Page 90 - BBC Wildlife Volume 36 #11
P. 90
WILD AT HOME
HOUSE AND HOME
Cofee logs
COFFEE-LOGS.CO.UK
The evenings are well and truly
drawing in, and kudos to anyone still
resisting the central heating. But
if you’re itching for the crackle of
the open fire, here’s an unexpected
new source of fuel. Coffee Logs are
made from the recycled grounds
of our cappuccinos and lattes, with
the leftovers of 25 cups compressed
into each ‘log’. They are said to burn
longer and hotter than wood, and
are suitable for stoves, woodburners
and open fires. Put to the test by our
picture editor Tom and his father-
in-law, the reports came back with a
blazing thumbs up. We’ll raise our YOUNGER READERS
(cappuccino) glasses to that. poop” in real life. I then persuaded my
RRP £6.99 for a bag of 16. SM Howl Like a Wolf seven-year-old to sneak up on his mum
like a leopard while she was putting
BY KATHLEENYALE,STOREYPUBLISHING,£14.99
clothes away. The point is that children
learn about the biology of animals by
“Have you tried any of the imitating them, and this engaging book
Heat your
home with activities in the book?” I offers ideas to emulate 15 species –
cofee. asked my 10-year-old son in whether wriggling through tight spaces
preparation for this review. like an octopus, dressing in stripy clothes
“Well,” he replied sheepishly, like a skunk or flicking out your tongue
“I did pee on a tree to mark my territory.” to eat popcorn off a table, like a frog.
In fact, Howl Like a Wolf rather “Why don’t you try singing like a
conservatively suggests “scratching the humpback in the bath?” I suggested later.
ground” or “putting up flags” to do this, “Just don’t practise any breaching.”
even though wolves use “smelly pee and James Fair Environmental journalist
T
OUT IN HE GARDEN
BOOK BOOK
LET GREENERY GROW The Secret Extreme
Resist the temptation to cut
back mature ivy. It is a super Network of Nature Conservation
resource for wildlife, with BY PETER WOHLLEBEN, £14.99, BODLEY HEAD BY JOEL BERGER, UNIVERSITY OF CHICAGO PRESS, £22.50
insects feasting on its flowers
and birds on its berries. Many Conservation organisations Life at the margins has long
species will also seek shelter are often criticised for weathered extremes: Tibetan
within its dense foliage.
using charismatic animals wild yaks, Arctic musk-oxen,
to engage public interest. Bhutanese takin (‘gnu goats’),
BUILD A BEE BASE Peter Wohlleben can never and the Gobi’s saiga antelopes
Pile up twigs and sticks in a be accused of this – here, all became inured to dryness,
quiet corner to create shelter the subjects of his musings include thin air, and cold. Now, climate change,
for these important insects. bacteria, fungi and bark beetles. Despite predators and hunters are driving these
such apparently unpromising topics, “elusive, dazzling treasures” to the brink.
BAKE OFF this is a fascinating read, introducing In refreshingly footnote-free dispatches,
Make fat cakes to see hungry trees that ‘taste’ deer saliva, flirtatious conservation biologist Joel Berger reveals
garden birds through cold moths, seedling-“suckling” plants and traits that may yet allow slow reproducing
snaps. Thread yoghurt pots raven-wolf friendships. Wohlleben says herd animals to adapt. Faced with the
with string and fill with a mix nature’s networks are so complex, we “disquieting desperation” that pervades
of birdseed, grated cheese and can’t ever know how our actions will the no-longer-so-icy barrens, Berger’s
melted lard. Leave to set, then change them. “We need to leave things solution is stubbornly simple: “Maintain
hang in the garden.
alone – on as large a scale as possible.” what we have and restore what we’ve lost.”
Liz Kalaugher Science writer Michael Engelhard Writer and wilderness guide
90 BBC Wildlife November 2018
