We asked a genetics expert whether woolly mammoths could be brought back from the dead

The idea of bringing an extinct creature back from the dead is a seemingly ludicrous one. After all, if there are no creatures of a particular species left to reproduce, how can humans possibly expect to play God and resurrect them? For generations this has been an idea reserved for sci-fi literature and CGI-laden blockbusters. … Continued

Against all odds: The incredible story of the Amur tiger

‘Saving the tiger is a test; if we pass, we get to keep the planet.’ Those were the wise words of American writer and environmentalist Marjorie Stoneman Douglas (1890-1998) who truly understood the significance of conserving this most beautiful and powerful of species, the tiger (Panthera tigris). There is only one species of tiger but … Continued

The must-see, totally magical, photos of Siberian huskies on a frozen lake

It’s a magical scene—a couple of beautiful huskies inquisitively wander over the mirror-like surface of a frozen lake in northern Russia. The world seems so still, so completely calm in the photographs that you could almost be forgiven for thinking the dogs are walking across the very sky itself. The photographer, who goes by the online … Continued

Success at Russian breeding grounds lightens grief over chick deaths

Thirty spoon-billed sandpiper chicks have been hatched by conservationists in Russia over the weekend. The good news follows the tragic death last week of the world’s first captive-bred spoon-billed sandpipers. The Russian chicks have been hatched from eggs taken from the wild by experts from WWT and Birds Russia, as part of a strategy known … Continued

Sad news for spoon-billed sandpipers

This was one half of a pair of critically endangered spoon-billed sandpiper chicks—the first ever bred in captivity—but sadly neither survived for more than 60 hours. Each weighed only a few grammes and was barely bigger than a bumble bee. Seven eggs were laid in total at WWT Slimbridge Wetland Centre in Gloucestershire, of which … Continued

The amazing beastiary of improbable animals

Every Friday we feature the work of an artist, photographer or illustrator who we feel really encapsulates the love for nature we champion. This week we’re showcasing the art of Mateo Pizarro, who’s created the most amazing ‘Beastiary of Improbable Animals’ we think you’ll have ever seen. Here Mateo explains the project in his own words. My name is Mateo … Continued

Russia revives combat dolphin programme

As relations between Eastern and Western superpowers continue to cool, Russia looks poised to restart a programme mothballed after the collapse of the Soviet Union and the end of the Cold War, which once saw dolphins and other intelligent marine mammals used for military missions. Accessing the government’s procurement website, Russian reporters revealed that an … Continued

The last unicorn

The skull of a mighty unicorn has just been discovered in Kazakhstan, which has forced scientists to rethink longheld theories about the survival of an extraordinary species, to look again at where it walked the Earth, and reassess how long it could have survived in some regions of the globe. The mythical sounding beast in … Continued

Chasing swans from Russia to England, on a paramotor

An intrepid conservationist is so concerned about the drastic drop in the population of a species of swan, she’s preparing to follow them as they migrate from the Russian Arctic to England, travelling through the air for 4,500 miles and crossing some of the most extreme terrain on the planet while, hanging from a flimsy … Continued

This British explorer shares his experiences alone inside the world's largest forest (and no, it's not the Amazon)

As anyone who’s ever lost a game of Risk will know, Asia’s a big place, and there’s no bigger geographical region on the continent than Siberia. Covering more than five million square miles, this vast expanse of land first claimed by the Russian Tsars around the 17th century is also home to the world’s largest … Continued

Brave goat and compassionate tiger form remarkable bond

A Siberian tiger in a Russian animal park has taken on a new and rather unusual friend—one initially meant to be his dinner. Visitors to the Far Eastern Safari Park in Russia’s maritime Primorsky region have been witness to quite a spectacular, albeit odd, performance in the last few weeks. Twice each week the Park’s … Continued

Siberia’s Tungsuka Event, the unexplainable explosion 1000 times greater than an atomic bomb

‘It was like the sky opened up and split in half. I put my hands in front of my eyes and I could see the bones in my hands.’ The name of the Evenki tribeswoman—who thus described the enormous explosion that rattled the earth and tore the sky asunder above Vanavara in Siberia shortly after … Continued