Helen Pilcher
Science writer, presenter and performer.
Helen Pilcher is a tea-drinking, biscuit-nibbling science and comedy writer, with a PhD in cell biology. She contributes regularly to BBC Wildlife and BBC Science Focus, and has penned many popular science books. Life Changing: How Humans are Altering Life on Earth was The Times 2020 Science Book of the Year and was shortlisted for the Wainwright Prize for Writing on Global Conservation. Bring Back the King: The New Science of De-extinction was Radio 2’s Fact Not Fiction Book of the Week, and was described by comedian Sara Pasco as ‘science at its funniest.’ In other news, Helen is science advisor to the Beano, and owns a genetically-modified wolf called Higgs. Her favourite bird is the kakapo, her favourite moth is the Merveille du Jour and her favourite beverage is a warm, milky brew; no sugar.
Recent articles by Helen Pilcher
The 'Great Texas Freeze' killed thousands of beloved songbirds. Scientists are worried about what might happen next
North America’s largest swallow, the purple martin, was hit hard by winter storms in 2021. With erratic weather events becoming more common, experts are concerned about the bird's long-term survival.
"First-of-its-kind event." Whale shark swims "astounding" 1,200km from Madagascar to Seychelles
The gentle giant’s epic journey highlights the need for transboundary conservation strategies, say researchers.
“It secretes a matcha-coloured substance from its anal gland that smells of rotting flesh.” This animal is insanely good at faking death
Whether it’s to deter predators or to avoid mating, plenty of animals fake their own death
Birdwatching may slow ageing of the brain, say neuroscientists
Learning to identify birds could be beneficial for cognition as people get older, according to a new study.
10 USA sewer dwellers: Alligators, sea cows, snakes, turtles – the surprising animals lurking in the country's sewers...
From alligators to sea cows these are the astonishing creatures discovered beneath America’s streets.
Kidnapped, brainwashed, enslaved: the animal that steals the young and forces them to work
The enslaved ants have no chance of escaping
It's been sealed off for an inconceivable 5 million years and is rich in toxic chemicals. Life shouldn't survive here – but it does...
Life thrives in bizarre ecosystem, sealed off for 5 million years
“Torture. You are chained in the flow of an active volcano.” One scientist was stung by over 150 insects over 35 years. Why?
Entomologist Justin Schmidt decided to find out just how painful the stings of venomous insects were
It's the biggest snake den on the planet – 100,000 crammed into a small cavern
Not a place to visit if you're scared of snakes...
1.6 million years ago, a bird flew over this mountain range in Haiti. It helped create a plant wonderland
Research reveals the flight paths of ancient birds kickstarted the evolution of an exceptionally biodiverse mountain range in the Caribbean nation.
Weighing a tonne and packed with hundreds of rooms – each home to a family — it can house a staggering 500 households. Is this the ultimate apartment block?
It’s the heaviest, largest, most densely populated bird nest… that's been built and extended over decades
Mystical 'phantom of the forest' caught on camera in remote Asian mountains
The rarely seen serow was one of many species spotted during a recent survey in the Annamites mountain range.
Kidnapping isn’t just a human crime: 7 of nature’s most shocking, brutal – and sometimes ballsy – abductors
From ants to birds, these 7 species don’t just hunt – they steal, kidnap, and turn others into unwilling servants.
Scientists went into an ancient cave in New Zealand and found a 'lost world' hiding within
Fossils of birds and other animals unearthed from the cavern provide a "missing volume" in New Zealand’s natural history, say researchers.
It can be seen from space and contains a staggering two hundred million mounds, each one nine metres across and two and a half metres tall
Are termites the best builders in the business?
With speeds of 100 miles per hour, it leaves birds like swifts and albatrosses eating its dust.
did you know the fastest flying animal in the world isn't a bird
It’s 2 miles deep, close to a volcano, the size of 233 soccer fields and home to a whopping 20,000 creatures
The world’s biggest octopus aggregation is made up of thousands of these usually solitary creatures
Remote cameras catch rare predator in Californian forest. There are only 500 left on the planet
Once thought extinct, researchers are trying to find out more about this tiny carnivore to aid its conservation.
There's a pink-faced monkey in Japan that bathes in hot springs – for a surprising reason
Japan's snow monkeys soak in hot springs for thermoregulation and to relieve stress – a new study suggests there is another reason...
Gigantic 10ft-wide raptors released in Patagonian mountains
The Andean condor is the largest raptor in the world and can live for up to 70 years.
With a population of 15 million this is the biggest mammal gathering on Earth – and it happens in Texas...
Forget festivals and sporting events, the Bracken Cave bat colony is considered to be the largest gathering of mammals on Earth
This whopping, record-breaking wasp's nest was 7 metres long – that's bigger than a Cadillac – and found inside a house
The world’s biggest wasp nest is longer than a Cadillac and shaped like a nose
Firestarter: They set the land ablaze from the sky – and then wait for their prey to run
Feathered arsonists spread fire to fill their bellies
It can be seen from space, is the equivalent to 8 football fields and could be 45 years old - but we have no idea how many families call it home...
The world’s biggest beaver dam is as long as the Burj Khalifa is tall
