Black mamba

AUSTRALIA HAS A REPUTATION for being full of deadly wildlife – and with good reason. The vast antipodean island is home to an impressive list of dangerous critters. Sharks, spiders and snakes get most

YOU’LL KNOW ALL ABOUT IT IF you get stung by a bullet ant (Paraponera clavata), a species named after the fact that the pain from its venom feels as if it has been inflicted by a gunshot. Some insect

The spider-tailed horned viper contains the raw ingredients of two of the world’s most common phobias: arachnophobia (fear of spiders) and ophidiophobia (fear of snakes). The only way it could possibl

THE CONGO RAINFOREST IS ONE of the most biologically rich and ecologically important places on Earth. Stretching across six countries and spanning more than two million km², it’s home to more than 400

Taking a break from installing anti-bird spikes intended to keep gulls off houses in Porthleven, Cornwall, maintenance worker Darren Pardoe visited a seafront pub for a cup of coffee. Sitting outside,

THERE WOULD BE LITTLE POINT IN having the ability to lethally poison a predator if you accidentally poisoned yourself and ended up just as dead. In the case of poison dart frogs, they dodge being pois