The Reindeer

To celebrate the festive season, today I am going to write about an animal that symbolises Christmas - the reindeer (Rangifer tarandus). Also known as Caribou in North America, the reindeer has a circumpolar distribution, meaning it is found across North America, Siberia and Northern Europe. Their habitats include Arctic tundra and boreal forest. The …

The Cheetah

Home to some of the greatest wildlife spectacles on our planet, Africa is a continent of utter majesty. Covering around 20% of the Earth's land surface, Africa is also the second largest continent. Africa's vast array of habitats, from the Sahara in the north to tropical rainforests and grasslands, provides a world for animals to …

The American Badger

North America is the penultimate continent I will be focusing on, in line with the next episode of 'Seven Worlds, One Planet'. As we enter December, there is no better continent to discuss when it comes to drastic seasonal change. North America's deserts, tundra, prairie, forests, coasts and wetlands will all be experiencing changes as …

The Duck-Billed Platypus

Australia is a world of pure wonder. It houses countless species found nowhere else of earth. Australia's unique fauna can be traced back to the supercontinent Gondwana. 140 million years ago, Gondwana began to break up. 50 million years ago, Australia separated from Antarctica and became a lone, drifting island. Whilst placental mammals began to …

The Spectacled Bear

Today, we are focusing on South America - a continent that includes the world's largest rainforest, the world's longest continental mountain range and the world's driest non-polar desert. The Amazon Rainforest, the Andes Mountains and the Atacama Desert provide South America with some of the most diverse and unique species found on Earth. One of …

The Sumatran Rhinoceros

Seven Worlds, One Planet - Sir David Attenborough's latest wildlife documentary series - returns tonight with its second episode. This time we are going to explore Asia, the world's largest continent. It is also the world's most populous continent with a population of nearly 4.5 billion! This inconceivable number of people brings an immense amount …

The Leopard Seal

Seven Worlds, One Planet - Sir David Attenborough's next nature documentary - airs tonight in the UK at 6:15pm on BBC One. There will be seven episodes in total, each episode focusing on one of earth's unique continents. With wildlife encounters from over 40 countries, this series aims to depict the vivid beauty of nature …

The Giant Otter

Perfectly adapted to an amphibious lifestyle, the giant otter (Pteronura brasiliensis) is the longest member of the Mustelidae (weasel) family, reaching nearly 6 feet from head to tail. Once widespread across South America, the giant otter's distribution is becoming increasingly fragmented and they are therefore endangered. Found around freshwater rivers and streams, like the Amazon …

The Patagonian Mara

The Patagonian mara (Dolichotis patagonum) is an unusual, long-legged rodent with highly unique social behaviours. Also known as the Patagonian cavy, this rabbit-like mammal roams across open habitats in Argentina, including large areas of Patagonia. Their rear legs are long and powerful - an adaption allowing them to hop and sprint away from predators. Patagonian …

The Fossa

Contrary to the 2005 film, Madagascar, fossas (Cryptoprocta ferox) are not ravenous pack hunters. However, they are widely feared by lemurs, the fossa's main prey. A relative of the mongoose, the fossa is an unusual and elusive predator. The Malagasy carnivores (carnivores endemic to Madagascar) are thought to have evolved from one ancestor that rafted …