Seedheads nod in waves washing across a green ocean. Grazing those undulating expanses are herbivores in their dozens, even hundreds, glancing up periodically to scan the horizon. A well-camouflaged predator peers hungrily from the shade of a lonely tree. It’s a seemingly timeless scene echoed in national parks the world over – until you examine the fine detail.
Yellowstone’s bison and deer range over nearly 900,000ha, hunted by wolf, coyote and grizzly bear; the Serengeti’s vast grasslands are mown by a multitude of wildebeest and impala on their epic annual migration through some three million hectares of rolling savannah, stalked by lion, cheetah and leopard.
The sheep and cows of the Peak District – the UK’s first national park, established 70 years ago, on 17 April 1951 – graze discrete parcels of pasture within the park’s 140,000-odd hectares. You might, if you’re fortunate, spy a polecat, or a short-eared owl quartering moorland. One species you’ll certainly encounter is Homo sapiens: about 38,000 people live within the park’s boundaries, joined by more than 13 million visitors each year.
Esta historia es de la edición April 2021 de BBC Wildlife.
Comience su prueba gratuita de Magzter GOLD de 7 días para acceder a miles de historias premium seleccionadas y a más de 8500 revistas y periódicos.
Ya eres suscriptor ? Conectar
Esta historia es de la edición April 2021 de BBC Wildlife.
Comience su prueba gratuita de Magzter GOLD de 7 días para acceder a miles de historias premium seleccionadas y a más de 8500 revistas y periódicos.
Ya eres suscriptor? Conectar
Does cloning create identical copies?
EMBRYOS ARE MADE OF STEM CELLS that divide to give rise to different types of cells, everything from skin to brain cells. Scientists once thought that reproductive cloning creating a genetically identical copy of an individual organism - would be impossible without using stem cells and that the path leading to mature 'differentiated' cells was irreversible. But clawed frogs proved them wrong...
Tool-using animals
Our pick of 10 species that exhibit this special skill
Mission Blue
Sylvia Earle has dedicated her life to marine conservation; she tells BBC Wildlife why protecting the ocean is essential to all life on earth
RESHARK
The world's first shark rewilding initiative has seen zebra sharks released in the waters of Indonesia's Raja Ampat archipelago
ON DECK
Ferries aren't just for transport, they're also perfect vessels for conservation
IT'S A COLOURFUL LIFE
Delve into the unique and complex biology of the clownfish, arguably the world's most famous fish
BAHAMAS BENEATH
A dive into the waters of this famous island nation with the creatures that call it home
"To save the reef, we need everybody involved"
Indigenous peoples may hold the key to protecting the Great Barrier Reef
SPINNING AROUND
Going around in circles proves fruitful for this filter-feeder
BLINDED BY THE LIGHT
On balmy evenings, amorous beetles put on a spellbinding show in North American forests