08 Wild Times

Catch up with all the latest developments and discoveries making headlines in the world of wildlife

32 Bluebell season is here

Mike Dilger waxes lyrical on the joys of bluebells – the ancient, early spring flowers that stir the poet inside all of us

36 Hidden Britain

Nick Baker tells the story of the little fish that shakes all over to impress a prospective mate – the passionate and plucky 15-spined stickleback

40 Cover feature:

the secret life of bees Beautiful and intimate images reveal extraordinary insights into the lives and hives of western wild honeybees

50 Wild bison

They’ve been absent in the UK wild for thousands of years, but now a special project is welcoming these “wooly bulldozers” home

56 Tapirs in Costa Rica

Discover how a living fossil is making Central America greener, simply through its eating habits

66 The digital craze

bringing big bucks NFT’s are raising cash for conservation. But what on earth are they? And what are the downsides?

70 River treasure

A conservation team in Cumbria is determined to restore freshwater mussels to our rivers

76 Circus elephant rescue

As zoos and circuses release their captive elephants, what solutions exist to offer these giants a better quality of life?

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...the good news that overall numbers of giraffes are up by almost 20% Page 12

32

Between mid April and late May bluebells burst into flower

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A starling chats over the garden fence

82 Q&A

Can starlings learn to talk?

88 Go Wild

A children’s book on bugs, a podcast called BatChat and a flamingo photo collection

91 ID Guide

How to identify sleepy spring ladybirds

94 Photo Club

This month’s competition

99 Crossword

Plus Spot the Difference

100 Your Letters

Join the debate

106 Tales from the Bush

A chance sighting of a blackwinged kite in France

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