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A terribly crowded Istiklal Street with reverse light near Taksim Square on a Saturday afternoon in Istanbul, Turkey. It is the beating heart of the city, a million people that pass it every day.

Could there ever be a new species of human?

It’s happened before, many times, so surely it could happen again, right? 
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Sumpfzypressen (Taxodium distichum) im Herbst mit Spanischem Moos (Tillandsia usneoides), Atchafalaya Basin, Louisiana, USA

It's the size of Los Angeles and simply crawling with deadly alligators, black bears and highly venomous snakes

A family of burrowing owls, many of which are looking towards the camera.

A shrewdness of apes, a bloat of hippos, a parliament of owls – the 30 weirdest, strangest collective nouns on the planet

Discover some of the more unusual collective nouns for different groups of animals, from ‘a bloat of hippopotamuses’ to ‘a confusion of wildebeest’.
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(c)Elmar Weiss

6 animals that can kill a hippo – "Weighing a mighty 4500kg the hippo is a huge, dangerous animal that only the boldest predator would dare approach"

We take a look at the animals brave enough to take on the world's third-largest land mammal
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A black ant, likely a species from the Camponotus genus, commonly known as carpenter ants.

How long do ants live? Some survive only days, while others can reach a staggering 7 years – yes really...

Some ants barely make it through the week—while others live long enough to outlast your pet. Here’s why their lifespans vary so wildly
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"She was found severely wounded with an arrow piercing right through her hind leg"

An arrow had pierced a lion cub's leg, and without intervention, she likely wouldn’t be here today
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A pygmy marmoset on a branch

"It looks like Gollum from The Lord of the Rings. "8 weirdest, most peculiar (and most wonderful) primates on the planet

From the guttural scream of the howler monkey to the ever-growing rat-like teeth of the aye-aye, the primate world is full of weird and wonderful creatures
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Hyena Portrait Zebra

Hyena with zebra head in jaws among 14 powerful images from close-up photo challenge

See striking photos from Close-up Photographers of the Year’s ‘Death & Decay’ challenge
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Moor frog

“Faced with a rugby scrum of suitors, females have little choice over who to mate with.” Here’s why these weird frogs suddenly turn blue

For a short spell in spring, these male amphibians are suddenly and vividly transformed
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Birds

Crows

Oregon’s biggest city was drowning in crow poop. Then a new predator came to town

As thousands of crows darken the winter skies above Portland, Oregon, it makes sense to mind your step
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Tree sparrow © John Harding/BTO

It's the size of a teaspoon, mates for life with their forever partner and lives in a tight-knit village of 50

Discover fascinating facts about the tree sparrow
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How do birds sleep

How do birds sleep? Can they sleep when flying? And why don't they fall out of trees when asleep?

How do birds sleep? Can they sleep when flying? And how do they sleep in trees without falling out? A lot depends on the species.
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Male resplendent quetzal

"Its iridescent green head and wings, spiky crest, blood-red breast, and flamboyant twin tail plumes, is like a carnival dancer." In the forests of Guatemala lives an elusive creature few will ever see

Guatemala's national bird is one of the hidden gems of Central America. Read the story of one woman's quest to track it down in the cloud forest
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Eurasian eagle owl

“I’m awoken by a rumble and look across the Danube to see smoke rising.” These predators are reclaiming their home in the middle of a warzone

Eagle owls were once heavily persecuted. But thanks to a new initiative, these magnificent birds are reclaiming a wetland home
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Great crested grebe eating chiffchaff

Great crested grebe seen drowning and eating chiffchaffs in Spain

Birdwatcher and photographer Juan Montiel captured the unusual grebe behaviour on camera.
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How to identify wildlife

Red squirrel vs grey squirrel: Think you know how they differ? Think again as the differences between these two squirrels will surprise you

We take a look at how the red squirrel differs to its American grey cousin
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Brown rat. © Mike Lane/Getty

Brown rat or water vole: How to tell the difference between these two lookalike-rodents

When all you've seen is a flash of brown fur, it can be hard to know whether it was a water vole or rat. Though the two species tend to live in different habitats, there are areas where they overlap, potentially leading to cases of mistaken identity. So how do you tell rats and water voles apart?
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Eurasian otter. © Ed Evans/Getty

Mink or otter? What's the difference between these two slippery, semiaquatic lookalikes?

How do you tell the difference between otters and mink?
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A peregrine falcon with a dead partridge. © Alan Tunnicliffe Photography/Getty

It's the fastest animal in the world and its deadly claws can catch prey mid-air: Meet one of the world's most incredible birds of prey

Peregrines are the ultimate urban predator. Learn all about them, including how to spot them ‘stooping’ to catch prey
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Save 30% when you subscribe to BBC Wildlife Magazine, plus receive Simon Barnes’ latest release, Spring is the Only Season

Save 30% when you subscribe to BBC Wildlife Magazine, plus receive Simon Barnes’ latest release, Spring is the Only Season
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