Q&a

Keepers at the Chimfunshi Wildlife Orphanage in Zambia have noticed a fashion trend spreading among groups of chimpanzees living there – sticking strands of grass in their ears or rectums, and just le

Whether winter-faded ferns, the spindly harvestman or the tyrannical stare of an irate chicken, through-lines from the prehistoric to our modern age are all around us in November, says John Lewis-Stempel

Amazing answers to your curious questions

Q What are some of the longest lifespans in fish? A Technically the longest lifespan lies with the Greenland shark, which live a staggering 250-plus years – perhaps even more than 500, in some cases.

What the scientists are saying… Falling puffin numbers ...

Within just a few weeks, I had nearly been wee’d on by a naked mole-rat, waited for five hours for a few horses to poo and smelt the sulphurous pong of some seafloor sludge collected from the depths o