#StevesLibrary: The Whispering Land
There is always someone that helps cheer us up in uncertain times, such as those which we are facing. For me, that person is Gerald Durrell. Why is this? Well during the 1970s, Durrell helped to (almost) single-handed change the…
#SteveReviews: Extinction – The Facts
This is something that I haven’t rushed to review simply because given the title of this David Attenborough special, I assumed it would be like preaching to the choir. After sitting down to watch Extinction: The Facts it is clear…
#SciFri: Do reptiles and amphibians hibernate?
We all know that mammals such as squirrels and hedgehogs hibernate for the winter and in the wider landscape of the Northern Hemisphere, other species such as bears are also another group of animals that often come to mind when…
#SteveReviews: My Octopus Teacher
If 2020 has taught us anything, it is to appreciate the positives in life. There has been a vast array of depressing news and I totally understand if it has overwhelmed some people. With this in mind, I was happy…
#StevesLibrary: Buzz
Buzz is one of the many books that I’m thankful to have received from you my readers, for my birthday. I’m slowly catching up with reading and reviewing all of the books that were bought from my Amazon Wish List….
#SciFri: Why do snakes shed their skin?
As someone that studies reptiles and snakes in particular, I’m often asked why reptiles shed their skin. Before I answer that question, let’s take a step back. When some people picture a reptile shedding their skin (also called sloughing), they…
#SteveReviews: The Mystery of the Pink Dolphin
Anyone who has read Witness to Extinction by Samuel Turvey will be able to tell you how heartbreaking the extinction of the Yangtze river dolphin (or baiji) was despite the efforts put in place to prevent it. There are a…
#StevesLibrary: The Deep
As you can probably tell, I’m no marine biologist or oceanographer. However this doesn’t mean that I can’t appreciate the vast array of life that the oceans support. I was born and grew up on the South Essex coast so…
#SciFri: Snake removal from a woman’s stomach?
Something that 2020 has taught me is to always expect the unexpected. Whilst perusing Twitter the other evening I saw a video shared by Emily Taylor (@snakeymama) which claims to show a woman on an operating table in the Dagestan…
#SteveReviews: American Animals
Ever since reading The Feather Thief last summer and learning about Edwin Rist’s burglary of the Natural History Museum at Tring, I’ve been interested in those individuals that have stolen valuable natural history specimens. In the case of Rist, this…