December 2019 BBC Wildlife 95
OURWILD WORLD
If youarelookingto
reduceyour
environmental
impactthis
Christmas,
recyclable
wrappingpaper
is a greatway
tomakea
difference.This
paperfromtheRSPB
is bothglitter-freeand
notmadefrom
metalisedpaper,soit canbeeasily
recycled.ThemajorityoftheRSPB’s
wrappingpaperis printedonhigh-
quality,FSCcertifiedpaper,meaning
it comesfromsustainablesources,and
onedesignevencomesoncompletely
recycledpaper(below). Thepaperscome
in a varietyofpatterns,includinggold
geeseagainsta wintersky,
snowybirdfootprints,
androbinsamongst
treebaubles.To
completeyour
Christmas,matching
giftbags,crackers
andnapkinsarealso
availableinsomeof
the designs.MS
TheRiseofWolf 8 MeettheBears
Gameof Thronescomesto
Ye l l o w s t o n e :TheRiseof Wolf 8
is a headytaleofleadership,
land-grabbing,passionand
revengeamongthewolfpacks
ofAmerica’soldestnational
park.It followsthestoriesoftwo
remarkablewolves,theeponymousWolf 8
andhisapparentprotégée,thefearless
fight-championWolf21,sweepinginthe
subplotsoftheirfriends,relationsand
enemies.Unlikescientists,naturalists
don’tnecessarilyrigorouslytesttheir
intuitions.Thisbookis fullofuntested
interpretations.ButMcIntyrehasclocked
up100,000wolfsightingsduring 40 years
inthefield,soif anyoneknowswhata wolf
is thinking,it’sprobablyhim.If youlike
thiswolfstory,therearetwomorebooksin
the pipeline.Stephen MillsWildlife writer
Thesoothingstorybook-esquenarration
byHughBonnevilleinthelatestNatural
Worldepisodeseemsappropriateforthe
starsoftheshow,whoincludetheoriginal
Paddington,thespectacledbear.Thechief
benefitofsuchanin-depthlookintoone
animalfamilyis thatwegetto seea wider
selectionthantheusualpandasand
grizzlyandpolarbearsservedbythe
majorityofwildlifedocumentaries.Oneof
thehighlightsis a rareslothbearwithher
adorablecubs.However,intryingto cover
sucha largeanddiverserangeofanimals,
thepaceoftenseemsquitefastand
seguesbetweendifferentspeciesfeel
toofrequent.Nonetheless,thethorough
expositionofsucha well-lovedanimal
is appealing,andthebehaviours
documentedarefascinating to watch.
Leoma Williams
BOOK TV
BY RICK MCINTYRE, GREYSTONE BOOKS, £18.99 BBC TWO, CATCH UP ON IPLAYER
Encyclopedia
ofAnimals
Illustratedchildren’s
non-fictionis booming,
especiallybookswithan
environmentaltilt.This
encyclopediaalsofollowsthe
currenttrendforeschewingphotographs
infavourofstylised,pleasingly‘retro’
artwork.Asa boy,I wouldhaveadoredit,
poringoverVogel’sfabulousdepictions
oftheweirdandwonderful animals that
call this planet home.
BY JULES HOWARD & JAROM VOGEL, WIDE EYED, £14.99
YOUNGER READERS
Withroomforjust 300 species,it’s
necessarilyselective– ofthebigcats,
onlythelionandtigerarefeatured,for
example.Mammalsandbirdstakeup
almosthalfthepages,butthere’sa
decentselectionoffascinating
invertebrates– thelikesofbobbitworms,
remipedesandseagooseberriesusually
getshortshriftinbookslikethis.Howard
doesa greatjobofhighlightingeach
animal’skeyadaptationsina couple
ofpithyparagraphs.Termssuchas
‘copepod’and‘ungulate’reallyneed
explaining,however,andthere’sno
glossary.Nevertheless,it’sanabsorbing
treasurytospark young imaginations.
Ben Hoare
Eco-friendlyfestive
wrappingpaper
GIFT WRAP
£4 FOR A 5M ROLL, RSPB
OUT IN THE GARDEN
CATERINGFORALL
Leavea varietyoffoodin
di erentlocationstosuita
rangeofgardenbirds.While
somemaybehappyeating
frombirdfeeders,others
suchasrobinspreferto
dine from flat surfaces.
LETITGROW
Reducewastebybuyinga
livingChristmastreethatcan
berepotted,leftinthegarden
andbroughtindoorsagain
each festive season.
QUENCHINGTHIRST
Whileextrafoodwillbe
welcomedbygardenanimals,
providingfreshwaterisanother
waytohelpseveralspecies
Necklace: Eleanor Dineleyduring cold, icy spells.
Thisrecyclable
papercomesina
range of designs.