Author Megan Shersby
Megan Shersby

Megan Shersby

Naturalist, writer and content creator

Megan is a naturalist, writer and content creator. She is also a bookworm and a keen board gamer. She is the former editorial and digital co-ordinator at BBC Wildlife, and wrote features and sections for both the print magazine and discoverwildlife.com, including the Q&A and Go Wild sections, Poo Corner and News Species Discovery, the weekly e-newsletter and the social media accounts. Her features have included olms (cave salamanders) in Slovenia, arapaima (very big fish) in Guyana, and the role of hippos as ecosystem engineers in Zambia. She has also contributed to the website and magazine of BBC Countryfile Magazine, and has hosted some its podcast episodes. Prior to joining BBC Wildlife in 2016, she gained a degree in BSc(Hons) Animal Science, undertook behavioural research on zebras and dwarf mongooses, and worked in environmental education for a number of conservation charities.

Recent articles by Megan Shersby
An image of the goliath frog, the largest frog in the world

It's as big as a loaf of bread and weighs the same as a small, 8-week-old puppy

Did you know the world's largest frog is a whopping 32cm long and weighs 3.25kg?
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Postojna Cave

It's 3 million years old, the size of Vikos Gorge and is home to one of the world's weirdest animals – the 'human fish'

Megan Shersby explores one of the world's most spectacular caves, Postojna Cave
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A whale shark (Rhincodon typus) swims just below the surface of the bay of La Paz, Mexico.

It has hundreds of teeth on its eyeballs? Yes - well sort of...

Did you know whale sharks hide a curious armour of tooth-like scales across their eyes?
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Portrait of a lioness snarling

11 deadliest females on the planet: Discover some ferocious female animals that you wouldn't want to mess with

'For the female of the species is more deadly than the male' – here are our top 11 deadliest females that prove just that.
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Mountain gorilla (Gorilla beringei beringei) silverback, Rwanda

It's as tall as Brad Pitt, weighs 169kg, up to 10 times stronger than a human and is the master of knuckle-walking

Our guide to one of our closest relatives – the gorilla, including the difference between the two species, why they're endangered and conservation work.
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Splendid fairywren

Blue animals may seem rare, but there's more than you think. From sapphire to indigo here are 24 beautiful blue animals – including birds, frogs and even bees

Discover 24 amazing blue animals – some common, some rare. And there may even be some surprises... blue bee anyone?
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Crocidura stanleyi

Tiny mammal the weight of a sugar cube discovered in Ethiopian highlands – and it's totally new to science

One of the world’s smallest mammals has been discovered - and it weighs just 3g.
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BBC WInterwatch presenters

BBC Winterwatch is back – but from a new location next to the UK's largest sea lough

Everything you need to know about BBC Winterwatch, including when it's on and how to watch
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European beaver with a twig in water

Nature’s hidden miracle workers: 7 ecosystem engineers quietly transforming the planet

From beavers to parrotfish, ecosystem engineers have a profound impact on their surrounding ecosystem and the other wildlife within it.
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World's biggest centipede

This deadly creepy crawly is a foot long with 21 legs, venomous enough to kill a bat - and a small child – and has eaten flesh from a human corpse

Meet the biggest - and most venomous - centipede in the world
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© Mark Carwardine/Getty

It's as sleek as a torpedo, as long as a bus, and weighs the same as an elephant: Discover the ocean creature that slices through our waters at 35 km/h

Our guide to the minke whale, the UK's most frequently spotted whale
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Honey badger.

Is this the world's most aggressive animal? Just the size of a fox, this badass raids beehives, steals from lions, shrugs off snake venom and never backs down…

Renowned for fighting larger animals, the honey badger (also known as the ratel) is a notorious mammal found across much of Africa and Asia.
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Christmas Island

Christmas Island shrew lost forever in "one of the most mysterious of extinctions”

Australia’s only shrew has officially been declared extinct, killed off by non-native species introduced by humans.
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Three pumpkins in daylight on a table next to a bowl with stones in. The pumpkins are carved with leaves and flowers.

30+ brilliant scaremongering wildlife-themed pumpkin carving ideas: bring the wild side to your Halloween this year

Fancy getting a bit creative and wild this Halloween? Be inspired by these wildlife-themed pumpkin carvings, such as wolves, spiders, moths, owls and even anglerfish.
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Weird fungi

7 weirdest fungi in the world you (probably) haven't heard of, from the gross-looking bleeding tooth to the creepy dead man's fingers

Fungi can be very strange. Here's our round-up of some of the weirdest fungi on the planet.
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Koala vaccine

Australia approves world-first vaccine to save koalas from deadly chlamydia

The newly developed, single-dose vaccine could be a key tool in protecting the tree-dwelling marsupials from the chlamydia epidemic, say researchers.
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Satyrex ferox, male

Four new tarantulas with huge genitals have just been discovered. Apparently males use them to fend off cannibalistic females

The newly described species of spider live on the Arabian Peninsula and the Horn of Africa.
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Pygmy kingfisher

26 new UNESCO World Heritage Sites named - including this wildlife paradise in Sierra Leone

The Gola-Tiwai Complex in Sierra Leone is one of four new sites in Africa and 26 worldwide, joining the Great Barrier Reef, the Galápagos Islands and Stonehenge.
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Stick insect (Acrophylla alta)

Gigantic insect as long as a cat found in Australia. It may be the country's heaviest ever, say experts

Measuring 40cm in length, the giant stick insect is new to science.
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Flamingoes

Is it a tutu on stilts? With its fabulous pink plumage, beautiful long legs and elegant neck this bird is the supermodel of the avian world

Instantly recognisable, learn about the flamboyant flamingo in our expert guide, including how to identify each species, diet and best places to see flamingoes in the wild.
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Rabida Island

When helicopters poisoned a tiny island in the Galápagos, a 'once-extinct' animal appeared

Thought to be extinct on Rábida Island, the leaf-toed gecko has reappeared after conservationists worked to rid the island of invasive, non-native rats.
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Composite image showing the size difference between a European honeybee work and the female Wallace's giant bee. © Clay Bolt

It’s bigger than your thumb, has immense jaws and is nicknamed the flying bulldog – Meet the largest bee on Earth

Discover the giant bee of Indonesia.
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Kakapo

It weighs the same as a cat, looks like it's covered with moss and prefers hiking and climbing to flying – meet one of the world's weirdest birds

All you need to know about one of the world's strangest birds
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House sparrow bathing in water - garden birds need fresh water in the heatwave. © Ray Kennedy/RSPB

How to help your garden wildlife in a heatwave: don't let them suffer in silence

As temperatures soar and we revel in the summer sunshine once again, our local wildlife could be struggling to cope! Find out how you can help them through the heatwave.
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