Author Archives: twilightbeasts

We are made of star stuff

Posted on September 25, 2015 by twilightbeasts

“The nitrogen in our DNA, the calcium in our teeth, the iron in our blood, the carbon in our apple pies, were made in the interiors of collapsing stars. We are made of star stuff.” (Carl Sagan, Cosmos) New hominin … Continue reading →

Posted in Homo naledi | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 10 Comments

The Lynx effect

Posted on September 19, 2015 by twilightbeasts

Here at TwilightBeasts we like to focus on the Pleistocene. That magic time when everything was bigger, badder, and weirder than now. But it’s a simple fact that every species now extant must have had an ancestor during the Pleistocene. … Continue reading →

Posted in Lynx | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 8 Comments

The last squawk of the dodo

Posted on August 28, 2015 by twilightbeasts

Extinction isn’t preordained. Species have no idea if they will vanish from the face of the Earth forever. Yet they do. An animal’s daily life is a struggle for survival: find the next meal, avoid being eaten. Many individuals die. … Continue reading →

Posted in Dodo | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 20 Comments

A striped wonder

Posted on August 26, 2015 by twilightbeasts

If you haven’t already, take a few minutes to watch this YouTube video. Think about what you are watching. The animal in the grainy film is extinct. When the last member of its species died out, a significant branch of … Continue reading →

Posted in Thylacine | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 18 Comments

Seeking redemption

Posted on August 24, 2015 by twilightbeasts

Extinction, they say, is forever. There’s the distressing aspect of poaching and trophy hunting (can you tell the difference any more? No, me neither) as highlighted by the senseless, savage deaths of rhinos, elephants, lions, tigers and many more creatures. … Continue reading →

Posted in Quagga | Tagged , , , , , | 8 Comments

Did humans wipe out the megafauna?

Posted on August 14, 2015 by twilightbeasts

The wonderful thing about writing for Twilight Beasts is the chance to bring back some truly incredible creatures. Here we are allowed to be taken back to a time when the largest land lizard ever walked the Earth: Megalania. We … Continue reading →

Posted in Extinction | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 8 Comments

The silent hunter

Posted on August 6, 2015 by twilightbeasts

“Those who have never seen a leopard under favourable conditions in his natural surroundings can have no conception of the grace of movement, and beauty of colouring, of this the most graceful and the most beautiful of all animals in … Continue reading →

Posted in Leopard | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 9 Comments

From the bones of giants

Posted on July 31, 2015 by twilightbeasts

One day in 1443, a mason chiselled the letters “A. E. I. O. U.” on a giant bone which hung from the gates of the bustling city of Vienna. The mason was not making sure they never forgot their vowels … Continue reading →

Posted in Cave art | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | 6 Comments

The ancients of the forest

Posted on July 24, 2015 by twilightbeasts

Most of our posts have been about the giant mammals of the Pleistocene – creatures of legend, and folklore which people have wondered at for thousands of years. Yet we can’t forget they existed in landscapes very different from our … Continue reading →

Posted in Kauri tree | Tagged , , , , , , | 9 Comments

The beauty in the beasts

Posted on July 17, 2015 by twilightbeasts

Nature is beautiful. Look around at the green leaves flashing brightly as the sun bounces off them. Look closer and you spot a flash of yellow as a goldfinch nips by. Shake a branch gently and you will be rewarded … Continue reading →

Posted in Cave art | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 9 Comments