From wild herds to festive favourites: All you need to know about reindeer and how they became a key part of Christmas
Reindeer may now be famed for their Christmas associations, but their history with humans goes back thousands of years
“I watch as a hissing, jostling scrum of over 60 vultures tears into the remains of a zebra foal”
Raptors have declined across Africa, but a new effort to safeguard them is underway
Do chimps and gorillas ever fight with each other?
Inside the world's most otherworldly wildlife destinations
Why don't birds have weapons, like many other animals? Apart from lethal beaks and claws that is...
When it comes to fighting birds are ill-equipped compared to other animals
Crocodile snatches wild dog from riverbank in Zambia. Then its pack turns up to try and save it
In footage captured for BBC's Kingdom, a wild dog is caught in the jaws of a crocodile – can his pack members save him?
8 lost British animals that are now extinct in the world
We are facing a mass extinction, with many species now endangered or lost forever. Here, Peter Marren gives us a run down of the British animals that are now extinct – and a few which we thought were too, but happily turned out not to be.
As long as a small car, it is one of the cutest, smiliest, most intelligent animals on the planet
Learn all about the charismatic bottlenose dolphin in our expert guide from Whale and Dolphin Conservation, from how it got its name to how it uses tools.
6 creatures that shoot to kill: Discover nature's deadliest missile launchers
From water-jet snipers to exploding sea cucumbers, these creatures fire biological weapons with astonishing precision.
Scientists extract DNA from 'vampire squid from hell’ – and uncover 300-million-year-old secret
When researchers sequenced the genome of this elusive deep-sea creature, they found clues about how squids and octopuses evolved into so many species.
Birds
It's called a wader but doesn't wade – and doesn't like to fly either. Discover the bird that's regarded as something of an oddity
The non-wading woodland wader...
“These parrot apartment blocks can be the size of a small car” – and they’re causing chaos in a city near you
The monk parakeet has been a colourful, not to mention noisy, addition to the cityscapes of Madrid
How do diving gannets avoid breaking their necks when entering the water at speeds of nearly 100 km/h?
The sight of gannets diving into water for their prey is impressive to behold, but how do they avoid breaking their necks at such a high speed?
Dove vs pigeon: one gets bad rep, while the other is a symbol of peace – but what is the difference between these two similar-looking birds?
What's the difference between pigeons and doves? Are doves and pigeons the same bird? Tom Hibbert from The Wildlife Trusts takes a look
5 giants of the sky: Discover the birds with the biggest, most enormous wingspans – including one as long as a car
Meet the wandering albatross, whose wingspan is roughly the length of a Fiat 500, and four more feathered titans
Watch hungry gannets performing death-defying, perilous dives at breakneck speeds to catch food – where one small mistake can lead to death
This amazing filming shows the bravery and agility of female gannets
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
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?
Mink or otter? What's the difference between these two slippery, semiaquatic lookalikes?
How do you tell the difference between otters and mink?
LRPs, PG Tips and Jizz: Cracking the secret language of birders
You’re sitting in a hide and overhear other birders talking. The conversation ranges from ‘LRPs’ and ‘roosting Leos’ and you scratch your chin as you try to decipher their code – welcome to the world of birding jargon.
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
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
Plants
Is this very ordinary plant a secret, yet deadly, meat eater?
The thistle that has a taste for meat
It has bizarre tentacles, oozes yucky black goo and stinks of death – and could be near you right now
The octopus stinkhorn, also known as devil's fingers, is a type of fungus that grows from egg-like spores
A team of scientists spent 4 years studying savannah grasses that had been set on fire – and discovered something astonishing
Researchers from the University of Fort Hare wanted to discover the long-term effects frequent wildfires have on burnt grasses
This is the rarest colour in nature – an expert explains why
The natural world is full of colour – but some are more common than others. So what's the rarest hue?