL OF THE SLUGS Ever wondered how slugs cope with freezing temperatures in winter? We’ve got the answer: discoverwildlife.com/slugs SNAP HAPPY From herons and coal tits to deer and foxes, enjoy fantastic images of British winter wildlife from Young Wildlife Photographers UK. discoverwildlife.com/bww…

“Cuckoos face many of the challenges encountered by all birds on migration.” Why are you championing the common cuckoo? This is not just an iconic species of the British spring. It has a particular resonance for those of us old enough to remember hearing their distinctive call each spring, without fail. Sadly, those calls have become so much rarer in England now. I last heard a cuckoo in a field on Thursley Common in Surrey on an unseasonably cold day in April last year – so cold the cuckoo may have been having second thoughts. The same male returns with such regularity to the same spot that he has even been given a nickname: ‘Colin’. He comes down from the trees to feast on mealy grubs, accompanied by redstarts, woodlarks…