Do Animals Have Emotions? The Science Behind Love, Grief, Laughter and Tears
For centuries, people have wondered whether animals experience emotions in anything like the way humans do. A dog races to greet its owner after an absence. Elephants linger around the remains of another elephant. Rats make unusual high-pitched vocalisations during play. Crows form complex social relationships, while many animals appear distressed when separated from companions. […]
The Secret Life of Dormice: Britain’s Tiny Woodland Sleepers
The Secret Life of Dormice: Tiny Sleepy Acrobats of the Woodland With enormous dark eyes, golden-brown fur and a fluffy tail, the hazel dormouse looks almost like a storybook animal. Yet these tiny mammals are very real, and they lead surprisingly secretive lives in Britain’s woodlands and hedgerows. Dormice spend much of their time above […]
The Rock Hyrax: The Tiny Mammal With an Elephant-Sized Secret
The Rock Hyrax: The Small Mammal With a Surprisingly Huge Family Secret At first glance, a rock hyrax looks a little like an oversized guinea pig, a chunky rabbit without long ears, or perhaps a particularly sturdy type of rodent. But appearances can be very misleading. The rock hyrax is not a rodent at all. […]
Slow Worms: Britain’s Secretive Legless Lizard
Meet One of Britain’s Most Misunderstood Reptiles At first glance, a slow worm can easily be mistaken for a small snake. Its long, smooth body has no visible legs, it moves close to the ground, and it can suddenly appear beneath a log, paving slab or piece of garden debris. But the slow worm is not […]
The Dumbo Octopus: Meet the Deep Sea’s Extraordinary “Flying” Octopus
The Dumbo Octopus: Meet One of the Deep Sea’s Strangest and Cutest Creatures Thousands of metres beneath the surface of the ocean, where sunlight has disappeared and the pressure is immense, lives an animal that looks almost too unusual to be real. The dumbo octopus is famous for the pair of rounded fins projecting from its head, […]
The Pink Fairy Armadillo: Meet the World’s Smallest Armadillo
The Pink Fairy Armadillo: Meet the Tiny Underground Animal That Hardly Anyone Sees There are unusual animals, and then there is the pink fairy armadillo. Small enough to fit comfortably in your hands, covered in silky white fur and carrying a delicate pink shell across its back, this remarkable animal looks almost as though it belongs […]
The Shoebill: Meet Africa’s Prehistoric-Looking Giant Bird
The Shoebill Stork: Everything You Need to Know About This Prehistoric-Looking Bird Few birds look quite as extraordinary as the shoebill. Standing motionless in an African wetland, with enormous feet, grey feathers, piercing eyes and a bill that seems almost too large for its head, the shoebill can look like something that has wandered straight […]
Hissing Cockroach: Why Do They Hiss? Facts & FAQs
Hissing Cockroaches: Why Do They Hiss and Are They Really as Scary as They Look? Few creatures have a name quite as dramatic as the hissing cockroach. Large, armoured-looking and capable of producing an unexpectedly loud hiss, these unusual insects can seem intimidating at first glance. But behind their formidable appearance is a fascinating animal with […]
Jumping Spiders: Why These Tiny Spiders Are Far More Amazing Than They Look
Jumping Spiders: Why These Tiny Spiders Are Far More Amazing Than They Look If there is one spider capable of changing someone’s mind about spiders, the jumping spider might just be it. With enormous forward-facing eyes, fluffy bodies and a habit of appearing to look directly at you, jumping spiders can seem surprisingly expressive. Watch […]
What Makes Axolotls So Special? Amazing Axolotl Facts
Why Can Axolotls Regrow Their Limbs? The Amazing Science of Regeneration Imagine losing an arm or a leg and simply growing another one. For humans, that sounds like something from science fiction. For the axolotl, however, replacing a lost limb is an extraordinary part of its biology. These unusual aquatic salamanders are famous for their […]