Innholdsfortegnelse for December 2025 i BBC Wildlife Magazine

FIRES IN THE WILD ARE GENERALLY FEARED among humans, for good reason. But they are crucial to the functioning of many ecosystems, from prairies to forests. Now, a new study published in the journal Fire Ecology finds that some birds benefitted from blazes over a 35-year period in Yosemite, Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks in the Sierra Nevada region of the USA. Of the 42 species studied, 28 showed increased population densities for several decades in regions that had burned. And it wasn’t only known post-fire specialists that reaped the rewards – generalist species, such as dark-eyed juncos and mountain chickadees, benefitted, too. “Given the effects of fire on bird habitats, and the long post-fire process of vegetative succession, maybe it’s not too surprising that birds are responding to…

AS A CHILD, I SAW owls as mystical beings that operated by night, were difficult to see at the best of times, and hung out in woodland locations far from the largely concrete surroundings of my home in London. And, of all Britain’s owls, there was none more secretive than the long-eared owl, affectionately abbreviated to ‘LEO’ by birders. This medium-sized owl is indeed quite scarce, normally detected by a haunting, wavering hoot that emanates from the deepest, darkest corners of woods. Its owlets, meanwhile, are renowned for their squeaky-gate squeals when begging for food from their parents. I usually observed the youngsters as singletons roosting, mostly obscured within a thicket, staring blankly back at me. About 20 years ago, Serbian ornithologist Milan Ružić realised that large numbers of long-eared…

LIKE COUNTLESS others, as a child I dreamed of one day working with animals. I learned how to identify bird calls, collected anything I could find on the high-tide line, and once even picked up a dead shark on a school cross-country run. But really, I wanted to move to a tropical rainforest thousands of miles away to study wild chimpanzees, just like Jane Goodall, my childhood hero. It was very much one of those big, seemingly impossible dreams that many children have, but I did everything necessary to reach my ambitious goal – I worked hard at school and college, and got into a great university on a fantastic degree course. I had everything planned, or so I thought. As it turned out, I just needed to be good…

AMBLING ALONG DIANI BEACH ROAD, 30KM south of Mombasa in Kenya, I am parallel with the Indian Ocean and minutes from the powdery, cream sand of Africa’s bestknown beach. It’s February, the heart of the dry season and peak tourist time. The sun is high, it’s hairdryer hot and the air is sweet with ripe fruit on roadside stalls. Drapes of rainbow kikoys flap like bunting on the breeze, shading the street sellers and enticing a steady stream of tourists to view their wares, while puttering tuk-tuks weave between speed humps, offering lifts with a loud meeh, meeh. I round a corner towards my beachside B&B and bump into a huge yellow baboon. He darts me a sideways glance as he picks through leaves and rubbish. I hesitate slightly. Avoiding…

Is a River Alive? By Robert Macfarlane Hamish Hamilton, £25 THERE’S A MIC-DROP MOMENT NEAR the start of Robert Macfarlane’s latest spellbinding work of nonfiction. He refers to “rivers who”. At a stroke, his choice of pronoun gives life – personality even – to the flowing waters on which we all depend. Macfarlane then introduces us to the global campaign to grant personhood and legal rights to rivers and other natural entities, such as forests and mountains. He reveals how this highly radical but ancient idea can transform the way we think and feel about the more-than-human world, leading to better protection for the environment. The book’s wild, beating heart is an account of three journeys to magnificent river systems in Ecuador, India and Canada, all imperilled, in the company…

JAMES FAIR’S ARTICLE ‘THE BURNING question on moors’ (October 2025) makes a good stab at presenting the views of both sides of this debate. But by presenting the issue as conservationists versus grouse moor owners, it creates the impression that all moorland is grouse moor and that every moorland owner illegally kills raptors, when, in fact, huge areas of moorland are not used in this way. I dislike intensely the overburnt grouse moors seen in some areas, but I also know that if large areas of heather are not controlled, they will eventually succumb to drastic wildfires. Some kind of firebreak, at the very least, is required to try to limit the damage. Some small areas can be mowed and ‘rewetting’ may create some narrow firebreaks, but the truth is…

“I HAD COME TO BIG BEND National Park, Texas, for the solitude, the sweeping desert views and the hope of spotting a black bear. It was a six-hour drive from El Paso airport, a journey through vast swathes of West Texas, where the open road stretched endlessly ahead. By the time we got to the park, the sun was already starting to dip behind the rugged peaks of the Chisos Mountains. Eager to get in a hike before dark, we set off on the Lost Mine Trail, one of Big Bend’s most popular hikes. The trail, 7.5km out and back, winds through a rugged landscape of desert shrubs, sheer rock faces and towering peaks. Despite Big Bend’s size – it spans more than 3,200km2 – it’s one of the least…

Some animals seem to affect us more than others. It’s why as children we ask each other which are our favourites. Well, as from this issue, I have a new favourite (or top 10 entry at least): the wonderfully named snowshoe hare, so perfectly captured in Deena Sveinsson’s cover image and feature this month (p38). But what is it about this creature that connects with me so deeply? Is it the softness of the fur, so tactile in Deena’s pictures? Or maybe the cartoon-like thumping feet from which it takes its name? Perhaps it’s just that adorable face? I find myself wondering what it must be like to be a snowshoe hare, projecting my own consciousness onto a wild animal, regardless of how futile I know such an exercise is.…

The broadcaster, naturalist and tour guide shares the most breathtaking seasonal events in the world WITH A RANGE SPANNING FROM Canada’s boreal forests and Arctic tundra all the way to the steppes of southern Chile, the puma – also known as the cougar and mountain lion – has the widest distribution of any terrestrial mammal in the New World. It may vie with the leopard for the title of ‘fourth largest cat’, but in a hypothetical meeting of all big cats, the puma would probably only defer to the biggest three – the jaguar, lion and tiger. Did you know? Pumas start breeding at age two to three, and a female will give birth to two or three cubs. By 12 months, the youngsters will be accompanying their mother on…

You cannot get through a single day without having an impact on the world around you. What you do makes a difference, and you have to decide what kind of difference you want to make. Farm animals are far more aware and intelligent than we ever imagined and, despite having been bred as domestic slaves, they are individual beings in their own right. As such, they deserve our respect. And our help. Who will plead for them if we are silent? For those who have experienced the joy of being alone with nature there is really little need for me to say much more; for those who have not, no words of mine can even describe the powerful, almost mystical knowledge of beauty and eternity that comes, suddenly, and all…

THERE IS CONSIDERABLY LESS SEA-ICE in the Arctic than there used to be. Thanks to global warming, Arctic sea-ice is melting faster in the spring and taking longer to form in the autumn. Scientists who use satellite data to track Arctic sea-ice estimate that we’ve lost around 12 per cent of summer ice coverage for each decade since measuring began in 1985. And this trend is set to continue: the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) predicts that the Arctic is likely to be ice-free in summertime at least once by 2050. “This could give sea-ice formation a nudge” Less ice means that less of the sun’s energy is reflected back into space. Instead, it is absorbed by the dark surface of the Arctic Ocean, warming the water…

WE MIGHT THINK OF EAVESDROPPING as a uniquely human trait, but it isn’t. In fact, eavesdropping is an important survival technique for many species. By listening in on what other species are communicating to one another, valuable information can be learned. On the grasslands of North America, for example, blacktailed prairie dogs make alarm calls when they spot predators. The reason they call is to warn other prairie dogs of danger, so that they can take cover and therefore escape being eaten. But it’s not only other prairie dogs who listen out for these alarm calls. Recently, researchers discovered that long-billed curlew pay attention to prairie dog calls too. The researchers set up an experiment where a predator (in this case, a stuffed badger) moved towards incubating curlews. In half…

ONE MIGHT BE FORGIVEN FOR thinking that pterodactyls had been de-extincted upon first sighting the silhouette of a magnificent frigatebird. Boasting a wingspan of more than 2m, the bird cuts an imposing figure as it cruises coastal America looking for prey. While humans have nothing to fear, other seabirds would be well-advised to keep an eye peeled – frigatebirds are notorious thieves and won’t hesitate to steal a catch rather than do the work. What do they look like? Adult magnificent frigatebirds are a glossy jet black. Their wings are long and angular and their tails are forked, though the fork may sometimes be closed in flight. The males are slicked with purple iridescence on their shoulders and sport bright red gular pouches on their throats, which they inflate as…

How did your career start? I had a tropical aquarium as a young adult, and began to wonder what kind of fish might be living in my local streams. I decided to find out by sampling streams with a dip net and soon became captivated by the diversity of form, colour and behaviour of freshwater life. Snorkelling with and photographing fish in the wild was much more fun than keeping them in aquariums. Why focus on the freshwater world? It’s a world that is rarely seen. While the beauty of coral reefs is widely recognised, many people are unaware of the fascinating activity that happens in a freshwater stream. What’s been your most memorable wildlife shoot? I spent a month filming hellbenders with a couple of friends in the mountains…

Arguably Australia’s most iconic and engaging species, the koala is beloved by tourists and draws billions of dollars a year in tourism. It’s also a conservation conundrum, overabundant in some regions and endangered in others. We look at the big picture of koala preservation in this vast country, and what’s being done to safeguard the future of this magnificent marsupial.…

COVER FIERY-THROATED HUMMINGBIRD Displaying all the colours of the rainbow, a fiery-throated hummingbird balances on an equally vivid crocosmia in the Cordillera Central, Costa Rica BROWN BEAR This male brown bear is on the alert in a meadow of common cottongrass in Finland, where the elusive mammal is the country’s national animal wildlife There are an estimated 8.7 million species on Earth, and our beautiful 2026 calendar celebrates this astonishing diversity of life. Each month transports you to a different corner of the natural world and showcases the species that call it home - from the technicolour dazzle of a European bee-eater darting over a wildflower meadow in southern Spain, to a gentoo penguin plummeting from an iceberg into chilly Antarctic waters. These breathtaking images not only capture the wonder…

OCEANIC MANTA RAYS – the largest species of ray – may dive more than 1,200 metres deep to navigate the ocean, according to a new study published in the journal Frontiers in Marine Science. Scientists tagged 24 mantas in Raja Ampat, Indonesia; Tumbes, Peru; and near Whangaroa, New Zealand, then reviewed the data. They noticed that the rays were more likely to dive extremely deep off the coast of New Zealand: of the 2,705 tag-days of data collected, mantas dived to more than 500m on 79 days – 71 of these dives were around New Zealand. “Far offshore, oceanic manta rays are capable of diving to depths greater than 1,200 metres, far deeper than previously thought,” says Calvin Beale from Murdoch University in Perth, Australia, one of the study authors.…

East Africa’s great wildebeest migration is less than half the size previously estimated, a new study suggests. Using satellite imagery and AI, scientists at the University of Oxford counted fewer than 600,000 animals. The more accurate figure will help experts monitor and conserve the species, which sustains predators such as lions and crocodiles.…

“THE WINTER SOLSTICE HAS A magic for me that other pagan festivals don’t quite hit. It’s the one I actively celebrate rather than simply nod to, as I do the equinoxes, the summer solstice and the spring markers of Imbolc and Beltane. I wonder if it’s the darkness and the long slog of winter, the seemingly endless lack of life, and the cold (will it be cold?). Then the solstice comes and the days finally start lengthening again. Earth is turning on its axis and the sun will return. Phew. This shift in the seasons is not immediately apparent, but it’s significant: it’s always only a few days before I notice the birds pick up their songs – robins sing throughout winter, but there’s an energy, a stubbornness, that comes…

Snowshoe saviour Deena was suffering from depression when she heard that an area of the Colorado Rocky Mountains near her home sheltered the elusive snowshoe hare. “The idea of photographing these animals was just what I needed,” she recalls. But the quest was far from easy. Deena had to lug her gear through deep snow, then wait for hours in sub-zero temperatures. Day after day, month after month turned up empty – until she found a female that she called Yvette. “She must have felt sorry for me, because she allowed me into her world,” says Deena. “In the eight years since, I have photographed many new generations of hares.” This individual is demonstrating its sprinting prowess – snowshoe hares can reach speeds of up to 56kph, giving them an…

IT’S A HOT NOVEMBER morning in the Western Ghats of southern India, and I’m sitting on a wooden verandah surrounded by dense forest. Suddenly, the shrill ring of a mobile phone breaks the silence. Ajay Giri, field director of the Agumbe Rainforest Research Station (ARRS), answers the call, concluding the conversation with a simple sari, meaning ‘all right’ in the Kannada language. “There’s a king cobra near a school,” he informs us. Joined by programme coordinator Rithan Bopanna and field assistant Abhilash Achar, we grab our gear, jump into the field vehicle and hit the dirt road. ESTABLISHED BY RENOWNED herpetologist Romulus Whitaker, ARRS is a field station affiliated with The Madras Crocodile Bank Trust and Centre for Herpetology, near Chennai. Over the years, the station has become an authority…

Boys of Lolldaiga Julia Cassels Winner: Elizabeth Hosking Watercolour Award Medium: watercolour JUDGES’ COMMENTS: “Inspired by young elephants playfighting on a dusty dam wall, Julia’s watercolour bursts with energy.” NOW IN ITS 17TH YEAR, Wildlife Artist of the Year, organised by David Shepherd Wildlife Foundation, has grown into one of the world’s leading art competitions, bringing together creativity, passion and purpose in support of global conservation. Each artwork is not only a striking celebration of nature but also helps raise vital funds for frontline projects that protect the species we love. This year showcased exceptional talent, with artists telling urgent stories about our planet’s wildlife and landscapes. From intimate moments to bold statements, every piece reminds us of the beauty we stand to lose and the power of art to…

AS YOU MOVE FROM THE POLES towards the equator, species richness increases. It’s a pattern that’s been termed the ‘latitudinal biodiversity gradient’ by ecologists, and Victorian naturalist Alfred Russel Wallace was a pioneer in recognising and attempting to explain it. Wallace attributed this abundance to time: specifically that land closer to the equator was the earliest formed and hadn’t been disturbed by glacial activity at higher latitudes. He theorised that the relative stability of the tropical climate through the year, and through the ages, allowed species to accumulate here. Almost 150 years later, understanding patterns of species richness is critical given today’s global biodiversity crisis, and theories are hotly debated. One avenue of research claims the larger amount of solar energy at the equator is responsible for increased productivity, meaning…

Into the dust We were in Amboseli National Park in Kenya, watching these giraffes drinking at a water hole, when they suddenly started to run. Converting the image to black and white heightens the drama of the dust in the harsh morning light.  Remya Warrier, India Forest fruits There’s always something interesting happening with animals in local forests. This badger foraging in the snow is a wonderful example. Zdenĕk Filák, Frýdek-Místek, Czech Republic Bright eyes While looking for butterflies by the Rangit River in Sikkim, I was distracted by the tiger beetles and got this shot. Souvick Mukherjee, West Bengal, India Gone fishing Living in the Algonquin Highlands is a wildlife gift. I was at my desk when this fisher appeared outside – the population has grown considerably over the…

ACROSS 1 Large wading bird with long legs and bill, Ciconia nigra (5,5) 6 What an oologist studies (4) 9 Related to the pea family, like a lentil or vetch (10) 10 Small, belligerent songbird (4) 12 Fight-or-flight organ? (7,5) 15 Chirping insects that may be periodic (7) 16 ___ beetle, insect that secretes cantharidin (7) 17 Immature soy bean pod (7) 19 Of a leaf shape, tailed at one end (7) 20 Huge flying insect of North America, in the family Saturniidae (8,4) 23 US river of the southern midwest, notoriously polluted (4) 24 Species in the genus Toxotes, notable for its ability to shoot jets of water (10) 25 Lower limbs (4) 26 Fungal disease of trees in the family Lauraceae (6,4) DOWN 1 Male elephant (4) 2…