Innholdsfortegnelse for January 2024 i BBC Wildlife Magazine

Liz Bonnin’s Wild Caribbean The Caribbean encompasses over 7,000 incredible islands, bursting with natural wonders. Liz Bonnin shares the sights that ignited her passion for nature in this four-part series. Catch up with episodes on iPlayer Wild Scandinavia A new three-part series takes viewers to the northernmost reaches of Europe, home to fjords, forests and high tundra. Expect icons such as lynx and orca, as well as lesser-known species such as the wolf spider that survives bitter winters. Due to air in early January Winterwatch Chris Packham, Michaela Strachan and Iolo Williams will be celebrating the season at RSPB Arne in Dorset, and Gillian Burke will be heading to the Orkney Isles in search of otters, sanderlings and the Orkney vole. Airs for four nights from 16th January Keep in…

A CRISP JANUARY AFTERNOON IS a brilliant time to experience the magic of short-eared owls hunting. Of the five owl species usually found in Britain, this is the one you’re most likely to see during the day. Strictly speaking, shorteared owls are crepuscular birds, meaning they’re most active in twilight, so the hour around dusk is the perfect moment to seek them out. This is also when the low, golden light reveals their gorgeous mottled plumage to full dramatic effect. Backlit against the setting sun, the owls’ elegant long wings look fabulous. Short-eared owls spend the winter in areas of rough grassland, especially by the coast or in marshy places, sometimes quite close to roads. They roost out of sight on the ground among tussocks of yellowing grass, suddenly materialising…

IN 2018, A UK-WIDE BAN ON THE SALE OF ivory came into force. However, a new study by the University of Portsmouth warns that the sale of mammoth tusks, known as ‘ice ivory’, is an unregulated aspect of the trade that still needs addressing. Mammoths fall outside the limits of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES), the global agreement to protect animals and plants. “There’s evidence traders are trying to sustain the illegal ivory market with mammoth tusks, by intentionally mislabelling ice ivory as elephant ivory,” says Caroline Cox, lead researcher at the University of Portsmouth’s Ivory Project. Conservationists are concerned that this mislabelling of mammoth ivory may result in an increase in the laundering of illicit elephant ivory. According to Luke…

DURRELL WILDLIFE CONSERVATION Trust has confirmed that a small group of pochard ducks (four solitary females and one pair) have returned to their ancestral home on Lake Alaotra, Madagascar, where the species has not been seen since 1991. The arrivals had travelled south from Lake Sofia, 300km away, where a successful captive breeding and release programme has been running since 2009. The pochard is a rare diving duck, endemic to the inland wetlands of Madagascar. It was declared ‘probably extinct’ in 2004, a result of habitat loss and degradation, before a tiny population was discovered on a remote volcanic lake in 2006, kickstarting significant conservation efforts. The trust is hopeful that the ducks, known locally as Fotsimaso, will now settle at Lake Alaotra, where they are being carefully monitored. “The…

House mice don’t hibernate, but are more likely to stay indoors in winter. Many homeowners mistakenly think they are rats, as the between-the-floors scampering can be pretty loud! A fascinating recent study found that domestic cats spread through Europe 4,000-6,000 years ago at the same time as the mice, so it would seem our Bronze Age ancestors adopted them for rodent control. FACT. Angelfish are so-called because if you were to turn one head-down it has the silhouette of an angel, with elongated wing-like fins. If this is too big a leap of imagination, just admire the divine colours and graceful movements that have made them popular among aquarists.…

IN WINTER, THE BLACK-HEADED GULL often takes advantage of urban habitats, from park lakes, reservoirs and canals to playing fields and gardens. January and February are when this characterful gull is most likely to be seen eating worms or scraps on your patio or lawn, according to data from the Garden BirdWatch survey run by the British Trust for Ornithology (BTO). Like other gulls, it has a habit of foot-paddling on grass. Supposedly this tempts earthworms to the surface, by fooling them into thinking it is raining. By the standards of its family, the black-headed gull is a dainty bird. Small and slim, it has a rounded head and long, thin-looking beak. It is also, of course, one of the worst-named gulls. In spring and summer, it has a chocolate-brown…

The hyena may be one of nature’s most notorious hunters, but its voracious nature and tendency to eat every last scrap of its prey has surprising benefits for other animals. And that’s all down to its poo. Hyenas eat a varied diet, from carrion to vegetable matter, and their prey comes in all shapes and sizes, from insects to zebras. With its super-powerful jaws, the hyena is able to tackle every part of the animal it has hunted, crushing and consuming even the bones. It’s the calcium content in the ingested bones that makes hyena droppings so distinctly white and they’re easily spotted by other animals, including giraffes, looking to boost their calcium intake.…

Mohamed Nasheed The former president of the Maldives is a leading political figure in the struggle to limit climate change. He has attended every COP, trying to persuade world leaders to cut the use of fossil fuels. He fell in love with the coral reefs of the Maldives as a small child when masks and snorkels first arrived on the islands. These reefs are now the habitat most threatened by climate change. Alessandra Korap Alessandra is a community leader of the Munduruku. This indigenous group has been guardian of their part of the Amazon rainforest for thousands of years. She is helping to arrange a protest in the capital city of Brasilia against proposed new laws that will further threaten the rainforest. It will be the biggest demonstration by indigenous…

THE SEA LAMPREY is a most peculiar fish. It has a slimy, eel-like body and an alien-like mouth, and is a parasite, latching onto other creatures to feed. It first appeared 300 million years ago, making it more ancient than the dinosaurs. Admittedly, all told, the sea lamprey is not a creature with mass appeal, yet there is something about this bizarre species – one of three lamprey species found in France (see box on p67) – and its extraordinary life-cycle that fascinates me. I’ve always had an insatiable curiosity for the natural world, and even though I work in freshwater management and restoration, I spend most of my spare time travelling around France with my wife, Aurore, in search of emblematic, rare or threatened river species to photograph. “Aurore…

One could argue that the slowest animals are those that spend their lives rooted to one spot: barnacles, sponges and mussels, among others. But if we confine ourselves to mobile animals big enough to be seen without a microscope, then slugs and snails must be in the, erm, running. The winner at the 2019 World Snail Racing Championships only clocked 3.4mm per second (0.012kph). Even tortoises seem like hares in comparison. Among mammals, sloths, which navigate the treetops at about 0.24kph, will always be hard to lose to, although they are faster in water than on land.…

POWERFUL AND BEAUTIFUL, THE iconic leopard is one of the most glamorous of wild animals, living in a diversity of geographical territories and represented by numerous subspecies. It also varies greatly in appearance, from the long-haired Amur leopard of snowy regions to the black panther, the famous melanistic Indian leopard portrayed by Bagheera in Rudyard Kipling’s The Jungle Book. What are leopards? Leopards are large carnivores belonging to the cat family. They are part of the genus Panthera, which comprises four other large cat species – the tiger, lion, jaguar and snow leopard. Leopards have rosettes (rose-like markings) on their coats, as do snow leopards and jaguars – the latter can be differentiated by the black spots in the middle of some of their rosettes. Where do leopards live? Leopards…

Flocks of dunlin can match starling murmurations for spectacle. Thousands of these small wading birds twist and turn in mid-air whenever a bird of prey spooks them or the incoming tide pushes them up the shore. In winter, dunlin are grey above but pale below, so as they wheel around an entire flock changes colour as one, pulsing with a strange energy that lights up the January sky.…

NEW RESEARCH CHALLENGES THE IDEA that humans are the only species of primate in which females experience the menopause – a loss of ability to bear young that occurs long before the end of their natural lifespan. Until now, menopause had only been documented in humans, orcas and four other species of toothed whale. Previous efforts have found little evidence for the phenomenon among primates. But the latest research shows that females in a chimpanzee population in Ngogo, Uganda, experience a loss of reproductive function at about the age of 50, accompanied by hormonal changes similar to those seen in menopausal women. Published in the journal Science, the research demonstrates that chimps still have about 20 per cent of their adult lives ahead of them when menopause occurs. Among women,…

The broadcaster, naturalist and tour guide shares the most breathtaking seasonal events in the world JAPANESE MACAQUES ARE THE celebrity primates of the Far East, rivalling movie stars with their attention-grabbing capabilities. Troops of ‘snow monkeys’ are often papped in frozen locations but can be spotted across an array of habitats on three of Japan’s four main islands, ranging from the subtropical forests of the southern islands to the subarctic mountains of Honshu in the north. Instantly recognisable, the country’s only non-human primate has a striking pinkish-red face and rump and an immensely thick pelage, varying in colour from brown to grey. The males are often around 25 per cent heavier than the females, with those inhabiting colder areas tending to be heftier than their cousins in warmer climes. Historically,…

Snowy skirmish One of seven reindeer subspecies found in circumpolar locations across the globe, the Svalbard reindeer is endemic to the Norwegian archipelago that shares its name. In the early 1900s, it nearly went extinct following intense hunting for its meat, but since gaining protection in 1925, has recovered and recolonised its former range. Stefano took this shot using a drone in the Adventdalen Valley, near Longyearbyen. It was October, the start of the rutting season, and these two males were engaged in a bout of light sparring. Head to head Two bulls battle for control of a harem of females during the October mating season. This was an aggressive tussle, and though it only lasted for 10 minutes, both parties were completely exhausted by the time the dominant male…

Where is the coldest place on Earth? In the lab, scientists can artificially reduce the temperature to just a few trillionths of a degree above the theoretical minimum of -273.15ºC, at which point particles stop moving. In the natural world, Antarctica is where to look. In 1983, thermometers at the Soviet Vostok Station recorded an air temperature of -89.2ºC. This remains the lowest temperature ever measured directly at ground level. But remote satellite measurements of surface ice at -93.2ºC suggest it might get even colder than that. What does a possum eat? Possum is a catch-all name for about 70 species of arboreal marsupials. The common brushtail possum has catholic tastes: leaves, flowers, fruits, seeds, insects and small vertebrates. The more pernickety honey possum feeds on nectar and pollen and…

ACROSS 1 ___ tree, Yucca plant of Mexico and the south-west USA (6) 5 Old name for the cranberry (3,5) 9 ___ skate, deep-water Atlantic sea fish (8) 10 African country, home to Volcanoes National Park (6) 11 Flowering plant of Asia, in the genus Polygonatum (8,4) 13 Himalayan cryptid (4) 14 Freshwater fish of eastern China and Japan (4,4) 17 Corvid of eastern and southern Africa (4,4) 18 Female sheep (4) 20 Sociable New World bird in the family Bombycillidae (5,7) 23 ___ lark, songbird endemic to the Horn of Africa (6) 24 Organism that remains the same shape during growth (8) 25 Semi-wild pig (5,3) 26 Primate of Madagascar (3-3) DOWN 2 ___ buckeye, soapberry tree of the midwestern USA (4) 3 ___ Days, 1903 work by nature…

Your work focuses on fungi. Why fungi? Fungi are symbols of our imagination and of everything I love: fairy tales, inspiration and mystery. Mushrooms come in a range of shapes and colours, and have strong ‘personalities’. They really stir our fancy. What’s been your most challenging species to photograph? The bridal veil stinkhorn. I have been to South Korea three times to photograph it. There are two species – one with a white ‘veil,’ which is common and edible, and another with a yellow veil, which is rare and toxic. South Koreans refer to the latter as the ‘holy mushroom’, and anyone who finds it is considered lucky. I’ve had many encounters with the white bridal veil, but I’ve only found the holy mushroom once. Have you ever had an…

I’M AN 18-YEAR-OLD ASPIRING WILDLIFE conservationist, currently studying A-levels at South Wilts Grammar School in Salisbury, and would love to share the work we are doing in our eco-club to make the school more wildlife- and nature-friendly. At school, I have always struggled to find people with similar interests to me with regard to wildlife, but one person who did share my passion was my form tutor, Mr Lawrence. We always gave birding updates and shared our weekend ventures during our form-time sessions, and at the beginning of 2023, along with another teacher, Mrs Briton, we decided to start an eco-club to encourage a love for nature in more students. We have now brought more sixth-form students on board as eco-ambassadors and collectively run the club at lunchtimes weekly. During…

It may stand at nearly 2m tall and weigh up to 50kg, but Australia’s prehistoric southern cassowary – which lays claim to the dubious title of ‘world’s most dangerous bird’ – is not easy to find, hiding within the dense rainforests of Queensland. Writer Steve Portugal embarks on a mission to meet the bird of his boyhood dreams, with the help of a few friends along the way. ON SALE 11th JANUARY…

“Bat droppings might not look or smell appetising to us, but they are delicious to a bat fly.” P.34 “Atmospheric oxygen is locked in a dance between rock erosion and the phosphorous cycle” P.17 Our guest columnists talk about the importance of good safari etiquette P.25  “A strong maternal bond is essential as seal pups are totally dependent on their mother” P.27  The naturalist heads to Japan this month, in search of macaques that enjoy a dip in a hot spring P.30…

LIKE BUSES, YOU DON’T SEE ONE FOR years and then billions of them appear at once. And when they do finally show up, the periodical cicadas of North America – larger, noisier relatives of the planthoppers – radically alter the ecology of their forest habitat, according to new research. These periodical cicadas come in two varieties – one has a 17-year life-cycle; the other a 13-year one. Both spend the vast majority of their lives as nymphs below ground, sucking sap from tree roots. But when their time is up, they emerge above ground en masse and moult into winged adults. They mate and lay eggs, swamping predators through sheer weight of numbers. “Cicadas present us with a natural experiment to see what happens when you throw a few billion…

THE NECK OF A GIRAFFE WAS LONG assumed to be an adaptation to access out-of-reach foliage, but there is also evidence that its elongation was driven by males’ need to swing their armoured heads at rivals during fights. It may turn out to be a combination of both. Of the two evolutionary routes to a long neck – increasing the number of vertebrae or making each vertebra longer – giraffes took the latter route. Like other, more classically-proportioned ungulates, they have seven neck vertebrae. It’s just that each one is extended lengthwise.…

GABRIEL HEMERY IS A SILVOLOGIST (FOREST scientist), photographer and author, and co-founder of the Sylva Foundation, which promotes good stewardship of our woodlands. His new book, The Tree Almanac 2024 (Robinson/Little Brown Book Group, £14.99) is the first tree yearbook for Britain and Ireland. “I developed a love of forests as a young boy – I loved climbing and falling out of trees. I’ve also always enjoyed making things out of wood. Trees transcend time with a fortitude and grace that humans can only reach in our dreams or describe in works of fiction. They are time sentinels – there are trees alive today that were adolescents when human society was in its mere infancy. I wrote this book because I want to reconnect people with the natural world. I…

WHEN IT COMES TO COMMUNAL LIVING, monk parakeets – now a problem as a rapidly expanding introduced species in some Spanish cities – have several skills that help them. Building large stick nests used by multiple pairs (unique behaviour for a parrot) is one, as is the protection afforded by large flocks. Distinctive recognition of individual birds within those flocks might now be added to the monk’s social attributes. Some other birds, as well as bats and dolphins, make ‘signature’ calls that can be used for individual identification, but these are just one call type – the equivalent of ‘it’s me, it’s me.’ Being able to recognise an individual from many different kinds of call is a subtler process, based on tone of voice. That’s what we do as humans,…

SAFARI IS THE VERY ESSENCE OF adventure – a trek through the wilderness in search of large, charismatic animals. Yet in some places, such as Kenya’s Maasai Mara, the experience is becoming more akin to a circus. The habituation of wild creatures to safari vehicles, which largely mask the humans inside, has allowed us the enormous privilege of experiencing close-up views of iconic creatures such as lions and rhinos, and of witnessing one of the last great land mammal migrations on Earth. That some guides and visitors are taking advantage of this privilege is a travesty. Wild creatures have learned over the eons that humans mean danger; seeing ‘man the hunter’ on foot, their instinct is to run. We have led them to believe that they can trust the presence…

1 CHŪBU-SANGAKU NATIONAL PARK South-west of Nagano on Honshu, the park’s mountains offer the chance to catch up with macaques in a much wilder environment. Look out for Asiatic black bears, Japanese serows and rock ptarmigan, too. 2 SHIRETOKO NATIONAL PARK On Hokkaido island, the park offers volcanoes, coasts, forests and lakes hosting an array of charismatic birds, such as Steller’s sea eagle, white-tailed eagle and Blakiston’s fish owl 3 MOUNT FUJI This iconic and impossibly picturesque mountain rises 3,776m above sea level. Don’t forget to look out for Japanese serows and Asiatic black bears on the way up. 4 YAKUSHIMA NATIONAL PARK This small volcanic island in the south-west of the archipelago contains different subspecies of Japanese macaque and sika deer living in the ancient cedar forests 5 IZUMI CRANE OBSERVATION CENTRE  In…

FOR THE PAST FOUR years I’ve been making the final episode of Planet Earth III. It’s called Heroes, and while the other episodes are all about wildlife, mine tells the stories of six remarkable people who are spending – and even risking – their lives to save the species and habitats they love. I was very keen that one of my stories was about frogs. They comprise the most endangered group of animals on the planet, yet somehow it seemed to me that they never get the attention they deserve. That is how I came to meet and film the remarkable Jaime Culebras. Jaime is a Spanish wildlife photographer and conservationist, but spends most of his time in his beloved Ecuador. He leads tours into the deepest forest, where his…

Email your questions to wildlifemagazine@ourmedia.co.uk Why do animals have tails? WE HUMANS ARE A BIT OF AN ODDITY in lacking a tail. It’s only really the apes, among vertebrates, that have dispensed with a posterior extension of the spinal column. All that remains of ours is the coccyx, the only function of which is apparently to hurt very much when someone pulls a chair from beneath us as we go to sit down. Other vertebrates make good use of their tails. In fish and marine mammals, tails are primarily a means of propulsion through the water. They are involved in locomotion on land, too. Lizards that have lost theirs to predators are slower than intact animals because tail movements help drive the legs. In cats, tails are crucial for balance…

TRADITIONALLY USED TO CREATE ornaments and art of cultural value, humans have turned ivory into everything from piano keys to hip replacements. But it’s also a rare commodity that’s been harvested to finance wars, cutting African elephant numbers from 3-5 million in the 20th century to around 400,000 today. Commercial trade in the ivory of African elephants is banned under CITES (Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora), yet illegal poaching persists. Why is ivory still so highly prized? Which animals produce ivory? Any mammal with tusks, which are elongated teeth. Elephant tusks are what a dentist might call ‘maxillary lateral incisors’. They’re located between the front teeth and canines of the upper jaw, and grow continuously (over 3cm in length per year) throughout a…

Sun seeker The shadowy mood of this shot of an Australian lizard bathed in the warm glow of the sun reminds us to embrace the beauty of quiet moments. Herald Jaison, Everton Park Twin beaks Two Senegal thick-knees sit side by side in Aswan, Egypt. The long-legged waders were spotted from a birdwatching boat sailing down the Nile. Ahmed Zaeitar, Alexandria, Egypt Coast guard A ringed plover on Scolt Head Island keeps watch over its nesting area, blending well with this beach’s expanse of flint and stone. Ian Harris, Elsing, Norfolk Tea time Walking home through the forest, I heard this common chiffchaff’s sweet song. I caught it just as it was about to fly off to feed its chicks. Peep Saluvee, Vinni Vald, Estonia Blue note I saw this…

1 Polar bear These huge bears – the largest land predators in the world – are well-adapted for sub-zero temperatures, from their thick layer of fat tissue to their dense coat of white fur that also allows them to blend into their snowy surroundings. They are superb hunters, and an excellent sense of smell and swimming skills help when preying on seals. 2 Walrus One of the many species of marine mammal that can be found in the Arctic’s frigid waters is the magnificently-toothed walrus. Part of the pinniped group, which also includes seals, a male walrus can weigh up to 2,000kg. A thick layer of blubber comes in handy given Arctic sea temperatures hover pretty consistently just above freezing point. 3 Lemming Lemmings are small rodents that live in…