Dec.

 ildlife o  ol 

THE COVER

Award-winning photographer Tony Wu took this image of a male Ezo flying squirrel in Hokkaido, Japan. Inside the nest behind him is a female in oestrus. He is on the lookout for sneak attacks by a nearby rival determined to displace him, says Tony. He used a Nikon D850, 550mm, 1/400th sec at f5.6, ISO800.

FLYING SQUIRREL: TONY WU/NATUREPL.COM; ORYX: SHUTTERSTOCK;COCKATOO: GETTY; ILLUSTRATION BY HOLLY ASTLE

Every month, only in BBC Wildlife

NICK BAKER

The secretive worms keeping busy beneath the stark expanses of our winter estuaries P.38

GILLIAN BURKE

The biologist and presenter reminds us that while life is undoubtedly fragile, its also irrepressible P.19

MARK CARWARDINE

An ill-informed public will believe that we can techno-fix our way out of complex environmental issues P.31

LUCY COOKE

The Darwins bark spider, with her super strong silk, is an emasculating huntress P.29

MIKE DILGER

Myths abound as to how ring-necked parakeets  known as posh pigeons  first came to London P.34