Which country has the longest coastline? Clue – there's a colossal 265,523km of it...
Which country has the longest coastline? Well, it depends on what you include, says Stuart Blackman
"It's the size of a house cat, with all the charisma of rusty-red teddy bear..."
All you need to know about the charismatic red panda
It's one of the world's most intelligent birds - whose curiosity - & taste for meat - led the New Zealand government to encourage their mass killing
With its intelligence and almost human sense of humour, the kea is a firm favourite in New Zealand, but its appetite and curiosity can lead it into trouble.
"Without warning and impossible to see with the naked eye, the prey vanishes..." 3 fastest bites in the animal kingdom
Some animals are so quick, zoologists have only been able to examine the physics of their 'bite' in recent years with the invention of super-slow-motion filming techniques. Here are some contenders for the fastest animal bites on Earth...
"They eat their hosts from the inside out, using saw-like teeth to chew their way through thick skin." 10 most brutal, savage, parasites on the planet
Lurking in the shadows of many ecosystems are animals whose main motivations are, quite literally, to hijack the bodies of others and eat them from the inside out…
Does grass scream when you mow it down?
Enjoying cutting your lawn? Next time your relish the smell of freshly cut grass remember it's a scream of distress from the plant you're mowing
"One individual can consume as many as 300,000 in a night..." It might be called a wolf but this is no wolf...
All you ever needed to know about the aardwolf
"Multiple stings can cause alarming swelling, nausea, vomiting, dizziness and confusion. An average human would be lucky to survive 1,000 stings"
What makes a slight skin prick, administered by a bee or a wasp, turn into a life-threatening emergency?
"A single, accidental step can trigger intense, burning pain, inflammation and nausea that can last for hours. In rare cases, it can cause death."
Sometimes it's not a good idea to walk barefoot across a beach...
It's colossal – 3 times the height of Angel Falls – carries 5 million cubic metres of water every second and it's buried 3000 metres under the ocean
The Denmark Strait Cataract is the largest waterfall on the planet – and it’s hidden deep below the waves between Greenland and Iceland
Birds
“I was photographing seabirds on a remote island off Norway. Then a huge predator appeared from nowhere”
Wildlife photographer Josef Stefan on no-show bustards, eagle drama and a lens cap fail
“It's deadlier than cyanide and causes paralysis and death. And, unfortunately, there's no known antidote..." 8 most poisonous BIRDS on the planet
They say that you are what you eat – and these unassuming birds eat toxins like it’s nothing.
Meet the mighty, majestic Andean condor, one of the world's most powerful and impressive birds and at 15kg the heaviest bird of prey
The mighty Andean condor – the heaviest bird of prey in the world and the raptor with the longest wingspan – needs little introduction, says Mike Dilger. Learn all about them in his expert guide - including where to see them
Fierce, majestic – and built to kill – The world's biggest and mightiest birds of prey
All you need to know about the magnificent birds of prey, including the biggest in the world
"It stands on its rock looking not so much like a streamlined submariner as an overfed blackbird"
Known in Welsh as a ‘bird of the torrent’, the dipper is the UK’s only aquatic songbird and always fascinating to watch.
Do birds pee as well as poo?
When it comes to excretions, birds do a two-for-one deal
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
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Save 30% when you subscribe to BBC Wildlife Magazine, plus receive Simon Barnes’ latest release, Spring is the Only Season
Plants
"It causes rapid death in humans, with symptoms including lung collapse and brain haemorrhage"
Discover the awful symptoms of poisoning from hemlock water-dropwort, one of the most dangerous plants around
A tree that can walk? The 'walking tree' that's said to be able to move itself to a sunnier spot
There's a walking tree? Stuart Blackman investigates a tree that is said to be able to move
A giant 'horror movie' plant that can cause painful burns, eye damage and even blindness – with some effects persisting for months or years
You definitely don't want to go anywhere near this highly toxic plant. Here's what to look for and how to deal with it
Researchers took moss from the Californian desert – and found something very weird (and tiny) in it
Mosses are known for their durability, able to survive anywhere from the peaks of the Himalayas or the sands of Death Valley, to the unforgiving vastness of space
