Dogs & Animals
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Killer whales: The perilously rare and super-smart predator we risk loosing from British waters forever
They’ve recently made headlines for interfering with boats, but intelligent, family-focused and remarkably long-lived orcas–better known as killer whales–contain multitudes.
By Helen Scales Last updated
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‘Though she be but little, she is fierce’: Everything you didn't know about sparrowhawks
Scourge of the bird feeder and a master of ‘shock and awe’ assassinations, the sparrowhawk pursues its quarry with such tenacity and unpredictability that it often blindsides its prey.
By Mark Cocker Published
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'Calm, beautiful, loving, and intelligent — everything about that dog was pure majesty': The greyhound is Country Life’s first dog breed of the week
From ancient hunting dogs to royal symbols in medieval Britain, greyhounds have captured the hearts of many — including Jilly Cooper and Twiggy.
By Katy Birchall Published
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The pine marten is a predatory force to be reckoned with
The pine marten may have a taste for jam sandwiches, but its razor-sharp claws and appetite for eggs and grey squirrels makes it a predatory force to be reckoned with.
By Patrick Galbraith Published
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The white-tailed eagle is crafty, controversial and has wings the size of a barn door
A penchant for spring lamb saw the raptor species ruthlessly exterminated, but the beguiling white-tailed eagle — also known as the sea eagle — is now back on our shores.
By Mark Cocker Published
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What everyone is talking about this week: How Wimbledon is repurposing its 55,000 used tennis balls
Week in, week out, Will Hosie rounds up the hottest topics on everyone's lips, in London and beyond.
By Will Hosie Published
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Arthur Parkinson: Chicken Licken isn’t just a children’s story about a chicken who believes the sky is falling, it tells us everything we need to know about keeping hens happy
Too many people think chickens only need shelter when it's hot, but the truth is much more complex.
By Arthur Parkinson Published
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'He unleashed a series of war cries, then intercepted the vole mid-air': There's nothing remotely common about the common kestrel
Known in Orkney as ‘moosie-haak’, kestrels are fierce hunters but have seriously declined and are now an amber-listed species.
By Mark Cocker Published
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The red kite is a soaraway success story, having escaped extinction to become a familiar sight in our skies again
Unhurried in flight and with a sideline in stolen goods, the handsome red kite is the gentleman thief of the raptor world, writes Mark Cocker.
By Mark Cocker Published
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Sophia Money-Coutts: Is it ever okay to throw your dog a birthday party?
Sir Lewis Hamilton did it, so why not throw a birthday party for your canine companion, Sophia Money-Coutts asks.
By Sophia Money-Coutts Published
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Canine muses: Lucian Freud's etchings of Pluto the whippet are among his most popular and expensive work
In the third edition of our limited series, we meet the dogs who've inspired some of our greatest artists.
By Agnes Stamp Published
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Peregrine falcons went to the edge of extinction in the 1960s — today, there are more of them than at any time since the Middle Ages
In the latest instalment of Mark Cocker's 'Winging it' column, he looks at the peregrine, a bird of prey with astonishing speed and super strength.
By Mark Cocker Published
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Rogue sellers and puppy farmers are exploiting Government licensing loopholes at the expense of responsible dog breeders, says The Kennel Club
The Kennel Club launched a report in the House of Commons last week calling for an urgent review of current licensing regulations.
By Annunciata Elwes Published
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Hot dogs: How to keep your dog healthy in a summer heatwave, by expert trainer Ben Randall
With hot summer weather here it can be a challenge keeping your four-legged friend cool and happy. Ben Randall shares his tips on how to keep a dog safe in a heatwave.
By Ben Randall Last updated
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Canine muses: David Hockney's chocolate dachshunds who wanted for only two things — food and love
In the second edition of our limited series, we meet some more of the dogs who've inspired our greatest artists.
By Agnes Stamp Published
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The golden eagle: One of the Great British public's favourite birds of prey — but devilishly tricky to identify
We are often so keen to encounter this animal that ambition overrides the accuracy of our observations, writes Mark Cocker.
By Mark Cocker Published
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From turtles to pink sea fans: Why Mediterranean marine life is drifting into British waters
Both leatherback sea turtles and the soft corrals’ presence near our shores coincides with our warming seas, Lotte Brundle writes.
By Lotte Brundle Published
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Canine muses: The English bull terrier who helped transform her owner from 'a photographer into an artist'
In the first edition of our new, limited series, we meet the dogs who've inspired some of our greatest artists.
By Agnes Stamp Published
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Hen harriers: The 'marvels of evolutionary adaptation' that are 'ballet and theatre and poetry inscribed on air'
The hen harrier is one of the most glorious birds of prey in Britain — yet it provokes fierce debate. Mark Cocker unpicks why this breed is among the most controversial of all British birds.
By Mark Cocker Published
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Death, taxes and Country Life on dogs
A new book celebrates the many dogs that have appeared on the pages of this magazine, and chronicles our love affair with our four-legged friends.
By Agnes Stamp Last updated
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Arthur Parkinson: When it comes to happy hens and yellow yolks, grass is king
Don't get too focused on the colour of an egg. If you provide your hens with a happy habitat, everything else will take care of itself.
By Arthur Parkinson Published