Animal Facts
Diver films close up of a shark's extraordinarily powerful secret weapon - and it's not its jaw - when hunting prey
Thresher sharks have an unusual way of hunting prey – which means their elongated tails aren’t just for show
From a tender lioness cuddling her cub to a majestic male, king of all he surveys - 13 beautiful lion photographs from the book 'Remembering Lions'
Remembering Lions is the fourth installment in the charity book series by the
Why are pufferfish so deadly poisonous - able to kill a human - and how on earth do they avoid poisoning themselves?
Helen Scales takes a look at the highly poisonous pufferfish
Can any animals mate with two partners at once?
Stuart Blackman discusses multiple partners in mating.
Hyena pseudopenis: Just why do female spotted hyenas have a fake penis? Discover the strange benefits it gives them
Did you know some female spotted hyenas have a pseudopenis? Arjun Dheer explains
What's new?
Why burrowing desert animals don't inhale sand - like humans would
Just how do burrowing desert animals avoid breathing in sand as they dig? Stuart Blackman explains
Do any snakes hunt in packs? The deadly way one serpent forms a terrifying ‘fence’ to catch and kill their prey
Science writer Stuart Blackman analyses hunting strategies of the slithery kind.
At 10 metres long this snake is not only the world's longest and heaviest, but one of the deadliest too, capable of swallowing a human whole
A familiar snake species to zoo visitors, the reticulated python is a very impressive reptile and on record as the world’s longest snake.
Do animals laugh?
Can animals laugh? Sophie Scott takes a look at the evidence
From a hungry mother and her cubs to a bin-ransacking bear these stunning photos capture Romania's bears adapting to town life after losing their habitat
As their mountainous forest habitat is depleted, Romania’s brown bears increasingly venture into towns and villages looking for food, bringing them in close contact with local people
Amphibians
Mating is a deadly business for these females, as the males are so desperate to breed they don't care if the females get killed in the process
Why necrophilia is an evolutionary advantage for the Rhinella proboscidea
80 prehistoric tombs filled with bizarre animal skulls found in Wyoming
The chambers were built as refuges, but the animals that created them ended up getting trapped inside then fossilised for 230 million years, a new study finds.
A long-lost sound has returned to the great mountains of Yosemite National Park
And it could have positive implications for wildlife around the world, say scientists.
Animal ID
10 animals with the wrong names: Discover misleading monikers and curious cases of mistaken identity
Common names for animals are often easier to remember than their Latin names, but they can often lead to confusion. Here are 10 animals with some very misleading names.
How to identify animal droppings: Our guide to the wildlife poop you might find in your garden or out on a walk
Droppings or scats can tell us a lot about which animals have been visiting our gardens, parks and countryside, including hedgehogs, foxes and badgers. Our expert guide explains how to identify which poos belong to which species. Plus, animal droppings from species from around the world – and fungi and insects you might spot on droppings.
How to identify wildlife paths and beds
Tall vegetation in midsummer makes it easy to spot the regular paths that wild animals take - and where they rested.
Birds
What's the loudest bird? Meet the strange bird that produces a deafening sound, more like a train horn than a sweet musical bird song
Just which bird has the loudest call? And how do they produce such a peace-shattering sound?
The UK's most spectacular winter bird flocks
Millions of starlings, tens of thousands of waders, hundreds of pied wagtails - the UK is home to some incredible winter flocks, and we've got everything you need to know to track them down.
Hidden in attics, offices and drawers: 6,000 illegal wild bird eggs seized by police in UK's largest-ever haul
In total 56,000 wild bird eggs have been recovered in police raids in the UK, Norway and Australia.
Fish
How and why do male seahorses get pregnant?
Matt Doggett explains why it's the male seahorse that become pregnant, rather than the female
When scientists went into an underground river in the Philippines, they found a ghostly creature living in the shadows
They named the newly described animal after Hades – Greek god of the dead and king of the underworld.
Shocking, drastic decline in Mediterranean shark numbers despite protection
Shark numbers falling despite conservation efforts across Med, researchers say
Insects & Invertebrates
How can butterflies fly so well?
Richard Jones explains the secrets behind a butterfly's flight
How maggots are able to help solve crimes
Did you know maggots can help solve crime - and even murders? Erica McAlister explains how
Biologists went into 19 abandoned quarries in Germany – and they found something vital
The seemingly barren sites were home to an astonishing 114 species of bee, including 35 listed as endangered.
Mammals
Fascinating facts about our warm blooded friends - the mammals.
"His face was partially covered in blood, and I could see the cow lying in front of him" – my close encounter with a snow leopard
Nicola Loweth, Senior Programme Adviser for Asia at WWF-UK shares her experience getting up close to a snow leopard in the Himalayas.
Photographer camps with Arctic polar bears for almost 100 days – what he filmed is extraordinary
Martin Gregus captured rare and beautiful footage of the polar bears rolling in a bed of purple fireweed.
Researchers “amazed” to discover mammal that surfs storms
How new technology is revealing a curious connection between bats and bad weather.
Marine Animals
This strange dinky glowing ocean creature, which disguises itself as a moonbeam and dies as soon as it breeds, amazes scientists at night
This colourful marine animal can also eject ink as another layer of protection against predators
"It brought tears to my eyes": elusive animal with a tooth as long as a car filmed in Arctic
These animals are usually scared away by any movement in the water – but cinematographer Martin Gregus captured them on film.
“Your heart starts to race”. Diver captures footage of a huge, mesmerizing ocean creature, so rare they’re known as the 'unicorns of the sea'
Capturing footage of this rare ray is challenging – but not for the reason you might think
Reptiles
Discover the fascinating world of one of nature's weirdest creatures - the chameleon - and the secrets behind its colour-changing talents
All you need to know about the amazing chameleons
How do snake fangs work? How snakes quickly strike prey twice their size
Snakes can easily take down creatures twice their size, thanks to their fangs which quickly inject venom. But how do snake fangs work? Stuart Blackman investigates
An immense creature is moving through the vast swamps of the Everglades National Park
A new study suggests that the animal could be an even more adept hunter than experts in Florida first thought...