It’s that time of year again when websites shout about their most read blog posts. Of course it’s a little bit of self promotion, but it is also quite interesting to see what has been popular over the last year.

In our little annual tradition we will share with you the top five posts along with the least read five posts of the year. We think it’s quite nice to share the ‘bottom’ five posts to spread a little love to these undiscovered gems. (We should obviously say that these are not the least read because they are not interesting – all our posts are interesting! It might be that they are not as sexy as the big beasts, or that they have not been shared enough. Whatever the reason, these five least read posts are a fantastic little read.)

We really are so very grateful for your continued support by reading this blog and we have loved engaging with so many of you on the blog and on Twitter this last year. We hit 250,000 views on our blog just a few months ago – which is incredible! Thank you readers for your encouragement and support for this blog site.

Least read blog posts of 2017:

1. When life gives you lemmings… Discover how a classic 1980s video game links to small arctic mammals in Britain. Give these little fury critters a boost!

The Norwegian Lemming (Lemmus lemmus) is just one species of lemming. (Image by Oma Kuva. Public Domain)

2. Big find in little China. An amazing fossil discover in 2017 could put humans in China around 120,000 years ago.

3. Mini-beasts, giants and mega-floods. From beetles to mammoths, fossil evidence can help us to understand when the English Channel formed.

4. Time capsules from the Ice Age: Find out how nature’s collectors have helped to preserve evidence from past environments.

5. Forever young: Like Peter Pan, the Key Deer in Florida almost never grow up. Find out how this beautiful little deer stays youthful throughout their lives.

Most read blog posts of 2017:

1. A very brief introduction to mammoths: This is a mammoth post. Literally. There were ten species of mammoths from giants to dwarves.

The smallest mammoth that has ever lived, the mighty-mini Cretan Dwarf Mammoth

2. The stuff of night-mares: A clever title. A great post. About a freakin’ enormous horse!

3. Mammoths! Mammoths make it twice in the top five. This post is about our familiar giant, the Woolly Mammoth.

4. The lonely walk to extinction: We are pleased this post has been read quite a lot. It brings home just how vulnerable species are, and how those last few individuals have a very hard, lonely life.

5. Lost as the Moa is lost! This is the second year running this fantastic post has made it into the tope 5. Read it and you will see why!

We wish all our readers are very happy and healthy 2018. And we are looking forward to some exciting things in 2018, and of course, lots of new Beasts to share with you! Ross (@DeepFriedDNA), Rena (@JustRena) and Jan (@JanFreedman)

Follow us on Twitter – @Twilightbeasts