A letter from the Lily Trotter Every time I sit down to research yet another species this world has to offer, I find myself wondering: where is nature taking me this time? So this time, I thought, let's look to the sky. I settled on the African Jacana,
There are animals so large that it seems impossible for them to disappear. A whale shark is one of them. The largest fish in the world can grow to astonishing proportions, its enormous mouth opening into the sea as it filters tiny creatures from the water. Its dark body is
This is not only the story of an endangered species. It is the story of the people who have safeguarded it for generations. A story of coexistence. A story of hope. A story of the world’s rarest zebra that calls northern Kenya home. Across the open, ochre plains where
There is something almost cinematic about the silhouette of a Palm tree. A single trunk leaning toward the sea. Fronds swaying against a fading orange sky. Somewhere in the distance, the sound of waves, warm wind and the promise of escape. Palm trees have become symbols of paradise, symbols of
The first time I encountered the Mountain Bongo, it was not in a forest. It was not standing silently beneath bamboo in the Aberdares, or moving like a shadow through the cold mist forests of Mount Kenya. I did not hear the crack of branches beneath its hooves or catch
If you have ever experienced an African safari, you know this phrase well... The Big Five. From the moment you land, it is everywhere. Tour guides speak about it with excitement, safari vehicles carry the promise of spotting them, and curio shops proudly display the words on T-shirts, carvings,
Some women hold the world together quietly. Not loudly. Not for applause. But with a steadiness that feels like gravity itself. This piece has lived in my heart for a while, researched with intention, written with tenderness, and carried with gratitude. Through the gentle giants and brilliant mothers of the
At first you don’t see it. You see the river instead, its slow bronze surface breathing under the afternoon sun, dragonflies stitching light across the water, the reeds unmoving as if the wind forgot this place existed. Then something interrupts the illusion. Not movement. Stillness. A shape too deliberate
In true holiday fashion, I found myself revisiting some of my favourite animations, yes I am still obsessed with them. But this time, something was different. I rewatched Finding Nemo not just as a comfort watch, but through a lens shaped by recent work and learning. What followed was a
We’ve called them killers for centuries. Long before we knew their names, their families, their languages, we stamped fear onto their black-and-white backs and sent the story drifting across oceans. It began with Basque sailors, men who carved myths into sea foam, watching orcas hunt great whales
If the sky ever decided to show off, it would probably take the form of a lilac-breasted roller. Perched high on an acacia branch, this small bird seems ordinary until it spreads its wings. Then suddenly, the air is full of color: lilac, turquoise, green, yellow, white, blue, black,
A Story of Extinction, Survival, and Hope. The bird that holds up a mirror, the Dodo. My first glimpse of it was in Ice Age, waddling across my childhood screen. A character I never imagined was once a real bird, alive and fruit-fed on the island of Mauritius. When