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Whilst I love this time of year; bonfires, fireworks and kicking huge piles of golden leaves…spare a thought for the pets and wildlife in this season.
Before lighting up your bonfire, have a look to make sure some hibernating hedgehogs haven’t made a home there. Ideally, if you can, build the bonfire on the day to prevent animals from setting up camp there.
Also the RSPCA has some great advice for pet owners to cope with the scary noises of bonfire night.

Photo : Andrew Milligan/PA Wire

Following on from yesterday, something to whet your appetite for Wednesday’s Frozen Planet! Spine-tingling footage from the Arctic and Antarctic…proving they’re not just barren, wintry landscapes!

On Wednesday the BBC’s new flagship series, Frozen Planet starts, taking us to the ends of the Earth; the Arctic and Antarctic, and the dramatic desolation of these harsh environments.
When I met Sir David Attenborough earlier this year, we talked about the making of the series and he professed admiration for the cameramen who risked their lives diving under the thick ice in subzero temperatures to capture some of these incredible shots.
The series also features an incredible chase as wolves hunt down bison in temperatures of -50 degrees and winds of up to 100mph. Whilst the wildlife might be used to it…here the crew describe how they had to adapt to their new environment to get this stunning footage.

At last, some good news from Ohio after the devastating recent killing of 49 animals released into the countryside…six exotic animals have survived and are now readjusting to life at Columbus zoo. The grizzly bear, three leopards and two monkeys are said to be ‘calm’ and not aggressive.
The events have led many people to question whether members of the public should be allowed to keep such animals after it’s thought the owner, suffering from severe debts, released them all before committing suicide.
If you want to help the rescued animals, a special web page has been set up to donate towards their upkeep.

Photo : Grahm S. Jones / Columbus Zoo and Aquarium

Very sad news today as the BBC have decided to no longer support the BBC Wildlife Fund. This incredible unique charity has helped fund 87 charities and countless wildlife since it was founded in 2007. The Wild Night In last year alone helped raise £1.2 million pounds which went towards saving a diverse range of wildlife not just in the UK but all over world…bats, great bustards, chimpanzees, Siamese crocodiles, Moray Firth dolphins, African elephants, gorillas, jaguars, dormice, orang-utans, Galapagos penguins, red squirrels, seahorses, sharks, tigers, water voles, slow worms, and many more.
The BBC has been forced to make cuts…but this charity doesn’t rely on the TV Licence fee, instead relying on corporate sponsorship to pay for the small team of passionate staff supported by enthusiastic volunteers (like me, who would give over my time all over again to help the charity!)
But you can still do something to save this charity from extinction…sign the petition to Chris Patten, the politician who might be able to overturn this decision.

Scientists have discovered that these beautiful Blainville’s beaked whales enter a ‘stealth mode’ by becoming silent and not communicating with each other when near the surface. Little is known about these animals as they spend most of their time diving deep in the ocean. Below a depth of 450m the whales communicated with a series of clicks, buzzes and whistles. But it’s thought at the shallower depths they are at more risk of being discovered by killer whales and so enter their radio silence.
Photo NOAA

Lion are more likely to attack you just after a full moon scientists have found. Using the data from 500 lion attacks, they found that most attacks occurred when the moon is waning, just after full moon. As lions use the cover of darkness to hunt, this lack of moonlight aids their chances of attack. Scientists also found attacks were more likely to occur in the rainy season when the clouds obscured the moonlight, also helping the lions.

Scientists have discovered that the arctic polar bear has a rather warmer (and definitely rainier!) history. Fossils found recently in Irish caves have DNA that show modern polar bears have all evolved from a female brown bear in the last ice age. She is thought to have interbred with a polar bear…creating the hybrid offspring which survives today. Interactions between the two species is not unusual and scientists have traced contact over the last 100,000 years when unusually hot or cold weather allowed their paths to cross.
Photo : AP

Photographer David Slater encountered a bit of monkey business in a national park in Indonesia…these photos aren’t his, but some crested black macaques’ masterpieces. Despite not having had much human contact before, the monkeys were very interested in all their equipment. One day after David left his tripod set up…he returned to find a curious monkey playing with it. David thinks the noise of the shutter kept the monkeys interested and in the end they took hundreds of pictures!
Photo : David J Slater/Caters News Agency

Scientists have discovered the world’s loudest animal (relative to its size)…and its something you might have come across yourself, the humble water boatman! Only a few centimetres long, they can produce an ear-splitting 99.2 decibels! The males attract mates by creating the song by rubbing its abdomen.
Photo : Alamy