Ocean superheroes

Release of 10.000 oysters in North East England promises to improve water quality and marine life

MEET THE VOLUNTEER - Keith Dobell

The retiree cares for a park, an old railway track and a wood in his home county of Northamptonshire

GILLIAN BURKE

\"Is the Paris Agreement honeymoon well and truly over?\"

Britain's wildlife crisis

Recent State of Nature report warns that one in six species in the UK are at risk of extinction

Restoring the Galápagos

Twelve locally extinct species are set to be reintroduced to Floreana Island, following the removal of invasive mammals

Suprisingly smart jellies

Caribbean box jellyfish reveal advanced learning despite having no brain

Put on your winter coat

As the days become shorter, mountain hares cloak themselves in a ghostly white camouflage

The man above the fireplace

WH Hudson was a pioneering naturalist, writer and campaigner - and his bold ideas about connecting people with the natural world hold true today

WILD BUDGIE CHASE

This parrot's natural habitat is the Australian outback, not a cage in the living room...

UNDER PRESSURE

As India's human population continues to grow and natural habitats become depleted, space for the country's elephants is at a premium

The burning issue

Wildfires are on the rise in the UK, but scientists have been developing innovative ways of preventing them, using the power of nature

FOREST DOCTORS

Chimpanzees in Gabon's Loango National Park have been observed treating each others' wounds using insects - a unique demonstration of potentially advanced cultural activity

SHAKE A LEG

Despite carefully maintaining their eight appendages, harvestmen will part with one to live another day

TRUE COLOURS

Summer may have gone but the trees are about to dazzle with an uplifting display

Falsetto flocks

Tune your ears to the high-pitched calls of returning redwings

Review protections for beavers, say MPs

Influential committee argues that the rules safeguarding the rodents are too stringent

Static electricity gives ticks a boost

New science reveals how these blood-sucking, parasitic arachnids can be propelled through the air

Prickly issue

Europe's urban corvids are using anti-bird spikes from nearby buildings to make their nests

Belinda Nalwamba

Bravery and paramilitary skills are vital as a member of Zambia's first all-female anti-poaching unit

Fungi gets a day in the sun

The tenth UK Fungus Day celebrates our incredibly diverse fungi species

Big whale discovery

Prehistoric skeleton found in Peru rivals the blue whale as the heaviest animal to have ever lived

Sweet nothings

Do honeyguide birds really help honey badgers find bees' nests? Well, probably.....

Highest ever ocean temperatures recorded

Experts express alarm that the average global sea surface temperature hit new highs this summer

Fattening up for Christmas

Squirrels are super-busy getting ready to survive the winter months

Female of the Species - Bonobo

Lucy Cooke on the great apes forming a powerful sisterhood

Holding out for a hero

One brave woman, one soggy badger - and a jet ski

SNAP-CHAT WITH BBC WILDLIFE PICTURE EDITOR TOM GILKS

Ben Hall on destructive deer and getting socked by a gannet

Algae: simple plants or simply plant-like?

WHAT ARE ALGAE? THE TERM IS used for everything from microscopic bacteria and plankton to pond slime and seaweeds, but unlike animals and many other living things, algal groups are an assortment without a single common ancestor. That said, one feature is shared by most algae in every group: photosynthesis – the ability to make food from carbon dioxide and sunlight, releasing oxygen, just like plants.

TOTALLY CHOUGHED

After a 200-year absence, the rare red-billed chough has been returned to its ancient Kent homeland

Норе for the high seas

Global leaders have agreed to a landmark treaty that will safeguard marine life in our shared waters