In a practice that goes back hundreds of thousands of years, hunter-gatherer groups today light fires at night to keep wild animals, and predators especially, at bay – animals are afraid of fire, the reasoning goes, and a campfire will keep you safe while you sleep. But not all predators, it seems. A new paper published in […]
Tag: grey wolf
“They creep low to the ground, advancing in short bursts until close enough to pounce.” One of the world’s most beautiful, rarest, dogs facing extinction
One of the world’s rarest, most beautiful dogs faces extinction. When you scan the starkly beautiful landscape of Ethiopia’s highlands, one of the first things you notice is the vegetation. Howling winds ensure that few plants grow high off the ground here, with giant (familiar from gardens around the world) among the few exceptions. In […]
“They bore the marks of an attack, including rib fractures, internal haemorrhages and specific teeth marks.” 5 animals that kill excessively – seemingly just for fun
At 10am on 27 June 2018, researchers studying dolphins in a Belize mangrove, witnessed a gruesome spectacle. First, a group of four bottlenose dolphins separated a baby manatee from his mother. Then, one of them attacked the calf, biting it over and over again, and ramming it out of the water. The youngster later died […]
“Each family display loyalty, courage and generosity” – These wild dogs might be branded villains, but what I found in the savannah completely changed my mind
The gritty 1973 thriller about an assassin plotting to murder the French president has much to answer for. Almost 40 years on, The Day of the Jackal continues to cast a long shadow over the lives of the wonderful animals that gave the film’s villain his codename. The word ‘jackal’ still invokes images of scavengers […]
The Last Wolf – A Review
I read a lot, both fictional and non-fictional books and have done since I was very young. I enjoy it and at the same time I learn, expanding my mind and my knowledge. So, why I ask myself, have I never written about books? I have never reviewed a book on paper, not counting middle […]