Try GOLD - Free
PURPLE HAZE
BBC Wildlife
|May 2022
Step into a rare lowland flower meadow and lose yourself among dreamy wild orchids
ORCHID MEADOWS
SURELY NO OTHER HABITAT HARKENS back to a bygone era more than a lowland meadow brimming with orchids. Despite providing perhaps Britain's finest pinkish-purple spectacle, the disappearance of 97 percent of all our orchid meadows since World War II is a tragic and all-too-familiar tale. In a battle that pitched flower-rich meadows against both rapidly changing farming methods and the needs of an ever-expanding population, there was only ever going to be one winner.
This story is from the May 2022 edition of BBC Wildlife.
Subscribe to Magzter GOLD to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 10,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Sign In
MORE STORIES FROM BBC Wildlife
BBC Wildlife
Can animals make friends?
THERE ARE MANY REASONS WHY ANIMAL species band together with others of their kind – for protection in numbers, to achieve a common goal, to safeguard young or to maximise breeding opportunities. But are any of these relationships true friendships in our human understanding of the word?
1 mins
November 2025
BBC Wildlife
What is the rights of nature movement?
THE RIGHTS OF NATURE MOVEMENT argues that nonhuman natural entities and ecosystems, from rivers to woodlands and coral reefs to savannahs, are not mere property but rights holders in law.
2 mins
November 2025
BBC Wildlife
BEAK & CLAW
Raptors have declined across Africa, but a new effort to safeguard them is underway
7 mins
November 2025
BBC Wildlife
TAKE ME TO THE RIVER
Going deep into the Amazon on a river cruise offers a different way of experiencing this extraordinary place
7 mins
November 2025
BBC Wildlife
NIGHT MOVES
Noctourism reveals wildlife's secret rhythms while boosting vital conservation efforts
7 mins
November 2025
BBC Wildlife
Mountain highs and seafaring lows with Lauren Owens Lambert
THE INSIDE WORLD OF WILDLIFE PHOTOGRAPHY
3 mins
November 2025
BBC Wildlife
Proboscis monkey's big nose boosts vocal identity
A new study shows how nose shape creates resonant frequencies that allow individuals to be recognised
1 mins
November 2025
BBC Wildlife
"I have never known fear like it"
Leopard and lions in Mozambique
3 mins
November 2025
BBC Wildlife
Free as a bird
THE ARTICLE ON HOW ANIMALS USE sound in the September issue included comment on dialect or accent in birdsong.
2 mins
November 2025
BBC Wildlife
Rattlesnakes inbreeding
Break up of habitat leads to desperate measures
1 min
November 2025
Translate
Change font size