Top 5 Saints #1: Saint Francis of Assisi

Widely revered, always respected, but with lessons all too seldom heeded. We look at the Patron Saint of Animals, Saint Francis of Assisi.

The Aspinall Elephant Controversy

A look at the plan by The Aspinall Foundation to re-wild 13 captive, Kentish born elephants into ‘the wild’ in Kenya and why many scientists, conservationists and local community groups think it might not be such a good idea and is, in fact, ego-conservationism being done by someone who might have more financial interest in it than people could be led to believe.

Caturday Special: The Sand Cat, Felis margarita

The sandcat, one of the cutest and most amazing cats on the planet. This small, adorable bundle of fluff has been known to eat desert monitor lizards its own size and venomous snakes – although mostly it eats small rodents, lizards, birds and insects. They rarely drink, using their efficient kidneys to obtain moisture from their prey. They’re just unbelievable, something this cute should not be so tough but they are hard as nails and can teach us a lot about how we should adapt to our environment rather than unsustainably developing techniques and technologies that force our environment to adapt to us.

Be more sandcat.

Caturday Special: The Rusty-Spotted Cat (Prionailurus rubiginosus)

A look at potentially the world’s smallest cat, the rusty-spotted cat of India and Sri Lanka. A tiny small rodent and bird hunter that is shy, elusive and very, very cute.

Grown Up’s Guides: Hedge-hunting for Bugs

A short and step-by-step guide on how to enjoy a day gazing into the undergrowth and overgrowth to see the wealth of biodiversity that nature has to offer. Including many pretty pictures.

Insects: The Savage Eden Before Your Eyes

A discussion about how exploring the tiny world of insects, bugs, invertebrates and creepy-crawlies has completely changed my perception and opened up a whole world about which I am very ignorant and keen to know more.

Happy Birthday Darwin!

I got so moody about dickheads being stupid about fatness that this nearly slipped me by! There’s little I can say or do, historically or scientifically, to better other communicators on their thoughts on Darwin. On what he achieved, his pioneering spirit, his indomitable determination, his seeming respectability and his love of worms. I’m fairly

Bumbler’s Guide: So You Think You Want a Telescope?

Ya probably don’t. It’s not that nobody wants one, they’re awesome. They’re also the single biggest frustration and disappointment in astronomy in terms of expectation versus reality.

The Moon

Everyone has that overly needy friend, the one who desperately clings to you because they’re so socially inept that they need the protection of another individual. I should know, he’s me. At the same time, that friend absorbs a constant stream of meteorite strikes that actually protect the other friend, but they still think you’re annoying even though they love you – in a way. That’s the Moon. I’m the Moon.

Orion

There are warriors, kings, beasts and myths in our skies. If that kind of thing is your bag then I urge you to delve into Ancient Egyptian religion, because the whole thing is basically one elaborate star chart, it’s glorious. We in the so-called ‘Western World’, though, inherited most of ours from the Greeks, via