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Steve Backshall says sharks should be celebrated

Homemade tipples

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Get outdoors and become a wildflower hunter this New Year

What’s in bloom right now?

Wrap up warm and take part in the New Year Plant Hunt, an annual event run by the Botanical Society of Britain and Ireland that takes place from 1st-4th January. Learn more about the citizen science event and other ways to connect with nature this winter at discoverwildlife.com

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Animals aren’t goodies and baddies – that’s the problem

PAUL McGUINNESS, EDITOR

I’ , , of some creatures in a positive way and others negatively? I had the great pleasure of interviewing Steve Backshall about sharks for this issue’s cover feature (thereby finally making my job seem cool to my 7-year-old son – “Actual Steve Backshall!?”). And what I struggled to get my head around is the concept that the biggest threat to sharks is their image as man-eating maniacs. Jaws, it seems, has a lot to answer for. But, as he told me, if there’s a solution to their fate, then it may well lie in a simple image makeover. Could it be that Instagram and social media influencers hold the key to a fundamental shift in fortune for these beautiful animals, which have survived for maybe 500 million years? Steve thinks so, and he did a great job persuading me. So let’s join the revolution and spread the love for sharks on land, in the sea and, most importantly, online. Dive in!

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