Out of all the things that will have suffered thanks to the recession, pets may have been quite far down on most people's lists. However, it seems that as people have cut back and trimmed their budget to cope with the economic downturn, many pet owners have decided to pack in their pet insurance, leaving their pooches...

Its common knowledge that the UK is a nation of pet-lovers, but no one likes to think about the worst happening to their furry companions. As everyone who owns a pet knows, it can be hard to keep them from escaping from time to time. Whether they sneak out through the back gate, dig a hole under the fence or wrestle t...

andrewlee asks: Birds migrate to sunnier climes with more plentiful food supplies, such as north Africa. So why do they bother to come back In a nutshell - for the same reason that all us Brits

According to the latest edition of the Red List Of Threatened Species, compiled by the World Conservation Union, a total of 5,453 animal species are in danger of being wiped out forever, and 5,714

Chris Baylis asked: "How long does the common garden spider live " Most British spiders live for a year or so - if they don't get eaten - though money spiders live much shorter, and other, more

The lyrebird is the show-off of the animal kingdom. In human terms, it's the uncle who insists on dancing at a wedding and the friend who hogs the microphone at a karaoke evening. But now it is

A. No, in fact, Uranus doesn't have a liquid or solid surface that anything could land on. Its atmosphere is made of gas, mainly hydrogen, helium and methane. The methane absorbs the sun's red

A. Although the resultant colour leaves the coral looking devoid of colour, no bleach is actually involved. Nor is it, directly, the result of the suns rays. Bleached coral occurs when the algae

A. Yes, horseshoes are necessary but only because modern day horses walk and run on terrain that their feet didn't evolve to deal with. Q. What type of ground is ideal for an unshod horse A.

A. No, they belong to the mongoose family, and to further press the point, the correct spelling is 'meerkat', not 'meercat'. Q. What does meerkat mean A. Meerkat is a South African Dutch word

A. Many octopuses, along with other cephalopods like squid and cuttlefish, can change colour. They do so by virtue of special pigment cells called chromatophores that can change size, varying the

Pussing wants to know, thanks to incitatus for his answer. A. As far as the scientists are concerned they're all they same thing: turtles. Turtles belong to the order Testudines, tortoises are just

A. For nearly one hundred years pet owners entering the UK had to put their animal in quarantine for six months. Q. What’s the situation now A. This all changed recently with the

Q. Is it too early to see any insects A. No both the Orange-tip butterfly and oil beetle are busy at this time of year. The Orange-tip butterfly hatches in April, after its long winter. Look out

A. Yes, it's quite obvious once you know how. Frogspawn is laid in clumps whereas toad spawn is laid in strings. Q. Why are the eggs surrounded by jelly A. This clear jelly substance, which

A. Although the Arctic ice sheet is melting and breaking up the majority of the ice is still frozen at the moment. But more importantly as the Arctic ice sheet is already in the sea it is displacing

A. Many northern breeds have been used as sled dogs, notably Alaskan Malamutes and Siberian Huskies. Also Eskimo Dogs, Greenlands, Samoyeds, Norrbottenspets, and Hokkaidokens are all used as sled

A. Although bird song is mainly heard in spring and summer birds actually sing all year round. They use a range of specific notes and calls as a means of contacting other birds, giving a warning and

A. They are actually living creatures drawn from up to three different 'kingdoms'. Q. Kingdoms A. Yes, the natural world, at the broadest level, can be divided into five different groups or

reece1 asked this weighty question recently, thanks to rekstout for this answer. A. Unfortunately the answer isn't as easy as 'what was the tallest dinosaur' or 'what was the longest dinosaur'.