BBC Wildlife - UK (2019-12)

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

dierentlocationstosuita

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.