This book by Professor John E. Cooper and his wife Mrs Margaret E. Cooper, with contributions from many countries in the world and a Foreword by Dr Lee Durrell, was published in May 2013. It is published by CRC Press/Taylor & Francis Group. The book provides an in-depth introduction to the rapidly-evolving field of wildlife [...]
Author: Simon H King
Writer and Naturalist
‘Be a Nature Detective’ by Maxwell Knight (1968) – natural history tradecraft from Britain’s greatest spymaster and the original ‘Nature Detective’ courtesy of the BBC
It certainly wasn't appropriate for Maxwell Knight to share his spy training during his Sunday afternoon BBC broadcasts, or was it? Surely not? Perish the thought. But, what if his broadcasts and books contained the same basic training (the same 'tradecraft') he was giving MI5 recruits? As far as Knight was concerned, the two were [...]
How Ocean Pollution Affects Humans: “The Devil in the deep blue sea”
"Oceans are fundamental to the health of our planet - the very lifeblood of Earth's ecosystem. To survive and prosper, mankind needs a harmonious relationship with our planet's oceans."
Trump administration’s stance on the environment is ‘willful ignorance’ says DiCaprio
According to The Independent, actor and environmentalist, Leonardo DiCaprio didn't mince his words during an encounter with Donald Trump. In an attempt to encourage Mr Trump to see the opportunity to make nature great again, DiCaprio tried to sway him to take another look at the Paris Climate Agreement. Reverting to type, Trump claimed that the Paris [...]
It’s World Rhino Day today, who feels like celebrating?
If there is something to celebrate it's the dedicated people who commit their life to the protection of wildlife and make every day a World Rhino Day. These wonderful (underpaid) individuals deserve all the cake and tea in China; however, I've a feeling they don't have much of an appetite to party after spending 364.25 [...]
We need more naturalists, more 21st Century Nature Detectives
Maxwell Knight was amongst the first - if not the first - to coin the phrase 'nature detective' before the Second World War; however, he would have been the first to admit that his natural history forefathers had literally risked life and limb detecting fauna and flora as skilfully recorded in Richard Conniff's book The Species [...]
Smiley is back
John Le Carre's master spy is making what the author says will be his last appearance in a novel in A Legacy of Spies. If you missed James Naughtie's moving interview with John le Carré on the Today Programme at 07:40 this morning, it's available here. He referred to his colleagues "Max Knight and John Bingham". [...]
Interview with John Cooper (2010) reveals the source of his clinical diagnosis skills to be Major Maxwell Knight, Britain’s greatest MI5 spymaster and the original ‘Nature Detective’
Q: Who has been the most inspiring influence on your professional career? A: THE BBC NATURALIST AND BROADCASTER, MAJOR MAXWELL KNIGHT, WHO - THROUGH HIS WRITINGS AND PERSONAL TUITION - HELPED ME TO APPRECIATE THE NATURAL WORLD AND TAUGHT ME THAT BEING AN OBSERVANT "NATURE DETECTIVE" COULD ASSIST IN CLINICAL DIAGNOSIS AND WAS THE FOUNDATION OF FORENSIC INVESTIGATION. Acknowledgements: John Bonner and [...]
Commemorative Symposium: Maxwell Knight, the original “nature detective” and Second World War MI5 agent. Birkbeck College, London, Autumn, 2018
A half-day Symposium about Maxwell Knight, OBE, FLS, naturalist and Second World War MI5 agent, will be held at Birkbeck College, University of London, 43 Gordon Square, London WC1H 0PD, on a Saturday (date to be decided) in the Autumn of 2018. The meeting will be hosted by the British Herpetological Society (BHS) and supported [...]
Greenpeace: Join the fight against plastic pollution
SAY NO TO OCEAN PLASTICS https://youtu.be/BakHzyn_6GY A truckload of plastic waste enters the ocean every minute... Up to 12 million tonnes of plastic end up in the ocean every year and will take centuries to degrade. An area of plastic rubbish three times the size of the UK has been floating in the north Pacific for [...]
