Wolves of myth are murderous and vicious or seductive and cunning - the real animals reveal a different but equally compelling story. Michael guides us through the Great Northern Forest into the realm of the timber wolf. He explores their complex social world, their subtle behaviour and powerful family bonds - these animals are intelligent, timid and kill only to survive.

In our shared history the most violent behaviour, by far, comes from humans. This talk unravels murky and misleading legend from fact.

Men of the Forest

Orang-utans are found only on the distant Indonesian islands of Borneo and Sumatra. Every day, loggers cut down more of the rainforest home that is critical to their survival.

Michael followed these solitary animals into the challenging igapo forest when working on his Ape book. This is the story of the one of the world’s most elusive primates and of our hunger for palm oil that threatens their world.

It's a Funny Way to Make a Living [Part One].

Michael explains the basics of his art in this revealing and humorous introduction to the realities of professional wildlife photography. This is definitely NOT a technical talk, rather, Michael looks at the superlative highs and painful lows of the job.

He explains how to coax animals into the right spot and convince them that no human is watching. He uncovers some of the cunning, underhand tricks-of-the-trade that produce some unlikely photographs. Be prepared to have some illusions shattered!

It's a Funny Way to Make a Living [Part Two].

Further confessions of a wildlife photographer featuring advice on how to make a wildcat look more menacing and the story of working with hen harriers on a storm-swept Scottish mountain.

Michael reveals how cameramen look inside the secret world of underground animal dens and how to build a motorway in your garden shed.

Enchanted Islands.

Little was known about the Galapagos Islands when Charles Darwin visited in 1835.

But his discoveries there produced ideas that completely changed the way we view ourselves and the world around us.

Today these iconic islands are home to some of the world’s most extraordinary wildlife. Michael has visited Galapagos many times and in this talk, he tells their story.

The Natural History of Christmas.

Every winter we spend time mulling wine, stirring puddings and decorating our homes for Christmas but just where do these customs come from? Michael explains the natural history of the holly and the ivy, the pre-Christian roots of hanging mistletoe and that turkeys never did come from Turkey!

This illustrated talk shows how our love of Christmas trees helps conserve owls. It uncovers the true character of our favourite Christmas bird - the robin and looks at the origin of the Yule log. But, most interesting of all, it reveals just how it might be that reindeer come to fly.

Beneath the Dark Canopy.

A tropical rainforest is the richest habitat on Earth. It contains more than half of all known animal species. But what exactly is a rainforest?

Using his experiences in Indonesia, the Amazon Basin, West Africa and Central America, Michael explains how a forest works and shows some of the highly specialised animals that have evolved to live in this fragile and intricate environment.

The Children’s Eternal Forest

Bosque Eterno de los Ninos is vast, one of the largest wildlife reserves in Central America.

This cloud forest is home to howler monkeys, sloths, sabre-winged hummingbirds and species still undiscovered by science. It was saved by children - from around the world.

They raised funds and contributed pocket money, until there was enough to buy the forest. The children rescued a hugely important habitat and gave it, for ever, to the wildlife it supports. This talk tells the story of the forest and its salvation.

Poles Apart.

The worlds of the Arctic and Antarctic become blurred in our popular culture and climate change means they now fill our newspapers.

Michael’s adventures have taken him along the flight-path of the Arctic tern into both these extreme environments. This personal journey reveals the fragile domains of polar bears, king penguins, snowy owls, elephant seals and reindeer from both ends of the earth.

In this time of Global Warming we discover landscapes that have lured explorers for centuries now at threat of destruction.

Faces in the Mirror.

Based on Michael’s best-selling book, this talk reveals the great apes, our closest relatives. After living with gorillas, orang-utans, bonobos and chimpanzees in the wild, Michael tells how he got close enough to be groomed by these fascinating animals.

He explores some of the apes’ behaviour and shows the dangers that may destroy them before the end of this century.

In the Midst of Gorillas

Michael tells of his time living high in the forest with the mountain gorillas of Rwanda. There are now only around 600 individuals left on earth – here we meet new born and silverback.

He explains how to get close to these charismatic characters and demonstrates just how to communicate with the gentle, intelligent creatures that we have pushed to the edge of extinction.

The Complete Owl.

Based on Michael’s best-selling book of the same name. This talk reveals our resident British owls in folklore and fact; it looks at barn owls and tawny owls, little owls and cat owls and the specialised techniques that help them hunt.

It dispels misleading myths and reveals the realities of an owl’s life. The talk is illustrated with dramatic high-speed photographs of owls in flight

Owls of The World.

Michael has a passion for owls. Of the 133 species of owl alive today he has encountered 86 - this talk looks at many of these and tells of Michael’s adventures working with them around the globe for more than 20 years.

We meet, amongst others, great horned, snowy, pygmy, great grey and spectacled owls. And, of course, the biggest of them all – the eagle owl.

Animals Behaving Badly.

It’s not only humans that develop bad habits. Animals – particularly the brighter ones – often learn to cut corners and pick up some truly surprising behaviour along the way.

Meet the drunken monkeys, psychotic magpies, phobic ostriches and delinquent coots.

Silver Cat Bears

Giant pandas live in the remote forests of China’s Sichuan province. Few westerners have the opportunity to visit them, yet pandas must be the most recognisable animals on Earth.

Michael tells the story of their discovery, and looks at the life and future of this icon of conservation.