Author Sophie Ellis

Sophie Ellis

Sophie is the content creator for discoverwildlife.com and its sister title countryfile.com. She manages the Q+A section of BBC Wildlife and covers the latest natural history TV and film releases.

Recent articles by Sophie Ellis
Headless chicken monster from How Deep Is Your Love

“That’s amazing!” Marine biologists film rare ‘headless chicken monster’ deep in the Pacific Ocean

In a clip from the deep-sea documentary How Deep Is Your Love, scientists discover an elusive sea cucumber
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Thismia daemona

Researchers discover 'devil flower' hidden beneath the forest floor in Thai national park

Thismia daemona spends most of its time beneath the ground feeding on fungi
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Bigfin squid

“I screamed before the rest of it came into the screen.” Deep-sea scientists film rare creature deep in Pacific Ocean

The elusive animal was filmed swimming near an underwater mountain off the coast of California
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Adult and chick emperor penguins

When complete darkness fell on Antarctica, researchers used satellites to spy on one of its most secretive animals

Tracking the movements of emperor penguins is vital for conservation efforts, say scientists
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Mangrove rivulus fish

Scientists dosed aggressive fish with hallucinogenic drugs – and discovered something interesting

The psychoactive compound in ‘magic mushrooms’ may reduce aggressive behaviour in a species of fish
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West Siberian Plain

It’s the size of Texas, stores 70 billion tonnes of carbon and deadly predators roam its harsh, remote landscape

The West Siberian Lowland is the world’s largest high-latitude wetland and contains the biggest peatland
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Warrior wasp in nest

“Torture. You are chained in the flow of an active volcano.” This painful stinging creature makes bizarre nests and defends them by drumming

The warrior wasp has a unique way of defending its nest – before delivering one of the most excruciating stings on the planet
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Mosquitoes

Google wants to release millions of mosquitoes across the US. Here’s why

Google’s parent company, Alphabet, has applied for a permit from the US Environmental Protection Agency
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Icy Window by Audun Rikardsen

Chilling moment polar bear gazes down at prey among 16 incredible images from the Wildlife Photographer of the Year Awards

Ahead of the winners being announced in October, preview images from this year’s Wildlife Photographer of the Year Awards have been released
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Polar Bear Biting Underwater Camera Dome, Nunavut, Canada

Can you guess which creature this is in less than 12 seconds?

This is a close-up image of an animal – can you guess which one?
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BBC Kingdom Flint African wild dog

 Crocodile snatches wild dog from riverbank in Zambia. Then its pack turns up to try and save it – watch the agonising footage…

In footage captured for BBC's Kingdom, a wild dog is caught in the jaws of a crocodile – can his pack members save him?
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Dolly Parton at the opening of the Smithsonian National Zoo's bald eagle refuge exhibit

Dolly Parton helped save endangered bald eagles. Here’s how…

The country singer was known for her philanthropic efforts – including conserving the bald eagle
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Frameless Nikon Comedy Wildlife Awards

91 hilarious, award-winning wildlife images will be displayed in London. Here’s how to see them

An immersive exhibition celebrating the Nikon Comedy Wildlife Photography Awards is coming to London
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Researchers tagging narwhals

Scientists tag 6 ‘unicorns of the sea’ and follow them 1,500m into the deep – to places humans can’t go

Narwhals recorded Arctic ocean data which will be used to help inform climate research in the region
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Capuchin eating a bird

These monkeys turn into meat-eaters when plants are scarce. There’s something very human about it, says scientists

Scientists find that capuchin monkeys hunt for meat when plants are scarce
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Scariest looking birds

Don’t think birds can look scary? Think again – these 7 creepy birds look like they're straight out of a horror film

From heavyweight scavengers to flightless giants with horned heads, we take a look at some of the scariest-looking birds on the planet
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Chris Austin in New Guinea

Night-hunting snake discovered in New Guinea. It’s almost a metre long and waits for prey at the bottom of trees

The groundsnake, named Slash’s groundsnake, was deemed new to science through genetic analysis
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Giant anteater

25-year camera-trap study of elusive Amazonian mammal reveals it’s changing its behaviour

Giant anteaters in Bolivia are adapting their behaviour in the face of rising temperatures, rather than predation threats
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Monteverde Cloud Forest

It ‘rains’ horizontally, is home to the largest cat in the Americas and provides life to two oceans

The Monteverde Cloud Forest Reserve is a unique and extraordinary cloud forest in Costa Rica
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Wave breaking over a ship in Drake Passage

It’s 600 miles wide, takes two days to cross and has claimed the lives of sailors

To reach Antarctica, intrepid adventurers must cross one of the most treacherous parts of the ocean: Drake’s Passage
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Upper Mammals Gallery Natural History Museum London

London’s Natural History Museum is reopening a “hidden” gallery closed off since World War II

Objects on display include a hand axe found near a woolly mammoth and a replica jaw of a domesticated Palaeolithic dog
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Alligators

It spans over 1 million acres, contains rare creatures and is the only place on Earth where two watery, deadly apex predators clash

Everglades National Park, in the US state of Florida, is the largest subtropical wilderness in North America
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Restored coral reef

This coral reef gets bombed every 62 minutes. And it’s changing the way the ocean sounds

Researchers studied the frequency and impacts of bomb fishing, an illegal fishing practice, in the Spermonde Archipelago
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Lion cub Kio from National Geographic's Lion

“After tracking the lions for four years, they never ceased to surprise us.” New Lion King-inspired series comes to National Geographic

The trailer for National Geographic’s four-part documentary series, Lion, has been released – and it looks epic.
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