The Americas, which encompasses North, Central and South America and the Caribbean, has a huge variety of landscapes – and therefore animals. From imposing mountains to desert plains and tropical beaches, these habitats provide a home for all sorts of creatures. But have you ever wondered what the fastest land mammal in the Americas is? […]
Category: Wildlife
German mayors call for night-time ban on robot lawnmowers to protect hedgehogs
German mayors have called for a nationwide ban on night-time use of robot lawnmowers to protect hedgehogs and other small nocturnal animals from being killed or maimed in the dark. Recent studies have highlighted the threat lawnmower blades pose to wildlife active between dusk and dawn, prompting growing calls for regulation. Hedgehogs also tend to […]
“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
The sneeze began as a tickle in my right nostril. It was almost imperceptible, like a mosquito landing lightly on my arm, ready to strike. Or a lone butterfly flapping its wings, producing a breeze that would unfurl into a tornado; a tidal wave of latent energy that demanded to be unleashed. Some people can […]
Mass drowning of chicks puts emperor penguins at risk of extinction
The mass drowning of emperor penguin chicks as sea ice is melted by the climate crisis has led the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) to declare the species officially in danger of extinction. Emperor penguins rely on “fast” ice – sea ice that is firmly attached to the coast – for nine months […]
What’s the fastest land mammal in Australia? It can outpace a human thanks to giant ‘springs’ in its legs
Australia has a reputation for being full of deadly – and often wonderfully weird – wildlife. But many of its endemic animals, such as the wombat, koala and platypus, aren’t known for their fast pace – apart from one. What’s the fastest land mammal in Australia? The fastest terrestrial mammal in Australia is the red kangaroo which can clock up a […]
War on Iran disrupts efforts to save the Asiatic cheetah, world’s rarest big cat
Before the war began in February 2026, there was some rare good news for Iran‘s imperiled Asiatic cheetahs. Rangers spotted and filmed a female in the North Khorasan province accompanied by five cubs — a first. No more than four had ever been seen before, and every individual counts. The Asiatic cheetah (Acinonyx jubatus venaticus) is the world’s most […]
They can have 30,000 teeth and some really do die if they stop swimming: 35 incredible, hard-to-believe, fascinating shark facts
Before the Spielberg’s film Jaws was released in 1975, sharks were beautiful and fascinating fish. But the novel and film gave sharks an undeserved reputation as mindless man-eaters – but the truth is far more engaging. Author Michael Bright celebrates the wonder and variety of these ancient, much-misunderstood fish. 35 amazing shark facts 1. How long have […]
Giant otters, river sentinels, now listed as threatened migratory species
With evidence that the giant river otter is in an increasingly perilous state, delegates to the United Nations Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species (CMS) listed it as an animal requiring urgent conservation action at its March 2026 meeting in Campo Grande, Brazil. The giant otter (Pteronura brasiliensis), endemic to tropical river systems in South America, […]